ore
them. The thousands of Dervish women within now raised terrible cries as
the enemy approached, killing and destroying all in their path; they set
fire to the straw huts; the din of the firing, the shouts and screams of
the men and women, mingled with the crackling and wild rush of the
flames, were terrible beyond description. Already the Abyssinians had
taken possession of the beit el mal, and had occupied the house in which
Abu Anga's harem lived, and now they were searching for his body, which
they wanted to pull out of the ground and throw into the flames, in
revenge for the burning of Gondar.

The strength of the Mahdiists was now almost exhausted, ammunition was
running short, and it was thought the fight was nearly over, when
suddenly the news spread amongst the Abyssinians that their King had
been struck by a bullet. This was the signal for a general retreat:
everyone seized all the booty he could lay his hands upon, and soon the
zariba was evacuated; several of the women were carried off as captives,
including Abu Anga's harem, and the Abyssinians then made for the river
Atbara.

Now was the time for the Dervishes to reverse their defeat; they had
suffered very heavily, Wad Ali's division had been almost annihilated;
but they lost no time in cutting off some of the Abyssinians' heads and
sending them at once to Omdurman, with the information that they had
gained a great victory, for Kadi Ahmed well knew how anxious was the
Khalifa, and how fearful that defeat should overtake his forces.

The Dervishes thought the Abyssinians would renew their attack the next
day, but to their surprise no one appeared; then spies were sent out to
discover their whereabouts, and they brought back information that the
Abyssinian force was now in full retreat towards the Atbara. This
information decided Zeki to pursue, and on the 11th of March the Dervish
force came up with a large portion of the Abyssinian army encamped on
the river bank; a battle ensued, in which the Abyssinians lost heavily
and fled precipitately, leaving the dead body of King John in the hands
of the Dervishes. It was discovered carefully packed in a long box and
sealed with wax; at first it was thought to contain treasure, but on
opening it the odour of decay left little doubt that the body they had
attempted to embalm was none other than that of the unfortunate John,
and this was confirmed by the Abyssinian prisoners. The King's head was
cut off and sen