disappeared into the desert.

At this time the Egyptians had retired to Wadi Halfa, and the Dervishes
had occupied Sarras, a little to the south, from whence they constantly
harassed the Egyptian outposts. A variety of circumstances, however,
occurred to prevent Khalifa Abdullah from carrying out his projects
against Egypt. The revolt in Darfur, the Abyssinian war, internal
dissensions, all contributed to impede the despatch of troops north.
Besides, the Dervish garrison in Dongola had already done much to
destroy the well-being and prosperity of the province; they plundered
the inhabitants, who, in their turn, became averse to the Dervish
occupation; continued warfare had produced a famine; numbers died of
small-pox.

Bahr el Karrar in 1888 occupied the wells of Haimar and Ongat, and from
here was able to annoy the inhabitants on the Nile between Assuan and
Korosko. He raided the village of Kalabsheh, some fifty miles south of
Assuan, killed the Egyptian police guards, and carried off their officer
a captive to Omdurman. All this time there was a great deal of talk in
the capital about the conquest of Egypt, but we never received any very
decisive news. The captured officer was paraded through the streets in
triumph, and was then brought before the Khalifa, who received him
kindly, and questioned him very fully about Egypt; but he quite
understood what sort of replies to make to the Khalifa's questions, and
only told him what he knew would please; so he was well treated, set at
liberty, and now lives in Omdurman.

From time to time the Khalifa despatched reinforcements to Dongola which
never returned, and this was the reason of the main road leading north
out of Omdurman being called "Darb Esh Shuhada" ("The Martyrs' Road ").

The Egyptian Government had now confined itself to the defence of its
own frontiers. In June 1888, Bishir Bey, a subsidized Government sheikh,
turned Bahr Karrar out of Haimar; but on the other hand, the Sarras
Dervishes made a sudden descent on the Dabarosa bazaar, killed a number
of merchants, and escaped before the troops from Haifa could intercept
them. Meanwhile, there was not much harmony between the big emirs.
Nejumi and his followers were jealous of the masterful Baggaras, and it
was only with the greatest reluctance that they brought themselves to
show any respect to the Emir Mussaid of the Baggara Habbanieh, who had
been sent to Dongola by the Khalifa to watch and report on Nejumi's