ecame visible. Fiki Minneh, with about 10,000 men, approached from the
east, whilst the Mahdi's attack was directed on the south-west end of
the town. The first ditch was soon crossed, and then the Mahdiists
spread out and completely encircled the town; masses of wild fanatics
rolled like waves through the deserted streets; they did not advance
through these alone, but hurrying on from house to house, wall to wall,
and yard to yard, they reached the ditch of the Mudirieh, and like a
torrent suddenly let loose, regardless of every obstacle, with wild
shouts they dashed across it and up the ramparts, from which the din of
a thousand rifles and the booming of the guns suddenly burst forth; but
these wild hordes, utterly fearless of death, cared neither for the
deadly Remington nor the thunder of the guns, and still swept forward in
ever-increasing numbers.

The poor garrison, utterly powerless to resist such an assault, ran to
the tops of the houses and kept up an incessant fire on the masses,
which now formed such a crowd that they could scarcely move--indeed the
barrels of the rifles from the rapidity of the fire became almost
red-hot; and soon the streets and open spaces became literally choked
with the bodies of those who had fallen. There was a momentary pause,
and Ali Bey Sherif, seizing this opportunity, collected a party of men
and dashed towards the magazine, where a fierce conflict was going on
between the guard and the Dervishes. The latter had already become
masters of the situation when Ali Bey suddenly appeared on the scene,
and firing on the mass, whether friend or foe, he drove the Mahdiists
back over the ditch, and then formed up in the breach ready to repel any
further attempt to break in.

Meanwhile Said Pasha was heavily engaged in front of the Mudirieh. Here
an emir named Wad Gubara broke in, and shouting, "Death to the Turks,
those dogs and swine!" he dashed forward at the head of his men, but the
determined resistance of the Mudir forced them to retire back across the
ditch. Ahmed Dufallah defended that part of the line which was assaulted
by Ibrahim Wad Abdullah, an emir who had gained great celebrity amongst
the Dervishes. This brave Arab attacked again and again, hoping that the
bodies of those who fell would soon fill up the ditch and make a passage
which he could cross, but his attempt failed, and he too was forced to
retire.

The Mahdi all this time was watching at a safe distance, and kept o