ill urged him to continue the
siege, consequently on the following day he took up a position on a hill
called Gianzara, about two kilometres distant to the north-west of the
town, and only one kilometre distant from the Oshra Well (so called from
the oshra or euphorbia which grows in quantities in the vicinity). Fiki
Minneh established himself to the north-west of the town, and soon it
was more closely invested than ever; from that date nothing came in and
nothing went out of the doomed city.

We had spent one day in the hut, and had learnt all the details about
the Mahdi's attack on the town, when a messenger sent by Naser arrived,
and ordered us to move on to the Mahdi's camp, as it was his gracious
intention to permit us to look upon his face. Shortly after we had set
out, we met Naser returning, accompanied by a party of Dervishes.

As we approached El Obeid, the rattle of the rifles, broken every now
and then by the boom of a gun, became more and more audible. We were
halted under a large Adansonia tree and ordered to rest, but we had
scarcely laid down when we were suddenly attacked by Naser and his
party, who seized our watches and other valuables, and then stripped off
our clothes; they even attempted to remove the veils and outer garments
of the sisters, but to this we forcibly objected, and seizing sticks
tried to drive them off. At length these wretched thieves, ashamed of
the unequal contest, drew off, and Naser ordered our clothes to be
returned; but my suit, in which I had stitched thirty dollars, was not
given back to me, and I was reduced to appearing before the Mahdi in a
shirt and drawers! Our escort having satisfied their cupidity, now
mounted our donkeys, and we were obliged to walk; the burning sun beat
down on our heads, and the heated ground and heavy sand made our
progress intensely laborious.

As we approached the camp, at every step the crowd grew denser. El
Obeid was now visible a short way off, and the sight of the houses and
trees was a pleasant break in the monotony of this desolate wilderness.
The continuous rattle of the bullets, interrupted by the thunder of the
cannon, was an indication that a brisk engagement was going on. As we
entered the camp, the crowd was so enormous that we were almost choked
with the dust that was raised, and soon became thoroughly exhausted. Our
brother Mariani, who was sick at the time we left Delen, could keep up
no longer, and we were obliged to almost car