5th of December 2220 men had reached
Korti, of whom about 800 only had been conveyed by the whale-boats, the
last of which did not arrive till the 27th of January. Beyond Korti lay
the very difficult section of the river to Abu Hamed, which was quite
unknown. Meanwhile news of the loss of the "Abbas" and of the murder of
Colonel J. D. Stewart and his party on the 18th of September had been
received. A letter from Gordon, dated the 4th of November and received
on the 17th of November, stated that his steamers would await the
expedition at Metemma, and added, "We can hold out forty days with ease;
after that it will be difficult." In his diary, on the 13th of December,
when his difficulties had become extreme, he noted that "if the
expeditionary force does not come in ten days, the town may fall."

Stewart's Desert Column; battle of Abu Klea wells.

Failure of relief expedition.

It was clear at Korti that something must be done at once; and on the
13th of December 1100 men, with 2200 camels, under General Sir H.
Stewart, were despatched to occupy Jakdul wells, 96 m. on the desert
route to Metemma. Stewart returned on the 5th of January, and started
again on the 8th, with orders to establish a fort at Abu Klea and to
occupy Metemma. The Desert Column, 1800 men, with 2880 camels in poor
condition and 153 horses, found the enemy in possession of Abu Klea
wells on the 16th, and was desperately attacked on the 17th. The want
of homogeneity of the force, and the unaccustomed tactics imposed upon
the cavalry, somewhat hampered the defence, and the square was broken at
the left rear corner. Driven back upon the camels in the centre, the
troops fought hand to hand with the greatest gallantry. Order was
quickly restored, and the attack was repulsed, with a loss of 74 killed
and 94 wounded. At least 1100 of the enemy were killed. The wells being
occupied and a zeriba formed, the column started on the evening of the
18th. The wrong road was taken, and great confusion occurred, during the
night, but at dawn this was rectified; and after forming a rough fort
under fire, by which General Sir H. Stewart was fatally wounded, an
advance was made at 3 P.M. The square was again heavily attacked, but
the Arabs could not get to close quarters and in the evening a bivouac
was formed on the Nile. The British losses on this day were 23 killed
and 98 wounded. The Desert Column was now greatly exhausted. On the 20th
the village of Gubat wa