J. Wodehouse headed off a part of this force from the river
at Argin, and, after a sharp action, completely defeated it, killing
900, among whom were many important amirs, and taking 500 prisoners and
12 banners, with very small loss to his own troops. A British brigade
was on its way up stream, but the sirdar, who had already arrived to
take the command in person, decided not to wait for it. The Egyptian
troops, with a squadron of the 20th Hussars, concentrated at Toski, and
thence, on the 3rd of August, General Grenfell, with slight loss, gained
a decisive victory. Wad en Nejumi, most of his amirs, and more than 1200
Arabs were killed; 4000 prisoners and 147 standards were taken, and the
dervish army practically destroyed. No further serious attempts were
made to disturb the frontier, of which the most southerly outpost was at
once advanced to Sarras.

The escape from Omdurman of Father Ohrwalder and of two of the captive
nuns in December 1891, of Father Rossignoli in October 1894, and of
Slatin Bey in February 1895, revealed the condition of the Sudan to the
outside world, threw a vivid light on the rule of the khalifa, and
corroborated information already received of the discontent which
existed among the tribes with the oppression and despotism under which
they lived.

_The Eastern Sudan._--In 1884 Colonel Chermside, governor of the Red Sea
littoral, entered into arrangements with King John of Abyssinia for the
relief of the beleaguered Egyptian garrisons. Gera, Amadib, Senhit and
Gallabat were, in consequence, duly succoured, and their garrisons and
Egyptian populations brought away to the coast by the Abyssinians in
1885. Unfortunately famine compelled the garrison of Kassala to
capitulate on the 30th of July of that year, and Osman Digna hurried
there from Tamai to raise a force with which to meet the Abyssinian
general, Ras Alula, who was preparing for its relief. By the end of
August Osman Digna had occupied Kufit, in the Barea country, with 10,000
men and entrenched himself. On the 23rd of September Ras Alula attacked
him there with an equal number of men and routed him with great
slaughter. Over 3000 dervishes with their principal amirs, except Osman
Digna, lay dead on the field, and many more were killed in the pursuit.
The Abyssinians lost 40 officers and 1500 men killed, besides many more
wounded. Instead of marching on to Kassala, Ras Alula, who at this time
was much offended by the transfer of Massawa