by
Baker Pasha. Egypt, under the advisement of the British government, then
attempted to withdraw from the Sudan. It was decided that the western
provinces of Kordofan and Dafur should be abandoned, but that important
centres like Khartum on the Nile should be preserved, at least for
a time. Here all the Egyptian colonists were to congregate. If the
revolting Arab tribes, called by the general name of Dervishes, would
not come to friendly terms with the settlers, then, in time, it was
decided that Khartum itself, and every other locality in the Sudan,
should be entirely relinquished, except the ports of the Red Sea.

General Gordon was sent to Khartum to make terms with the Mahdi and
prepare for eventualities. The evacuation of this place was almost
immediately decided upon by the British Cabinet, and Gordon arrived on
February 18, 1884, but, being unsupported by European troops, he found
the position an exceedingly difficult one to maintain. The Mahdi scorned
his overtures, and Osman Digna was daily closing in upon the Egyptian
port of Suakin.

[Illustration: 204.jpg OSMAN DIGNA]

The British then determined to act with vigour. Sinkitat had fallen on
February 8th, and to protect Tokar and Suakin they landed four thousand
men and fought a fierce battle with nine thousand Hadendowas at El - Teb
February 28, 1884. The Egyptian garrison of Tokar, when the British army
arrived, was found to have compromised with the Mahdists. Later on was
fought the battle of Tamai against Osman Digna, during which a body
of Arabs rushed the British guns and broke up the formation of their
square. The British were on the point of defeat, but they managed to
recover the lost guns, and scatter the Hadendowas.

General Gordon's situation was now extremely critical. It was hoped that
an army might advance from Suakin across the desert to Berber, and then
ascend the Nile to Khartum. In the meantime, Gordon urgently called for
help, and, after interminable delays, in the autumn of 1884, an English
army under Lord Wolseley started up the Nile to relieve him. The troops
of Wolseley were aided by a camel corps of one thousand men, who were
organised to make a rush across the desert. On the 16th of January,
1885, the camel troops came up with the enemy and fought the decisive
battle of Matammeh. The Mahdist troops were mown down by rifles and
Gatling-guns as soon as they were within short range. Immediately after
the battle, Sir Charles Wilson de