t in
forty minutes the firing was over and the dervish army scattered and
annihilated. With the exception of Osman Digna, who with his usual luck
escaped, and three others, all the important leaders were killed, and
Mahmoud himself taken prisoner. He was found in a hole under his bed! a
rare instance of cowardice among dervishes. Of the British, Captains
Urquhart and Findlay of the Camerons, and Lieutenant Gore of the
Seaforths, who had only recently joined, were killed leading their men
over the trenches, besides 22 non-commissioned officers and men; and 10
officers and 82 non-commissioned officers and men wounded. The Egyptian
army lost 57 officers and men, and 5 British and 16 native officers and
365 non-commissioned officers and men wounded. The dervish losses were
estimated at over 3000 killed at and around the zareba; but of the whole
dervish army but very few, and none of the wounded, could have escaped
to Omdurman,--in fact the army was practically annihilated.

Among the many escapes from spear or bullet that occurred, none are more
curious than those of Corporal Lawrie of the Seaforths, which he related
in a letter home, afterwards published in a daily paper. A bullet took
off the toe of his shoe, his bayonet was bent by a shot; a shot passed
through his sleeve, his rifle was struck by a bullet; a dervish striking
at him with a spear only split his haversack; a shot entered the lid of
his ammunition pouch, passed into his coat pocket, smashing a penknife
and two pencils, tore four holes in his shirt, made a surface wound on
his left breast, and came out near his left shoulder through his coat
and pouch braces.

THE ADVANCE TO KHARTOUM.

After the battle of the Atbara the troops returned to the Nile and went
into summer quarters, waiting for the time of high Nile, when the
advance would be made.

The British troops settled down for a time in camp as in times of peace,
for there was no fear of any dervish force, and were made as comfortable
as possible; and the men, who were all well seasoned and inured to the
climate, spared as much as possible during the heat. But it was a very
busy time with the Egyptians, and especially with the railway brigade,
which, under the able direction of the director of railways, Major
Gerouard, R.E., laboured incessantly to complete the track to Dakhala,
which now became the base and depot of the autumn campaign.

The new gunboats were brought up by rail in sections, an