* * * * *
FROM MAY, 1898, TO THE FINAL DESTRUCTION OF THE DERVISH POWER
(END OF 1899).
After the battle of the Atbara (8th April, 1898), the Khalifa
concentrated his forces at Omdurman, and began making every
preparation for resistance. The chief outlying force of Dervishes
was one of between 5,000 and 6,000 men at and round Gedaref, under
Ahmed Fedil, and these, after moving towards Mahmud, had returned to
Gedaref. In addition to these, there were small Dervish garrisons
at places up the river; at Bor (Upper White Nile, 1,200); and in
Kordofan.
Meanwhile the Anglo-Egyptian preparations went on steadily, and by
the 24th August the following troops were moving along the western
bank of the 6th Cataract:—
British Troops (under Major-General Gatacre):—
21st Lancers.
32nd Field and 37th Howitzer Batteries, R.A.
1st Brigade (1st Warwicks, Lincolns, Camerons and Seaforths,
with 6 Maxims, and a detachment R.E.)—Wauchope.
2nd Brigade (1st Grenadier Guards and Northumberland Fusiliers,
2nd Lancashire Fusiliers and Rifle Brigade, with 4 Maxims, and a
detachment R.E.)—Lyttelton.
Egyptian Troops (Major-General Hunter):—
9 Squadrons Cavalry.
1 Horse and 4 Field Batteries.
8 Companies Camel Corps.
10 Maxims.
1st Brigade (2nd, IX, X and XI)—Macdonald.
2nd Brigade (8th, XII, XIII and XIV)—Maxwell.
3rd Brigade (3rd, 4th, 7th and 15th)—Lewis.
4th Brigade (1st, 5th, 17th, and 18th)—Collinson.Besides Camel
Transport, Medical Corps, O.S.C., &c.
Grand Total, about 23,000 men.
The river force consisted of a flotilla of 10 armoured gunboats,
including two 40-pounder guns, besides other steamers, boats and
barges.
No resistance was encountered up to Kereri.
[Sidenote: Battle of Omdurman.]
On the 2nd September the army, in zeriba at Egeiga, 8 miles from
Omdurman, was attacked by the Khalifa in force, but repulsed him
with heavy slaughter. The Anglo-Egyptian Army then proceeded towards
Omdurman, but was fiercely attacked again, twice on the right rear
(Macdonald’s brigade). By our troops wheeling to the right, this
final attack was completely repulsed, chiefly through the steadiness
of the 1st Egyptian Brigade, and the army continued its march,
capturing Omdurman with little or no resistance. The Khalifa fled a
few minutes before the Sirdar entered his house. The Anglo-Egyptian
loss was as follows:—
British Troops:—
3 officers and 24 men killed.
8 „ „ 125 „ wounded.
Egyptian Troops:—
2 „ „ 27 „ killed.
15 „ „ 286 „ wounded.
The dead bodies of 10,560 Dervishes were counted on the battlefield.
The result of the battle was the practical annihilation of the
Khalifa’s army—estimated at over 40,000 men—the consequent
extinction of Mahdism in the Sudan, and the submission of nearly
the whole country formerly under Egyptian authority.
The British troops were now quickly sent down-stream, and the
Sirdar—shortly afterwards elevated to the Peerage under the name
of Lord Kitchener of Khartoum—turned his attention to stamping
out the remaining Dervishes, to reducing the country to some sort
of order, and to exploring up-stream, with a view of meeting the
French expedition under Major Marchand, which had been reported as
having arrived at Kodok.
[Illustration: THE MAHDI’S TOMB, MORNING AFTER THE BATTLE OF 2ND
SEPTEMBER, 1898.]
[Sidenote: Kodok.]
On the 10th September the Sirdar left Omdurman for the south with
5 gunboats, 2 Sudanese Battalions (XI and XIII), 100 Camerons,
an Egyptian battery, etc., and having destroyed a Dervish force of
700 at Renk on the 15th, found, on the 19th, the French expedition
entrenched at Kodok. This gallant little force of about 180 men had,
after experiencing enormous difficulties in the swampy region of the
Bahr el Ghazal, penetrated, with the help of its steam-launch, the
“Faidherbe,” the country between the Nile-Congo watershed and
Kodok, and had arrived at this latter point on the 10th July. On
the 25th August they had been attacked by a Dervish force in 2
steamers, but had repulsed them, and were awaiting a second attack,
when the Egyptian gunboats arrived and probably saved them from
annihilation.[198]
The British and Egyptian flags were at once hoisted to the south of
the French flag at Kodok, and the XIth Battalion, a gunboat and 4 guns
were left at this point under Major Jackson. After much negotiation
between France and England, which threatened at one time to lead
to serious results between the two Powers, the French position was
found to be untenable, and Kodok was eventually evacuated on the
11th December by Marchand and his companions, the latter proceeding
to Jibuti, _viâ_ the Sobat and Abyssinia, and eventually reached
France in May 1899.
[Sidenote: Sobat.]
[Sidenote: Meshra el Rek.]
The junction of the Sobat and Nile was reached on the 20th September,
and a garrison (the XIIIth Battalion) left here under Captain
Gamble. The Bahr el Jebel was found entirely closed by sudd, but a
gunboat under Major Peake was sent up the Bahr el Ghazal, and hoisted
the Egyptian flag a few miles north of Meshra el Rek. Subsequently
the Bahr el Zeraf was explored by Major Stanton for a distance of 175
miles, and the Sobat was explored by Majors Gamble, Maxse, Capper,
etc., up to the 282nd mile, both these rivers and their tributaries
being mapped and their courses laid down provisionally.
[Sidenote: Blue Nile.]
Immediately after the occupation of Omdurman gunboats were sent to
patrol the Blue Nile, and a force of 600 men (Xth Battalion) and the
R.I.F. Maxim detachment was despatched under Major-General Hunter,
on the 19th September, to occupy Sennar, Karkoj, and Roseires, which
was done on the 23rd September, 1st October, and 30th September
respectively.
[Sidenote: Battle of Gedaref. (22.9.98).]
On the 22nd September, Colonel Parsons, who had left Kassala on
the 7th, and crossed the Atbara in flood with a force[199] of about
1,400 men, to occupy Gedaref, came into collision with its garrison
of about 3,200 men, a few miles north of the town, and, beating off
two desperate attacks, with a loss of 53 killed and 61 wounded out
of 1,347, advanced and occupied the place.
Ahmed Fedil himself, who with about half the original garrison had
previously left Gedaref in response to a summons from the Khalifa
to reinforce him against the main advance on Omdurman, encountered
General Hunter and the gunboats on the Blue Nile near Rufaa, and
realising that Omdurman must have fallen, resolved to return at once
and retake his headquarters at Gedaref, where he arrived at dawn on
28th September with some 4,000 to 5,000 men.
[Illustration: THE LATE EMIR AHMED FEDIL.]
After two determined efforts to dislodge the Anglo-Egyptian troops,
now safely ensconced in several walled enclosures, he withdrew
after heavy loss to the village of Sofi on the Abu Haraz road,
barely two miles from our forts. Here he remained for three days
quietly collecting cattle and grain from the outskirts of the town
and then moved to Asar, 10 miles south of Gedaref.
On receipt of the news at Omdurman of the state of affairs at Gedaref,
Lieut.-Colonel Collinson was despatched to Abu Haraz with a force
of about 1,100 Camel Corps and Sudanese Infantry with 2 Maxims, and
arrived at Gedaref on the 21st October. Two days after the arrival
of these reinforcements Ahmed Fedil began his move westwards _viâ_
Beila and Hawata to Roseires, his march being dogged by friendlies
under command of the recently surrendered Emir Abu Bakr Mustafa.
Efforts were then directed, through gunboats on the Blue Nile, to
prevent him crossing that river with a view to joining the Khalifa,
at that time near Sherkeila.
[Sidenote: Action near Roseires (26.12.98).]
These were eventually successful, for Colonel Lewis, hearing from
Roseires that the enemy were about to make the attempt to cross close
by, marched with a small column (Xth Battalion and Friendlies), on
the night of Christmas day, and in spite of the troops suffering
much from fever, they, in a severe action on the following day,
cut up most of Fedil’s force as they were crossing the river near
Dakhila, the leader and a few hundred men only escaping. About 500
Dervishes were killed,[200] whilst 1 British officer was wounded
and 24 Egyptian Sudanese were killed and 118 wounded. Most of the
remaining Dervishes subsequently surrendered on the White Nile.
[Sidenote: Occupation of Gallabat.]
As the Abyssinians were becoming alarmed in consequence of our
advance, and threatened trouble on their north-west frontier, a
small body of troops was despatched from Gedaref to Gallabat, under
Lieut.-Colonel Collinson, and hoisted the British and Egyptian flags
alongside the Abyssinian one already flying on the old fort there
(7th December).
[Sidenote: Occupation of Fazogli.]
Fazogli and Famaka were also occupied by a small force under
Lieut.-Colonel Nason, on the 22nd January, and friendly overtures
were made to the Abyssinians in the neighbourhood, with completely
successful results.
On 19th January, 1899, an agreement was signed between Great Britain
and Egypt, defining the status of the Sudan, and laying down broad
principles for its government (_see_ p. 283).
[Sidenote: Reconnaissance to Sherkeila.]
Meanwhile, it having been determined to dislodge the Khalifa
if possible from his position near Sherkeila, Col. W. Kitchener
started with a force of 2,007 regulars[201] and 1,650 irregulars
from Fachi Shoya on the 25th January for that place. On reaching the
neighbourhood of Sherkeila, 30th January, 1899, the Dervish force
was found to be occupying a strong position, and was estimated at
over 6,000 men. After consideration, no attack was made, and the
force returned to the river.
[Sidenote: Movements of Khalifa.]
During February reports were received that the Khalifa intended
to attack Omdurman, but he made no forward movement, and remained
in the neighbourhood of Sherkeila for some months. Many of his men
deserted him owing to scarcity of food, and the neighbouring tribes
harried him considerably.
[Sidenote: Patrols.]
Several further river-patrols were undertaken during the spring
towards the Bahr el Jebel, but the sudd still prevented progress
up that river. Another patrol pushed up to the farthest navigable
limit of the Baro.
[Sidenote: 1899. Operations against Khalifa.]
The Khalifa remained at Sherkeila till the beginning of May, when,
finding himself short of food, he moved south, with about 3,000
men, in the direction of Jebel Gedir. During July and August he
remained near Jebel Gurun, raiding for food in various directions,
and being harassed by the Gowama and other Arab tribes. He reached
Jebel Gerada, 6 miles north of Jebel Gedir, towards the end of August,
and preparations were made in September for an expedition to capture
or dislodge him.
[Sidenote: Kaka expedition.]
Based on Kaka, the advanced guard of the force of 8,000 men reached
Fungor, 50 miles inland, but the Khalifa had escaped north on the
16th October, and gave out his intention of marching on Omdurman,
_viâ_ Dueim. A flying column in gunboats under Colonel Lewis was
quickly organised to follow and head him off from the river; but the
enemy did not proceed much farther north than opposite Goz Abu Guma.
[Sidenote: Gedid expedition.]
By the middle of November orders were given for an expedition to
attack the Khalifa in the direction of Gedid, and a flying column[202]
of 3,700 men, under Colonel Sir R. Wingate, left Fachi Shoya on the
21st November.
On the 22nd contact was established with Ahmed Fedil’s force at
Abu Aadel. The column attacked and seized his camp, inflicting an
estimated loss of over 400 in killed alone, and capturing all the
grain which he was bringing to the Khalifa.
[Sidenote: Battle of Um Debreikat and death of Khalifa, 24.11.99.]
A night march followed to Gedid, and this place, containing water, was
reached at 10 A.M. on the 23rd. The Khalifa’s position was located
at Um Debreikat, 7 miles to the south-east, and another midnight march
brought the column to within two miles of his camp. After repelling
a furious attack in the semi-darkness (5 A.M.), our troops drove
the enemy back on to their camp, killing large numbers of them,
including the Khalifa, Ali Wad Helu, Ahmed Fedil, and many other
important Emirs, who, on seeing the day lost, had calmly seated
themselves on their sheep-skins and awaited death. 3,000 prisoners,
besides 6,000 women and children, were taken, and the Dervish loss
by death was estimated at another 600.
The total loss of the Egyptian Column was 4 killed and 29 wounded
men. This victory finally stamped out the Dervish dominion in
the Sudan.
[Sidenote: Khalifa Sherif.]
[Sidenote: Rebellion and death.]
Meanwhile, in August, it was discovered that the Khalifa Sherif,
who had been permitted to live on parole near Wad Medani, was again
preaching Mahdism, and had collected a number of followers. The
movement was promptly quashed by Captain N. M. Smyth, V.C., who
surrounded his village on the 27th August and captured him. He was
then tried by court-martial and shot.
[Sidenote: Railway.]
During the year the railway had been steadily progressing; on the
26th August the Atbara bridge was opened, and on the last day of
the year the railway reached Khartoum North.
[Sidenote: Kordofan.]
El Obeid was occupied by Colonel Mahon, D.S.O., on the 17th
December. It was found to be in ruins. Steps were at once taken
for opening up Kordofan, the inhabitants evincing much pleasure at
the re-occupation.
[Sidenote: Darfur.]
Ali Dinar, with the sanction of the Government, took over the
Sultanate of Darfur, and proceeded to consolidate his position;
in this he had a good deal of difficulty, owing to the tribes in
the west and south refusing to recognise his authority.
[Illustration: AFTER UM DEBREIKAT: BODY OF THE KHALIFA IN THE
FOREGROUND.]
EXPEDITIONS FROM UGANDA.
Meanwhile Lieut.-Colonels Macdonald and Martyr, having quelled the
mutiny of Sudanese troops in Uganda, pushed forward from that region
in two small columns during the summer and autumn of 1898. Macdonald,
starting from Mount Elgon, and marching across country, reached
Latuka in September, and having made friends with the chiefs in
this district, returned to Uganda in November. Martyr, proceeding
down the Nile, reached Bedden and Rejaf in November, and, assisted
by the Congo Free State troops, pushed on to Bor, where a Dervish
garrison had been posted since March, 1897. On hearing of the advance
of white troops, the Dervishes under Arabi Wad Dafaalla fled in a
north-west direction. Martyr, hearing that the sudd extended from
Shambe to Lake No, and recognising that no gunboat from down stream
could join hands with him for many months to come, whilst the country
around had been desolated by the enemy, retired again to Bedden, and
formed posts at Fort Berkeley, Afuddo, and Wadelai (spring of 1899).
ANGLO-FRENCH AGREEMENT.[203]
The Marchand column had, on its way to Kodok, proceeded down the Sueh
river to Meshra el Rek, and had left small posts along its route
at Tembura and many other places, even in the Rumbek country.[204]
After the evacuation of Kodok, however, negotiations were entered
into by the British and French Governments, and in consequence of an
Agreement dated 21st March, 1899, all French territorial claim to the
Bahr el Ghazal was relinquished, and the line separating the spheres
of influence was drawn northwards along the Congo-Nile watershed,
thence between the territories of Darfur and Wadai, and thence in
a north-west direction up to the frontier of Tripoli.
AFFAIRS IN ABYSSINIA.
Reference must here be made to affairs in Abyssinia, which have some
bearing on Sudan matters.
After the Abyssinian victory over the Italians at Adua (1st March,
1896), the importance of the country began to attract much attention
in Europe. Missions were sent from France and Russia to enter into
friendly relations with the new Power, and in 1897, a British
Mission under Mr. Rodd was despatched for the same purpose. A
friendly treaty was concluded on the 14th May, but little progress
in the way of commerce was made for some time. The French, whose
merchants had been for many years established at the capital, Addis
Abbaba, fitted out an expedition under Captain Clochette (late Marine
Artillery) in the spring of 1897, which proceeded in the direction
of the White Nile. Clochette died, and De Bonchamps, who succeeded
him in the command, after many difficulties reached the Baro river,
and eventually marched down it to the Sobat. It is difficult to say
how far he penetrated, but the want of a boat and of supplies, the
vast marshes, fever, and desertions of his followers, formed together
such insurmountable obstacles that he was, after a gallant struggle,
obliged to turn back (31st December, 1897) without reaching the Nile.
During 1897 an Abyssinian expedition was organised under Ras Makunnen,
of Harrar, to subdue a rising in Beni Shangul. Without coming to a
pitched battle, Wad Tur el Guri was defeated in detail, and most of
this country was occupied in the spring of 1898.
In the early summer of 1898 another Abyssinian Expedition came down
from the hills towards the Sobat and Nile. It was composed of 3,000 to
4,000 men, mostly armed with rifles, under Dejaj Tesemma. About half
the men were mounted, and it is believed that some guns accompanied
them. With the expedition were three Europeans—M. Faivre (French),
Col. Artomonoff (Russian), and M. Potter (Swiss—subsequently
killed).
Part of this force arrived at Waratong, on the Pibor, about June,
and pushed on to the White Nile, _viâ_ Nasser, and the left bank
of the Sobat. It arrived at Sobat mouth at the end of June, only
a few days before Marchand and his companions passed that point in
their boats. Owing, it is reported, to the death of Tesemma,[205]
the expedition returned almost immediately, apparently by the same
way it had come, to the south of Waratong and the Kum Kum (or Kung
Kung) country.
The victory of Omdurman and our subsequent successes appear to
have impressed the Abyssinians, and a revolt by Mangasha, of Tigre,
coupled perhaps with some uneasiness as to his possessions in the
north-west of his kingdom, induced the Emperor Menelik to lead a
large army into Tigre in the late autumn of 1898.
Mangasha was, however, quickly suppressed; the relations of the
Negûs with England and Egypt continued to be of the most friendly
character, and these were further accentuated by the news of the
death of the Khalifa in November, 1899.
THE FRENCH ADVANCE INTO THE BAHR EL GHAZAL, ETC.
(Taken from French sources.)[206]
“When the Franco-Congolese agreement of 14th July, 1894, was
concluded, the French had little difficulty in taking over the
territory that had been occupied by the Belgians. Three companies of
Senegalese _tirailleurs_—in effective force 175 men each—formed
the regular military forces, and to these were joined, after a while,
the native militia that had been recruited by the Belgians. Captains
Vermot, Ditte, and Hossinger successively proceeded to take possession
of the fortified posts still in the hands of the agents of the Congo
State, and it was thus that M. Liotard was able, on his return
to the Congo, at the beginning of 1895, after a seven months’
absence in France, to occupy as Commissioner of the Republic, and
Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Ubangi, the important centre Zemio,
on the 10th July, situated at 248 miles from the confluence of the
M’Bomu with the Welle. Consequently, he was able to control the
N’Sakarras and Azande tribes, whose chiefs, Bangassu, Rafaï,
and Zemio, are now faithful allies of France.
“Once these territories were placed under direct French control,
M. Liotard proceeded to carry out the initial programme of penetrating
towards the Nile, and began to push forward the occupation of the
Bahr El Ghazal Province, the rights over which, acquired by their
treaty with England of 12th May, 1894, had been ceded to France by
the Belgian Congolese.
“In February, 1896, M. Liotard, accompanied by Captain Hossinger,
arrived at Tembura, where he was warmly received by the Azande
Sultan. A post was established, and Captain Hossinger put in
command. He was assassinated some months afterwards, 6th July, by a
Senegalee belonging to the garrison. This did not modify in the least
the political situation. M. Liotard had gained such an ascendency
over the natives, that French authority was as firmly established
as if it had been preceded by a vigorous military campaign.
“Moreover the personal influence of the Lieutenant-Governor
impressed itself equally on his white fellow-workers.
[Sidenote: In the Bahr El Ghazal Province—Marchand Mission.]
“It was thus that at the beginning of 1896, French political
action had penetrated beyond the ridge of the Congo Basin, and
had made itself felt in the Bahr El Ghazal Province, that is,
in the Basin of the Nile. Captain Marchand therefore had had
nothing to do with this, as it was only on the 25th June, 1896,
practically four months after the occupation of Tembura, that this
officer embarked at Marseilles. With him were Captains Baratier,
Germain, Mangin, Lieutenant Largeau, Naval-Lieutenant Morin,
Midshipman Dyé, Landerouin, interpreter Dr. Emily, 12 French
non-commissioned officers, and 150 Senegalese _tirailleurs_. He
had at his disposition two small steamers, the ‘Faidherbe’
and the ‘Duc d’Uzés,’ and three barges made of aluminium,
the ‘Pleigneur,’ ‘Crampel,’ and the ‘Lauzière.’
“On the 23rd July, 1896, Marchand disembarked at Loango, and set to
work to send forward the members of his staff and his material. The
task was difficult, as the tribes between Loango and Brazzaville
were in rebellion.
“On the 27th September, the head of the Mission arrived at Loudima,
155 miles from Brazzaville, in a dying condition. However, he pulled
through, and on the 19th October he was on his feet again. The
country had been pacified, and transports were able to get through,
so that by the 1st March, 1897, Captain Marchand was able to leave
Brazzaville and to reach the Upper Ubangi.
“Everything here was prepared for his forward march. M. Liotard
having opened up on the east the road from Zemio to Tembura, had
also freed the road to the north. To effect this, he had taken
possession of Deim Zubeir, in June, 1897, formerly the residence
of Lupton Bey when he commanded the Bahr El Ghazal. Thus Captain
Marchand had the choice of two roads for reaching the Nile—the way
by Zemio—Tembura, with the River Sueh for his flotilla, or the way
of Zemio—Deim Zubeir, with the Bahr El Homr. Captain Marchand chose
the first, and by tremendous exertions, lasting over eight months,
all the material (boats, stores and ammunition) was concentrated
near Tembura, in Fort Hossinger on the banks of the Sueh. This was
in the last days of 1897.
“Marchand then chose Kojali as his point of embarkation. It is
situated on the Sueh (about 50 miles N.N.E. from Fort Hossinger),
and he connected it with Méré[207] by a road over 16 feet wide
and 99 miles in length—a gigantic work. He built a dockyard at
Kojali, with slips, for repairing his boats; then, 4 miles above the
confluence of the Wau and the Sueh, he built Fort Desaix,[208] near
the old Kuchuk Ali, and, in order to connect this with Kojali, he
established the ‘Rapides’ station (Rafili), latitude N. 6° 52″.
“In the month of November, 1897, the whole mission was
established on this solid base of operations, with the two gunboats
‘Faidherbe’ and ‘Nil,’ and ten barges built of steel and
aluminium.
“Marchand, from his headquarters, Fort Desaix, set himself to
convert the pronounced hostility of the Dinkas (estimated at 5,000,000
(?)) into a more amicable attitude, by making them understand that
he had not come to raid them in the name of the Sultan Tembura.
“In February, 1898, the announcement that a party of whites
coming from the south had arrived at Ayak, on the Naam or Rohl
River, determined Marchand to put his troops in motion, and this
had an excellent moral effect on the population. Lieutenant Gouly
was sent to occupy M’Bia, two days’ march from Ayak and Rumbek,
but he unhappily died there of an attack of bilious hematuric fever;
Captain Germain marched from the ‘Rapides’ post towards the Tonj,
where the post of observation Diabéré was established; Captain
Mangin went from Fort Desaix to Jur Ghattas; while a reinforcement
of 100 _tirailleurs_, armed with ‘Gras’ carbines, arrived at
Fort Desaix from Deim Zubeir. All the native chiefs then sent to
Fort Desaix with offers of help.
“On the 26th March, Captain Baratier and the interpreter Landerouin
returned from a reconnaissance which they had made as far as the
confluence of the Bahr El Arab and up to Lake Nô, while Captain
Largeau had explored the Bahr El Homr and made a survey of the course
of the River Wau.
“At this time Captain Marchand occupied the following centres in
the Basin of the Bahr El Ghazal:—Tembura, Kojali, les Rapides,
Fort Desaix, Meshra El Rek, Bahr El Arab, Rumbek, Jur Ghattas,
M’Bia, and Ayak. It was then that he wrote:—
“‘I hold now, in the Basin of the Bahr El Ghazal—that is, of
the Nile—an all-powerful position. I have seven barges or steel
boats, a steamer under way, fifteen canoes made by my _tirailleurs_,
able to take me wherever I wish in the Basin of the Nile, where the
first French steamer has now penetrated in spite of obstacles and
every hostility.
“‘But do not think that our position is altogether an agreeable
one. First of all, we are dying of hunger, and for a long time we have
depended almost exclusively on what we shoot for food. You know that
starvation was the cause of the disaster in this neighbourhood to the
Dhanis[209] expedition. Locusts have ravaged the few plantations of
the Bongo natives on which we were depending, and my own plantations
are also destroyed. How are we going to reach the Nile? Shall we be
forced to eat the _ambach_ of the marshes? And then, if it were only
the question of pushing quickly through with my boats, it would be
little. But the problem is much more difficult. One must not pass
through here only. The march through a country does not constitute a
right to the country traversed. It must be an _effective_ occupation,
etc.’
“In spite of all these obstacles, Marchand and his companions
arrived at Kodok on the 10th July, not without having had to do with
the Dervishes. Three different times were they attacked by them in
large numbers, but the rifles of the Senegalese _tirailleurs_ soon
caused great havoc in their ranks, and they fled, leaving their dead
behind them. Thus the French Mission was able to establish itself
at Kodok.”
[Illustration: THE END OF THE MAHDIST DOMINION.]
[Footnote 198: _See_ end of Chapter for details of this expedition.]
[Footnote 199: Composed of:—16th Battalion, Arab Battalion, Camel
Corps, Irregulars and details, the whole under 8 British officers.]
[Footnote 200: Among them the Emir Sadalla, who commanded the Dervish
force at the first action at Gedaref.]
[Footnote 201: 1 squadron Cavalry, 2 guns and 2 Maxims, 2nd and
XIVth Battalions, &c.]
[Footnote 202: 7th Squadron, 2nd Field Battery, 6 Maxims, 6 Companies
Camel Corps, IXth and XIIIth Sudanese, 1 Company 2nd Battalion,
1 Battalion of Gehadia, etc., etc.]
[Footnote 203: _Vide_ p. 285.]
[Footnote 204: _See_ below (next page).]
[Footnote 205: False report.]
[Footnote 206: Translation from the “Bulletin de la Société de
Géographie de Lyon.”]
[Footnote 207: The highest navigable point on the River Mboku.]
[Footnote 208: Now Wau.]
[Footnote 209: Congo Free State.]