WARS OF THE NINETIES. 128 It had already done thirty miles from its last bivouac,but on reachingthe halting-place it was found that the water-holes were dry. The next water was thirty miles in front, but without preparing for its first campaign, and was indeed lessthantwelve months old. It was theyoungest battalion in the native army. It was raised in December, 1897, at Cairo, by Captain H. K.

Matchett,of theEgyptian waiting Abdel Gonwad told his men to push on, and they started after a short rest, and reached the wellssafelyafter doing sixty miles on foot in the twenty-four hours. No wondertheSirdar is proud ofhisEgyptianregiments.

army. The recruits were drawnfrom theprovinces of Upper Egypt — in other words, from the Nilebanks betweenCairo and Assouan. They were tall menof fine physique. The Egyptian peasant has been obeying orders for several thousand years, and drill and discipline become a second nature to him very quickly. At the end of May the new regiment was ready for inspection by the Sirdar on the parade-ground of the Abbasiyeh Barracks outside Cairo. On June 21st it went up to the front, and after some weeks' hard work at the Fifth Cataract it was attached to Collinson's brigade, with which it shared the dangers of the Omdurman fight.

There were some small detachments of Dervish scouts encamped among the hillsby the Shabluka Cataract until the middle of August, and they occasionally exchanged a few harmless shots at long range withEgyptian scouts coming up from Nasri Island. In the third week, just as our advance began, they retiredsouthward.

For the first concentration camp before the passage of the Shabluka defile the Sirdar had selected a point on the left bank above Nasri Island, known as Wad Hamed. It was close to Wad Habeshi, where in 1885 the Dervishes had their battery which Lord Charles Beresford so pluckily engaged when he went to the rescue ot Sir Charles Wilson's shipwrecked expedition. The Egyptian and Soudanesetroopswerepushed on to this point by river before the British bri-A feat performedbyanother regiment, the Jth Egyptians, shows of what splendid material the fellahin battalions are composed. The regiment wasingarrisonat Suakin, and was orderedto reach the front by marching to Berberalongtheold desert caravanroute. It is one of the regiments which has no white officers. With a company of the "THE line o* Communications— t%q8-camel corps it marched out under command of its Colonel, Abdel Gonwad Bey, and did the 2Q0 miles across the desert in fifteen days. No column of troops had ever done the distance so quickly. On one day half the battalion performed a record march. The detachment was crossing the nearly waterless stretch ofrocky desertbetween Ariab andBerber.

A large convoy of camels, gades went up. A large convoy of camels, accompanied by most of the artillery horses, marched from theAtbara campon August 16th, troops, stores and camels being ferried over the Nile, and marching up the left bank. They were escorted by the 21st Lancers, under the command of ColonelMartin.

By the time this column marched off ths