WARS OF THE NINETIES. 50 few miles out;the maps available were full of errors; thenative guides with the columns had never before been employed with troops, and they were misleadingon points where accuracywas essential. They hadonly the vaguestideas of distance, of the kind of ground to be travelled over,of the time and place where water would be found,-where animals could graze, or where there was shade for the halting troops."

The first march was continued till half-past three a.m.,sixteen and ahalf milesbeingcovered, the column striking across a bend of the river, andreaching its bank again at Meshra-el-Obeid on the Fourth Cataract. There was no moon, of the event leaving the frontier, the expedition assembled in the last week of July at Kassingar, an outpost a few miles from Merowe, on the right or north bank of the Nile, the opposite bank to that by which Earle started on his advance in 1885. Hunter's column was about 3,000 strong. There were four battalions of infantry— the 3rd Egyptians and the 9th, 10th, and nth Soudanese— abattery of field artillery and a troop of cavalry, and two Maxim guns. The transportconsistedof 1,200 camels carrying eighteen days' food and forage. This convoy was in charge ofLieutenant Healey, to whose lot fell some of the hardest work of the expedition.

No supplies,except perhaps a littlegrazing for the animals. could be obtained along the route, and depots of forage and food had to be left at various points, so that the camelsreturning toKassingar for further supplies might be ted on the wayback. These questions of supply are even moreimportant in the desert campaignsof theSoudan than in warfare in a civilised and cultivated country.

The start of the flying column from Kassingar was madeat half-past five on the evening of Thursday, July 29th. There were less than two hours of daylight available, but it had been deand no water on the route till the river was reached. Next day the start was made a little earlier, at half-past three in the afternoon, and continued till nine at night. In the darkness of the last twohours the troops several timeslost their way, and the difficulties of the desert march may be judged from the fact that the result of nearly six hours' toiling among sand and rocks wasa progress of only eight miles, the halting-place beingShebebat,on theNile bank. On July 31st, the third dav of the advance,it was resolved to try a march entirely by daylight,such had been the MAJOR-r.ENERAI, RUNDI.E iPhoto: Russell & Sons,) cided to march late and push forward in the darkness in order to spare men, horses, and camels the burning heat of the tropical sun. There were no correspondents with thecolumn, and the best account of its movements available is contained in some notes published by Major Arthur Griffithsin an article in the Fortnightly Renew for October,1897. Major Griffiths states that he gives the account of the expedition as it reached him "in a letter from the highest authority." The following narrative is basedon this account, supplemented as regards the battle of AbuHamed from other sources:— "The difficultiesof the road," says the writer, "were soon apparent. It bore away from the river, the bank being nearly impassable, intersected with deep ravines, covered with rocks and masses of thorn bush;the'going ' wasbad, heavy sand with boulders interspersed. None ot the officers knew the country, except for a difficulties experienced in the previous night marches. The column marched off at 5.30 a.m., movingfirst by a desert track to Abu Haras and then along the Nile bank to its haltingplace at Bana, which it reached at 10.30. The total distance covered was only nine miles in five hours, and even with this slow rate of marching the troops were much exhausted by the heat. " Now the chief hardship began to be experienced— the want of sleep. Rest was almost impossible with little or no shade or protection from the intolerable sun, the heat and glare all intensified by one of the plagues of old Egypt— myriads of maddening flies."

Another daylight march of nine miles was made on August 1st to Howsh-el-Gerun,nine miles in all, over a better track. And now came. a difficulty. Officers sent on to reconnoitre the country immediately in front reportedthe track