WARS OF THE NINETIES. 78 rest were sent on to the hospital in the fort at thejunction of the rivers. zereba was then formed by cutting down and collecting thorn bushes, so as to make a wide hedgeof closely tangled andprickly branches all round the camp. For eight miles down to the fort, and for another eight miles up stream, the banks and fords of the Atbara were watched by the cavalry and thecamel corps,and a screenof outposts guarded the desert front of the camp, wdiich,however,was safefrom anythingbutsmall parties of raiders, so long asMahmoud's army was on the other side of the Atbara. Now that the Sirdar had established his whole army in a strongposition at Hudi,the Dervish general had to choose between fighting his way across the river— a hopeless enterprise— or crossing much higher up,and thus considerablylengthening the desertmarch on Berber.

There was another brush with the enemy's cavalry between sevenandeight on theTuesday morning. FourhundredDervishhorsemen were seenreconnoitring the outpost line,and a squadron of cavalry,supported by the 13th Soudanese infantry under Colonel Collinson, was sent out against them. The enemy retired so rapidlv that the cavalry did not charge them,but some well-directed volleys from Collinson's Soudanese emptied a good many saddles. During the skirmish, as it was thought that this second appearance of the Baggara horsemenmeant that Mahmoud's army was close behind them, the wholeof the Sirdar's four brigades stood to their arms. They were formed up in a slightly different orderfrom thatadoptedon the Sunday. MacDonald'sSoudanese wereon theright,in the bush near theAtbara,Gatacre'sBritishbattalions in the centre, Maxwell's brigade on the left, Lewis's Egyptian brigade behind it in reserve.

Thus, the right rested on the river, and if an enemy had appeared on the desert flank he would have found twro brigades there ready to face him.

This latter course was that which Mahmoud and Osman Digna adopted. They crossednearly thirty miles up the Atbara, and there is some reasonto believethat until theyhad so far committed themselves to action they were not awarethat the Sirdar had brought up his white battalionsor concentrated so largea force on the lower course of theriver. Meanwhile, from the camp at Ras-el-Hudi scouting parties were sent out in all directions to feel for the Dervishes. The first contact with the enemy tookplace at oneo'clock on Monday afternoon.

In this formation the army began to advance at nine o'clock, and moved slowly forward, expecting every moment to hear that the cavalry was in touch with Mahmoud's main body. The pipes of the Highland regiments enlivened the march. With occasional halts this advance went on for nearly two hours,the men eagerly anticipating a battle before sundown. Butat eleven the cavalry sentin word that the enemy's scouts had retired up the Atbara, and there was no sign of his main body being on the move. So the order wasgiven to return to the Ras-el-Hudi camp, about four miles distant.

Two squadrons of Egyptian cavalry under Captains Baring andPersse were reconnoitring in the dense clumps and thickets of bush that cover the bank of the Atbara, nearthe deserted villageofAbadar, a few milesup-streamfrom the zereba. Baring's squadron,with a screen of outpostsin front of it, was in advance. Persse was in support a little nearer the camp. Suddenly through the bush there came a rush ofDervish horsemen, Baggara warriors, mounted on their wiry little horses and armed with the broadbladed spear. The outposts were driven in,but Persse with his squadrongalloped up to thehelp of his comrade, and fighting hand to hand with spear, lance, sword and pistol, the Egyptian squadrons drove the Dervishes back through the bush.

On the Tuesday night the outposts could see in their front a number of Dervish watch-fires burning here and there in the desert,and again the hope revivedthat Mahmoud wasadvancing. On the Wednesday morning the Sirdar tried a different plan. It was suggested that if the Dervish leader was anywhere in the neighbourhood,and hesitating to attack, he was as likely as not to be deterred from coming on by seeing the whole army moving out in battle array ready to meet him. So the Sirdar tried to draw him on by sending out only a portion of his force. Lewis'sEgyptian battalionswereselected to play the part of live-bait for the Dervishes. Early on Wednesday they marched along the Atbara, accompanied by some squadrons of The running fight lasted for nearly four miles, the enemynever oncemaking a successful stand. Towards its close thehorse battery came up from the campandcompleted the rout of the retreating Dervish cavalry by bursting a few of its heavy shells among them. The Egyptian loss was seven killed and eight wounded. The wounded were brought into the camp in the evening. Two of mem died next day. The