88 THE DOWNFALL OF THE DERVISHES and the indifferent water, though the wear and tear removed every ounce of superfluous flesh, and reduced our men to the condition of those “Jean and wiry dogs” which Plato regarded as a model in the selection of his Republican warriors.

The Sudanese, on the other hand, grumbled a good deal. Their conception of military discipline and obedience are somewhat rudimentary, and manual labour is distasteful to them. The discontent which was caused in their ranks by what they deemed excessive fatigue work culminated finally in a number of desertions. In Wad Hamed alone there were, I believe, no less than twenty cases of desertion, and three at least of the scoundrels were recaptured and shot. The deserters were doubtless making off southwards to join the Khalifa, for the life of a Baggara Dervish in prosperous times—-a mere round of eating, sleeping, and fighting—would form an ideal existence in the eyes of an animal like the average Sudanese soldier.

On the other hand, a constant stream of fugitives began to reach the camp from the south; in Wad Hamed there were some