GORDON AND THE MAHDI. 133 imbibing their own allowances would slash open the mussacks of the soldiers whenever they had the chance.

drink for everybody,and he made for a hole which had not yet been noticed. It proved, however, to be only three or four feet deep, and contained no more than twenty gallons of cool,clean-looking water. The supply seemed so limitedand the requirements were so great, that the guide was driven oft", but, unabashed,he dug a hole withhis hands in the sandy gravel afew feet away, and soonunearthed aflow of turbid water, causing every face to brighten. The soil was evidentlyfull of hidden drink,and pannikins,canteens, water bottles, and horse buckets were soon at work, the mentaking their turn at dipping and drinking the greenish liquid. " The taste," remarked one of the thirsty band, " was not unpleasant, in spite of its odd turtle-soupish appearance and consistency. Before all, it was water, and we drank large draughts until our thirst was quenched. The horses received two bucketsful each, which they quaffed even more greedily than ourselves. The clear water in the well was reserved for the sick, and we found that as we reduced its depth a few- inches, quite pellucid springs began to flow in, refillingit almost as rapidlyas we drew from it. The steady drain and the constant dipping into our own tank disturbedthemud, so thatina short time the green tingemerged into brown,and ultimately into black,such as yousee in Londongutters after heavy rain. With anunquestioningfaithinits virtues we continued to drink the thickened water, inwardly blessing the Arabs for not having poisoned the pool by throwing dead cattleintoit. That afternoonand night the whole force had abundance of beverage, and coffee and tea flowedonce more around our bivouac fires."

Nothing of especial interest befell the column until January 10, when it reached the Hambok wells, where little or no water being found,General Stewart pushed forward to Howeiyah, some eight or ten milesdistant. On arriving there at ten a.m. it was found that the Engineers and Mounted Infantry, whohadbeenleft behind on the previousjourney, had sunk several holes to a depth of nine feet orso in the rough gravel soilneara dry watercourse, and thatsome of these holes contained about six inches of cold opal-coloured water with a chalybeate taste. Unfortunately the holes in question hadbeen practicallydrainedacouple of hourspreviously by themenof ColonelClarke'sconvoy,andmoreespecially by the thirsty Egyptian camel-drivers accompanying that force; so that GeneralStewart's troops had to content themselves withaquart per head for the entireday. Resuming their forward march they reached a grassy plain to the south of the Galif range shortly after sunset, amihere they bivouackeduntilthreea.m. onthefollowing morning. A fresh start was then made, but the heat and the hardship of excessive thirst werebeginning to tell both on men and camels, fully thirty of the latter droppingdeadon the road. Howeverthecolumnbravely perseveredin its course, and the wellsof AbuHaifa were reachedat three in the afternoon.

The firstsightof themprovedextremelydisappointing, for only a little pool of water covered with pea-green scum couldbe perceived;but a guide, who accompanied the Hussars, excitedly shouted that there was enough to On the following morning (January 12) the column THE ABRIVAL OF THE BRITISH COLUMN* AT GAKDUL WELLS.