GORDON AND THE MAHDI. 155 hearingthat Sir HerbertStewart was wounded. General Buller's originalinstructions were to seizeMatamahand march uponBerber, and for this purpose the column was tobe reinforcedby the RoyalIrish andthe Light Camel Corps;but events were moving fast, and in lieu of a fresh advance a general retreat was decided upon. Accordingly on reaching the camp near Matamah on February12,Sir Redvers Buller immediatelyordered an evacuation, and everything was prepared for the retreat across the Bayuda desert. The woundedwere the first to be sent off, the convoy again being placedunder the commandof ColonelTalbot. Starting on February 13, theparty covered a distance of eleven miles and then haltedfor thenight. On thefollowingmorningjust after breakfast, and when the troops were ready to march, an attack was made by some Arabs, whowereontheir wayto reinforceMatamah. Flankingparties were immediately thrownout to protect the convoy,and skirmishedagainst the enemyin the bush, the Heavies eventually forming square on the right front of the column. Fortunately about this time Colonel Stanley Clark and the Light CamelCorps, en route for Gubat, arrived on the scene.

At first the escort of the woundedtook them for a fresh party of the enemy and firedupon them,but the mistake waseventually found out, and the Arabs retiredtit the sight of this unexpectedreinforcement.;: The transport of the wounded across the Bayuda desert was mainlyeffectedby the Turkish andEgyptian soldiers whohadjoined the British force whenGordon's admiral and the steamers reached Abu Kru.* On the CONVEYING WOUNDED SOLDIERS ACROSS THE BAYUDA DESERT.