GORDON AND THE MAHDI. 30

them before the mistake was discovered. Then Salah Aga was received by the people with tremendous re- joicings; a day of terrible anxietyhad passed, and they

almost worshippedthe manwho had savedthem. They crowded round him to kiss his clothes, and sang his praises withall the signs of oriental emotion."

Nevertheless the position of the Vice-Governor at Abu Harras remained acritical one tillthe arrival earlyinMay

wait onboard of them for reinforcements. On May 4 another attack was made against Mahomed Taha by several hundred mounted Shaiquies provided with a cannon, but again the assailants were routed, their

artillerycaptured, andthe wholeof their officers slain in their effortsto saveit.

Good news, however, was at this juncture on the way from the town of Senaar. A capitulation seemed

AN ARAB CHIEF IX ARMOUR 01 THE EPOCH OF THE CRUSADES.

of six companiesof regulars from Galabat, whom he had previously sent word for to join him there under Ali Kashef, thenewlyappointedMudir ofSenaar. Withthem

too came 2500 warriorsof the great Shukuri tribe,headed by their Prince, Auad-el-Kerim, with his six sons, his nephews, and a number of nobles clad in coats of mail and helmets of steel, andriding thorough-bred Arab

horses as in the days of the Crusades. This was agrate- ful sight, for Auad-el-Kerim was a personal friend of the Vice-Governor's,andhadcast hislot withtheGovernment-

unavoidable, whensuddenly Salah Aga, who had pushed "on with his handful of Shaiquies, made his appearance

before the place. The besiegers asked him with whom he meant to side,but he deceivedthem as to his inten-

tions untilhe had gained a position near the river, and thensuddenly forminghis men into a square,he opened fire.. " From morning until four o'clock in the after- noon," says Buchta,*" the fanatical crowds stormedthe devoted square. Hundreds and even thousands were mown down by the deadly fire, and already the heroic band was threatenedwith wantof ammunition, when the

Arabs retreated, and Senaar was saved. The besieged took their deliverers for enemies, so surprised were they7at their appearance,and several shots were fired at

The 6th of May was chosen for another attack against Mohamed Taha, this time with a force numbering many thousands:— -"Atdawn of day7," writes Buchta, " the troops were drawnup in order of battle,

and the Pasha and the grey-haired Shukuri Prince

addressed them, endeavouring to kindle their ambition, * "The True Story of the Rebellion in the Soudan," by R. Buchta. Translated by Mrs. R. W. Felkin.