GORDON AND THE MAHDI. 79 bodies of retreating Arabs were the sole remainsof the forces with which Osman Digna had so confidently awaited an attack. But though the enemy fell back to the hills, they made off slowly and sullenly, some of them walkingleisurely as if sauntering down the bazaar, with their arms folded or swinging by their side. Often they were shot down as they thus withdrew,but that did not deter others from following their example, or make themincrease their speed. When the 2ndBrigade came up, and, after marchingalittle more than amile, reached the wells about midday, only a few straggling parties of the foe werevisible. As they disappearedinto the mountains men andhorses— hot,dusty, thirsty, and weary— refreshed themselves at the springs. The force then movedforward to Osman's camp. This was found to be entirely deserted, and while Buller's Brigade remained to set fire to it, Davis's Brigade was marched back to the zereba. Scattered groups of the enemy again made their appearance,and fired at longdistances at the retiring column, but carefully abstainedfrom any nearerapproach.

The Britishloss in thisbattlecomprisedMajor Aitken, CaptainFord,and Lieutenants Montressor, Almack, and Houston-Stewart,besides a hundred and five menkilled, and eight officers and about a hundredand twenty men wounded. The Arabs were estimatedto have numbered betweenten and twelvethousand,andmorethanafourth of themremainedonthefield. Sixhundred werecounted at the spot where the square was broken, and where the united brigades had advanced they lay in heaps as the Egyptians did on the scene of General Baker's defeat.

Alongside them werethe skeletons of the menbelonging to the black regiment which had been annihilatedsome three monthsbefore,and wasnow so amplyavenged. No prisoners weretakenduringthefight,anysuchproceeding being impossible, for while life lastedthe woundedArabs would lie still, rarely uttering a cry or a moan, but watchingtheir chance to strike withknife or spear at the victors as they advanced. For the latter it was like walkingamong woundedvipers. At OsmanDigna's camp threewoundedArabskilleda Marine,andanother wounded an Egyptian Soldier, who had been a prisoner with the enemy since the surrender of Tokar, and had come in during the night. This second village was about two miles beyond the one reached the daybefore, and was called Tamasi. Immense quantities of Krupp cannon ammunition were found there, with other loot, most of which had beencaptured at Baker Pasha's defeat. One gunand four carriages were discovered,the other guns having probablybeen buriedin the ground.

Parties of the Engineers were told oft* to complete the destruction of the rebel camp, which extended over a level plain of about two miles in length, surrounded almoston allsides bynaked rocks. The encampment, including the huts and stores, was speedily ablazein scores of different places, the red flames shooting up to a great height,and volumes of smoke obscuring the viewbetween the camp and the distant hills. A curious feature of the scene was the explosion of the magazines, containingabout 600,000 rifle cartridgeslooted at Baker Pasha's defeat, besides a large amount of Krupp and machine-gun ammunition. When this magazine ignited afusillade commenced whichlasted withoutintermission for half an hour. Away in the hills the remnants of the Arab host were watching how theglory of Osman Digna, the invincible, was vanishing in smoke. They offered no opposition beyond a few dropping shots, by which oneman of the King's Royal Rifles was wounded. The camp destroyed, the order was sounded to retire towardsSuakim, and thereturn march of the armycommenced, past the wall of drearynakedrock, and through alabj-rinth of sand hills and dry river courses. After twenty minutes'marching the encampmentof the night preceding the battle was reached, when the sick and woundedwere put into ambulancesand on stretchers for conveyance to Suakim and thence to Suez. From Tamai the troopsbrought back OsmanDigna'sstandard, together with TewfikBey'sstandard, capturedat the time that Tewfik Bey andhis valiantband wereannihilated. fe On March 17, AdmiralHewett issued another proclamation whichran as follows:— ■ "I, theEnglish Governor and General civil audmilitary of Suakim, make known that whoever will bring in the rebel Osman, the murderer, who has by his lies caused the blood of the tribes to be spilt at ElTeb and Tamanieb, alive or dead, shall receive five thousand dollars reward."

mandrew a knife andattemptedto stab GeneralStewart, whilethe General's aide-de-camp was offering himwater. Soldiers who fell,evenfor a few minutes, intotheenemy's hands,were,as at thebattleofElTeb, dreadfullycut and gashed by swordand spear, but not otherwisedisfigured.

Some wounded rebels, who were subsequently brought into Suakim, stated that Osman Digna himself was in Tamaniebduringthe first partof thebattle,but onseeing thathis forces werebeingspeedilybeaten,he retreatedto the hills to some holy spot, in order to pray for the success of the tribes.

This proclamation excited a strong feelingof indignation amongst a certain section of the Liberal party in England,and three days later the admiral, acting under instructionsfromtheGovernment,withdrewtheobjectionable document. Reports from spies seemed to establish the fact that Osman Digna had only a few followers remaining with him,and that he was moving his camp daily in the hills, so as to render it difficult for the cavalry to follow him. He was said to be drawing his supplies of grain from Tokar. Some native messengers sent out to him with one of Admiral Hewetts proclamations remained a couple of days in his camp, during which time more than a hundred woundedrebels died. They gave the proclamation to some sheikhs, who took it to Osman, sayingthatif it was good for themto learn whatit contained he would tell them. Osman having readtheproclamation, burnedit,aftertelling the sheikhs thatit contained nothing but the usual ■>rder fromthe Governor for themto surrender.

At the zereba near the battlefielda dismal night was passed. The air was full of melancholy sounds. First therewerethelowmoaningsofwoundedmenandanimals; then came the volleys fired over the dead, who were buried near the camp; then, later on, parties of Arabs could be seen in the moonlight, wandering over thefield, and givingvent to the most heartrendingcries ofgrief as they came across the heaps of deadanddying. These sounds continued all night long, with scarce a minute's interruption, but in the morning none of the enemy w*ere visible,allhavingdispersed beforedaybreak.

The great event of the morning was the completion of the conflagrationof Osman Digna's camp. The British force marched out of the zereba at eight o'clock, and, penetrating some distance beyond the point reached on the previous evening, arrived at another and larger village. The cavalry, who werein front, were guidedby GeneralGraham resolved uponmaking another attempt to bring Osman Digna to bay, and marched out from SuakimonTuesdayMarch 25,with two infantrybrigades. The eleven miles march to Baker's zereba, where the first halt was made, was a most exhaustive one.