132 EGYPT AND THE SOUDAN.

preserve the telegraph and communication to Berber, especially as he had built a strong fortified camp on the opposite side of the Blue Nile, and stationed a force there to check the sheikh from going further north on the line of communications.

The assault on Khartum may then be said to have commenced. The followers of the Mahdi were advancing upon it in numbers, and Gordon prepared for defending it as well as possible; among the defences being tangles of wire spread upon the ground at certain points, where they would catch the feet of intending assailants coming up for a night attack. The actual struggle began at Halfiyeh, a small town some miles north of Khartum, the capital of the district of Halfiyeh, extending along a portion of the Blue Nile and the main Nile. This district, formerly subject to Sennar, had become independent when Ismail Pasha annexed Nubia. Halfiyeh was the most important town, with 15,000 inhabitants, and the king (Melek) had his court there. It was a busy place, because of its famous salt-mines and the continual passage of caravans; and the kings of Halfiyeh and Shendy could together put into the field 30,000 men splendidly mounted. That had all been put an end to by the cessation of commerce, and the destruction brought upon the country by the Egyptian rule.

Halfiyeh was held by about 800 men of the Shaggiehs (Shaiqies), who had remained loyal, and to whom Gordon had given arms. These men were shut up in Halfiyeh by about 4000 rebels, who had surrounded the place, blocked the line of communication by steamer, and fired on one vessel which attempted to pass, wounding three soldiers. This steamer was sent to reconnoitre the rebels, as there were some rumours (afterwards found incorrect) that the men at Halfiyeh of the irregular troops were not to be depended on. " The steamer returned the fire," said General Gordon in his report, "and is said to have killed 35 rebels. Divide this by 7 and you will probably get the correct number."

General Gordon determined to attack the rebels at Halfiyeh on the following Saturday morning, as Friday was thought to be