112 THE WAR IN THE SOUDAN.

suspended for an hour, whilst most of the troops lay flat. Fatigue parties strengthened our position. In going towards a low mound, a hundred yards on our right front, where we had a few skirmishers, General Stewart was shot in the groin. The command devolved upon Lord Charles Beresford by seniority, but he, being a naval officer, declined it, and Sir Charles Wilson took it over. One of the most touching incidents in the zariba was the wounded General tended by his friends, two or three of whom wept like men, silently. Poor St. Leger Herbert, the Morning Post correspondent, one of these, was himself shot dead shortly afterwards.

“ The mound on our front was quickly turned into a detached work, forty volunteers, carrying boxes and pack-saddles, rushing out, and, in a short space of time, converting it into a strongly defensible post. Gradually, the enemy’s riflemen crept nearer, and our skirmishers were sent out to engage them. They were too numerous to drive away ; and the nature of the ground, and the high trajectory of their Remingtons, enabled the Arabs to drop their bullets into the square at all points. Soldiers lying behind camels and saddlepacks were shot in the head by dropping bullets. Mr. Cameron, the Standard correspondent, was hit in the back and killed whilst sitt'ng behind a camel, just as he was going to have lunch. The enemy were firing at ranges of from 700 to 2000 yards, and their practice was excellent. The zip, ping, and thud of the leaden hail was continuous ; and, while the camels were killed in num¬ bers, our soldiers did not escape, over forty having to be carried to the hospital, sheltered as well as possible in the centre of the square behind a wall of saddles, bags, and boxes. As a precaution against stampede, the poor camels were tied down, their knees and necks securely bound by ropes to prevent their getting upon their legs. The enemy’s fire increased in intensity ; and, as stretcher after stretcher with its gory load was taken to the hospital, the space was found too little, and the wounded had to belaid outside. Surgeon-Major Ferguson, Dr. Briggs, and their colleagues had their skill and time taxed to the utmost. Want of water hampered their operations; doctors and patients were alike exposed to the enemy’s lire.

“ Our situation had become unbearable. We were being fired at without a chance of returning blows with or without interest. The ten thousand warriors whom the Mahdi had sent from Omdurman to annihilate us were blocking our road to the Nile ; and over a hundred Baggara, the hcrsemen of the Soudan, and crowds of villagers, who had joined Mohamed Ahmed’s cru¬ sade, hung like famished wolves on our rear and flanks, awaiting an opportunity to slay. Apparently, they were emboldened by our defensi\ e preparations.

“There were three courses open to us—to sally forth and fight our way to the Nile; to fight for the river, advancing stage by stage, with the help of zaribas and temporary works ; or to strengthen our position, and try to with-