34 THE WAR IN THE SOUDAN.

CHAPTER VII.

SLAIN IN THE DESERT.

To give some of the reasons of the Mahdi’s astonishing progress and the

successes he achieved, as well as to record the sad fate of Colonel Hicks and his 11,000 men, it will be well to say something of the expedition led by this splendid officer against the forces of the false prophet.

The Mahdi’s influence was spreading. All the country about Khartoum and El Obeid was ablaze with rebellious and furious fanaticism. The Egyp¬ tian authorities became seriously alarmed, and it was resolved to send troops immediately for the purpose of quelling the rising. The disbanded soldiers of Arabi’s shattered army were sent to the south, and Colonel Hicks, having been created a Pasha, was given the virtual command. He left Cairo accom¬ panied by several British officers early in February, 1883, and proceeded to

Suakim ; from thence they made for Khartoum via Berber. At Khartoum

no time was lost in obtaining reinforcements and organizing an army. From

March to October various reverses and successes were recorded. Amongst the latter being the battle of Assalia, fought on April 29th.

The desperate way in which the Arabs rushed fearlessly to certain death in this engagement has been described by Colonel Colborne. “With t$e greatest sang froid,” he says, “ they came up within a few paces. Those whose horses were killed advanced on foot. One Arab coolly walked up to within ten yards of us, and when told to lay down his spear brandished it in

defiance. Call this valour, infatuation, madness, or what you will, such cool determination and such utter disregard of certain death has seldom been equalled on the battle-field.” This reminds one strongly of the recklessness

of the Zulus, who rushed frantically, armed perhaps only with a spear and

an ox-hide shield, upon the ranks of their foes. Or of the Moplahs in the south-west of Hindustan, who, it is said, even when transfixed by the bayonet strive to reach their opponent by drawing themselves up the musket.

The last telegram received from Hicks was on the 17th of October, and not till the last week in November was it known that he and his army had

perished in the desert, fighting doggedly for three days against countless numbers of the enemy.

The most authentic accounts give the following particulars :— In September, Hicks Pasba set out from Duem on the Nile for a two- hundred-mile march across the desert with the intention of capturing El