14 HISTORY.

brigade of four thousand five hundred infantr}' and cavalry, attended by eight hundred Bedouins and eight pieces of artillery, to subject this country to his power. The people, apprized of his intention, prepared themselves to the utmost of thfeir power for defence. The Melek Moosalem marched out with his troops to meet the Defturdar at Bara,— a march of twelve hours from Lobeid. His numerous but irregular army was well provided with every species of warlike weapons, excepting fire-arms, which were little or not at all known in the country. The cavalry, like the old Numidian equestrian troops, wore a shirt of mail, and pointed helmet without a vizor on their heads, and bore a double-edged sword thirty-six inches in length. The horses were caparisoned with plates of copper. The infantry were nearly naked ; armed simply with a shield and spear, and but a small party of them with two-edged swords, {turbatsh,) and a species of tomahawk. The battle was fierce and bloody. The men of Kordofan rushed with fury upon the foe, and defended their freedom with a total disregard of death ; even women participated in the fray. Hundreds of the combatants fell struck by the balls of the enemy ; the wounded placed their fingers in their wounds, unable to understand how they could have been hurt, without having been touched by a weapon ; so ignorant were they of the use of fire-arms. Infuriated they flung their spears at the cannons ; and, having succeeded in capturing a gun for a short time, sought to revenge themselves on it for the destruction it