The Small- Pox.

The rebels scattered among the dense woods, and hidden by the shades of night could easily have escaped our search, and might have done us much harm. Neither could we pursue them next day, seeing that our ammunition was nearly exhausted.

On the morning of the 17th we occupied the enemy's positions. Anyone who has been a soldier and has experienced the horrors of war, can picture to himself the spectacle presented by the burning camp. The dead lay one upon the other, most of them reduced to a cinder ; horses, asses, mules, provisions, were all burning and enveloped in dense smoke, so that even near objects could not be seen.

Our nostrils were offended by the odour of roasting flesh, which flamed as if it were fat. Such was the scene offered by this abandoned camp.

In spite of our fortunate success, I found myself exactly as before, deprived of the ammunition necessary to undertake the attack of Dem Suleiman, which, being fortified, would need to be besieged for some time. I only possessed 20,000 cartridges, which, divided among my people, represented four shots apiece. I made them gather the spent balls scattered about the enemy's grounds, and, taking a little powder out of every cartridge, succeeded in increasing the number to 26,000. I could no longer expect help of any kind from Equatorial Africa, for Emin Bey, the Governor of those provinces, had sent word that he had exhausted all the ammunition and had only what was absolutely necessary to defend the place. The communications by way of Meshra-el-Rek were closed, and I had no other hope than in Sliakka. But the direct road thither was occupied by numerous troops of rebels, which obliged me to go a twelve days' journey round in order to get there.

Emin Bey, who was jealous of the success of Gessi, possessed 011 the contrary a great quantity of ammunition — Ed.