300 



EGYPT. 



one body, under a certain Essein, making a stand 

 against the Egyptian force. When these in- 

 surgents were cleared out of the way, the 

 Egyptians advanced to meet Ahmed-el-Makasef, 

 who had a force of about 10,000 men. They 

 routed this army near the village of Teko, and 

 thus put an end to the insurrection in Sennaar ; 

 but the sheik escaped with many of his fol- 

 lowers, and joined the Mahdi in Kordofan. 



These successes held the insurrectionary 

 movement in check on the Blue Nile while 

 Yussuf Pasha, with almost the entire force 

 which Arabi's rebellion left in the Soudan, 

 advanced against the Mahdi on the White Nile. 

 In June he approached the rebel leader's strong- 

 hold in Kordofan. With superior strategic 

 skill, tbe False Prophet selected an advanta- 

 geous position and fell upon the advancing col- 

 umn by surprise at Gebel Geon, giving them no 

 time to form in order of battle in a difficult po- 

 sition. The Egyptian army, though armed 

 with muskets against swords and spears, was 

 cut to pieces. Few of the soldiers and none 

 of the officers escaped alive. 



The Mahdi then directed his efforts with 

 energy to taking possession of the Soudan, 

 now almost stripped of its defensive force. 

 But the fortifications of the towns were a for- 

 midable obstacle to his savage warriors. The 

 slightest earthworks could be easily defended. 

 At El Obeid the Mahdi met with his first re- 

 verse. In a single assault on September 8th, 

 6,000 rebels fell. Attempts to storm other 

 places were unsuccessful. The Mahdi with- 

 drew his forces on December 8th, and spent 

 some weeks in improving their discipline and 

 organization. He then returned and laid siege 

 to El Obeid. The garrison held out until re- 

 duced to the last extremities. On the 15th of 

 January they surrendered. Iskander Bey, the 

 commandant, and the larger part of the garri- 

 son, then went over to the rebels and accepted 

 service under the Mahdi. 



The garrison in El Obeid, when the place 

 was first attacked in August, numbered 6,000 

 men. When they surrendered unconditionally 

 and took the oath of allegiance to the Mahdi, 

 there were 3,500. The victors obtained about 

 $2,500,000 in treasure. Iskander was em- 

 ployed by Mohammed Achmed to persuade 

 other Egyptian officials to embrace his cause. 



In the spring the English made military prep- 

 arations to suppress the rebellion. A force 

 of 7,000 infantry, 120 cuirassiers, 300 Bashi- 

 Bazouk cavalry, and about 30 guns, was sent 

 to Khartoum. It was joined on the way 

 by other bodies, which increased the force to 

 some 10,000 troops, and took rockets and how- 

 itzers in abundance. The Soudan army was 

 entirely distinct from the regular army organ- 

 ized by Sir Evelyn Wood. It was composed, 

 in great part, of the disbanded troops of Arabi, 

 and contained the most unpromising materials. 

 Some were too old for efficient service, and the 

 majority were enlisted compulsorily. The 

 British had little excuse for again underrating 



the power of the Mahdi, who disposed now of 

 a force of 338,000 warriors. But the difficulty 

 of their situation in Egypt, in which they had 

 to consult the interests of the Egyptian bond- 

 holders, prevented them from following out 

 the wishes of the Khedive's government to 

 make sure work of suppressing the rebellion. 

 The expedition was sent so late that it was 

 judged best not to take the field until the open- 

 ing of the dry season in September. Many of 

 the soldiers had belonged to Arabi's army. To 

 test their quality and disposition, a camp was 

 formed at Um-Durman, on the west bank of 

 the Nile, opposite Khartoum. Camels for 

 transport were wanting, but they were pro- 

 cured by the exertions of Alla-ed-Din, the new 

 Govern or- General of the Soudan. Some time 

 was consumed in efforts to procure the co- 

 operation of Adam, the Takale chief, who is 

 powerful in the region southeast of Obeid. 

 Col. Hicks, who came to Egypt with the Eng- 

 lish army, and had been the Khedive's chief 

 of staff, was commander of the expedition. 



On the 9th of September the camp at Um- 

 Durman was broken up, and the march up the 

 White Nile begun. The army kept as close to 

 the west bank as the floods would allow. Duem 

 was reached on the 20th of September, and 

 from that place to El Obeid a circuitous route 

 was chosen on account of water. About 3,000 

 men were left on the way to maintain a line 

 of fortified posts, but the plan of keeping up 

 communications was abandoned, and the army 

 was left to subsist upon their biscuits and what 

 they could obtain from the country. 



In the Suakin district, in the beginning of 

 November, an expedition composed of about 

 500 Egyptian soldiers was conducted by Com- 

 mander Moncrieff, the British consul at Sua- 

 kin, and their native officers, against the re- 

 bellious Bedouin tribes of the neighborhood. 

 Proceeding by sea, they landed at Toka. The 

 Egyptian soldiers fled before an inferior force 

 of Bedouins, and were slaughtered almost to 

 the last man. On November 12th the rebels 

 advanced to attack Suakin, but were re- 

 pelled. 



The Mahdi advanced to meet Gen. Hicks 

 from Kordofan, with an army of 300,000 Sou- 

 danese. Hicks Pasha divided his force of 

 about 7,000 into two columns ; one being sent 

 on to capture El Obeid, while with the other 

 he awaited the coming of the Mahdi's army at 

 Kaz. The rebel forces were nearer than was 

 anticipated, and the Mahdi had laid his plans 

 skillfully. The first engagement with the 

 rebels was at a point near Namua, where Gen. 

 Hicks encountered and worsted a considerable 

 body of the Mahdi's black allies. 



When they reached Namua, near the Obeid 

 hills, Hicks Pasha detached the column which 

 was sent to demand the surrender of the 

 fortress. It was this division which the 

 Mahdi, advancing from the southeast, engaged 

 on ground selected by himself, November 2d. 

 Gen. Hicks, on hearing the firing, came up 



