A PATROL ON THE ATBARA 
49 
being allowed. During the night there were two alarms caused by 
•stray parties of Dervishes stumbling up against our pickets, but no 
one fired except the pickets. Next morning (20th) at 5 a.m. we started, 
and after a fatiguing march with little incident, we arrived at Fasher 
at 11 a.m., many men not having eaten since the night of the 18th. 
Outposts being put out, five prisoners were brought in early in the 
afternoon. On being examined, they stated that Osman Digna had 
been surprised and attacked by our people (presumably Hassibullah) 
about midday on the 19th, when halted for the heat of the day on the 
river at Khor Lebben, that the Dervishes, had suffered severe loss but 
that Osman Digna himself had escaped on horseback. This news, of 
course, produced great excitement. Had I possessed any cavalry or 
camel corps, I would naturally have sent them on to look for Osman 
Digna, even though he had twenty-four hours start. But having only 
infantry and those well tired out, there was nothing for it but to stay 
at Fasher till I could find out Hassibullah's present position and 
hear more definite news from him. In the meanwhile, my patrols could 
pick up prisoners from the now scattered remains of Osman's dis¬ 
mounted people. 
On the evening of the 20th, several more prisoners were brought in 
and at 6.80 a.m. on the 21st, Adlan turned up bringing details of all 
that had occurred. It appeared that he (Adlan) had sent a messenger 
to me early on the 19th with news of Osman Digna's march, but that 
the messenger met Hassibullah on his way out, who instead of sending 
him on to me, cooly annexed him and used him as a guide to Osman's 
force. Naturally we were all much annoyed to hear this, for, had the 
messenger come to me, the main body would have started three hours 
earlier and been in ample time to take part in the surprise of Osman 
Digna, and with 350 men instead of sixty, the chances are that in such 
a favourable place for surprise as it turned out to be, Osman Digna 
would not have escaped and the loss inflicted would have been much 
greater. 
It turned out that Hassibullah had attacked after midday, having 
divided his small force into three parts and opened fire into the f brown ' 
from three different directions, after leaving his camels in a safe place 
with a small guard. Osman was having his coffee under a tree by the 
riverside and the surprise was complete. There was a stampede and 
Osman and his followers fled in all directions, taking what horses they 
could without time to saddle them. Osman got away with a bullet 
through the fleshy part of his thigh, on a bare-backed horse, (not his 
own, which was captured). The fact of his being wounded thus, was 
communicated by three prisoners belonging to his party, taken at differ¬ 
ent times and places afterwards.* Hassibullah had killed thirty and 
taken over twenty-five men prisoners and seventeen women, the wives 
and slaves of Osman and his emirs. Among the prisoners was the Sheikh 
Ed Darner the chief sheikh of the great Jaalin tribe who was said to 
have betrayed his tribe to the Khalifa and so brought about its mass¬ 
acre by Mahmoud at Metemmeh last year. Also a Halenga sheikh, a 
* Information recently received leads me to doubt whether Osman Digna was really wounded.— 
GKE.B i 
