THE EASTEEN SOUDAN. 
2 * 7 $ 
practically stopped by our gun boats. He explained tbe presence of 
these gun boats to his men by saying that they had run the gauntlet 
of the Omdurman Forts but that the other boats had been sunk. 
FediFs Lieutenant, the Emir Saadalla, was in command at Gedarif, 
and he had under him 1,700 Riflemen, 1,600 Spearmen and about 
300 Baggara Horsemen as his force. It was of every importance 
for us to get to Gedarif as quickly as possible, because should Fedil 
hear of our advance and return to Gedarif with his 5,000 men and 
arrive there before we did, it would have been naturally impossible 
for us to attempt to seize Gedarif with our 1,400 rifles ; as it was we 
had all we could do to successfully encounter Saadalla. 
We arrived at El Fasher on the 9th September ; for the forty 
miles between this place and Kassala, there was no water. Owing to 
ssajfe of having no means of crossing the River Atbara, which 
when we got there was running at the rate of four 
miles an hour and was about three hundred yards 
wide, we had to construct boats. The frame-work of these boats was 
made of Mimosa bush collected on the banks, and these frames were cov¬ 
ered with tarpaulins. With the aid of some six of these so-called boats, 
supplemented by rafts, the passage was completed in six days, the losses 
in the passage were one camel drowned and some boxes of Martini- 
Henry ammunition lost. Camels were swum across with inflated water¬ 
skins tied under their jowls. 
At midday, the 18th September, Mugatta was reach¬ 
ed ; we did not yet know whether we were going 
to be attacked or not on our entry into Gedarif. 
Possibly after the news of the fall of Omdurman had reached Gedarif 
the Dervishes would not hold out, their force might melt away; no 
Dervish patrols had come near us; up to date we had seen nothing 
of them. This carelessness on the part of the Dervishes as regards 
patrolling may be attributed to the fact that they thought that the river 
was at the time an impassable obstacle to a large force and further they 
were deceived by a small post we had formed at Hasabulua. It was 
originally intended to cross there but the existence of a poisonous wasp¬ 
like fly which attacked animals, camels principally, prevented our doing 
so. The Gedarif Emir had made up his mind the passage would be made 
at Hasabulua in the event of an attacking force from Kassala marching 
on Gedarif and had issued orders that his patrols need not, as a rule, 
proceed further north than Hasabulua. 
Egyptian On the afternoon of the 18th our outposts, which 
outposts were purposely placed some one and a half miles 
attacked. west of our encampment with the object of pre¬ 
venting our force being reconnoitred, were attacked. There was now 
no doubt but what we should meet with opposition, forty Dervishes 
had come up from Gedarif accompanied by a few horsemen, discovered 
our movements and had hastily retired to report. There were a few 
casualties on either side; the Dervishes lost their commander who 
was killed and seven prisoners. 
Mugatta 
reached. 
