A.D.

1896.

Colonel Lloyd, Major Sydney, and Captain Fenwick. On February 29 the Italians were defeated with severe loss at Adowa, and the Italian garrison at Kassala was in imminent danger from the Dervishes. With a view of assisting Italy by making it necessary for the Dervishes to turn their attention elsewhere, the British Government determined to advance to Akasheh and Donkola. In the hands of General Kitchener, who had succeeded General Grenfell as Sirdar of the Egyptian Army in April, 1892, the conduct of the new Sûdân Expedition was placed. On March 21 he left Cairo for the south, and the first serious skirmish between the Dervishes and Egyptians took place on May 1. Early in June the Sirdar divided his forces, and one column marched upon Ferket by way of the river, and another across the desert. On June 7 the two columns joined hands, and a fierce fight ensued. The Sirdar's arrangements were so skilfully made and carried out, that the Dervishes were utterly routed; they lost about 1,000 killed and wounded, and 500 were made prisoners. Among the killed were about forty of their chief men. The Egyptian loss was 100 killed and wounded. On September 19 the Sirdar occupied Hafîr after a fight, and four days later the Egyptian troops entered Donkola; Debbeh, Korti, and Marawî were next occupied, and the country as far as the foot of the Fourth Cataract was once more in the hands of the Egyptians. 1897. Early in this year the decision to make the Wâdi Halfa and Abu-Ḥamed Railway was arrived at, for the Sirdar regarded it as absolutely necessary; by this route nearly 350 miles of difficult river transport would be avoided. When the railway had

A.D.

1897.

On

advanced considerably more than half way to Abu Ḥamed, General Hunter marched from Marawî to Abu Ḥamed and defeated the Dervishes, who held it in force, and occupied it on August 7. Of the Dervish garrison of 1,500 men, about 1,300 were killed and wounded. Soon afterwards the Dervishes evacuated Berber, which was entered by General Hunter on September 13. October 31 the railway reached Abu-Ḥamed. 1898. On April 8th, Good Friday, the Sirdar utterly defeated the great Dervish force under Maḥmûd at the Battle of the Atbara; the Dervish loss was about 3,000 killed, and 2,000 were taken prisoners, while the Sirdar's loss was under 600 killed and wounded. The forces engaged on each side were about 14,000. On September 2nd the capture of Omdurmân and the defeat of the Khalifa 'Abdu-Allahi were accomplished by the Sirdar. The Khalifa's forces numbered at least 50,000, and those of the Sirdar about 22,000. The Dervish loss was at least 11,000 killed and 16,000 wounded, and over 4,000 were made prisoners; the Sirdar's loss was rather more than 400 killed and wounded. The Khalifa escaped and fled south, having first taken care to bury his treasure; the body of the Mahdi was removed from its tomb, and burnt, and the ashes were thrown into the Nile; the head is said to be buried at Wâdi Halfa. The tomb was destroyed because, if left untouched, it would always have formed a centre for religious fanaticism and sedition. On Sunday, September 4, the Sirdar held a memorial service for General Gordon at Kharțûm, when the British and Egyptian flags were hoisted. On the 19th the Sirdar hoisted the Egyptian flag at Fashôda, which

A. D.

had been occupied by Major Marchand, the head of a French expedition, who sought to claim as a right a position on the Nile on behalf of France. 1899.* In January General Kitchener set out to catch the Khalifa, who had fled towards Kordofân, but his expedition failed for want of water. In November it was said that the Khalifa was at Gebel Geddîr, which lay to the north-west of Fashôda, on the west bank of the Nile, and about 160 miles from the river. The Sirdar pursued with a large force, but the Khalifa fled towards Khartûm. On November 22 Colonel (now Sir) F. R. Wingate (now Sirdar of the Egyptian army) pursued him to Abba Island on the Nile, and learning that he was encamped at Umm Dabrikât, attacked him on the 24th. After a fierce but short fight in the early morning, Colonel Wingate defeated the Khalifa, killing over 1,000 of his men, and taking prisoners 3,000. The Khalifa met his fate like a man, and seeing that all was lost, seated himself upon a sheepskin with his chief Emîrs, and with them fell riddled with bullets. The Egyptian loss was 15 killed and wounded. The death of the Khalifa was the death-blow to Mahdism.

*On March 4 of this year, Mr. John M. Cook, the late head of the firm of Thomas Cook and Son, died at Walton-onThames. The services which he rendered to the Egyptian Government were very considerable. In the Gordon Relief Expedition his firm transported from Asyût to Wâdî Ḥalfa, a distance of about 550 miles, Lord Wolseley's entire force, which consisted of 11,000 British and 7,000 Egyptian troops, 800 whalers, and 130,000 tons of stores and war materials. In 1885, 1886, and 1896 his firm again rendered invaluable services to the Government, and one is tempted to regret,

A.D.

1900. In January Osman Diķna was in hiding near Tokar,

and Muḥammad 'Ali, the loyal Gamilab Shêkh, found that he had entered his country. Major Burges and Aḥmad Bey, left Suâkin on January 8 and 10 respectively, and a few days later they arrived at the Warriba range, which about 90 miles to the south-west of Suâkin; and there Osman was seen apparently waiting to partake of a meal from a recently killed sheep. At the sight of his pursuers he fled up a hill, but was soon caught, and was despatched from Suâkin in the S.S. "Behera," and arrived at Suez on January 25, en route for Rosetta, where he now lies in prison. On September 25 Slatin Pasha was appointed British Inspector of the Sûdân. On November 2 Major Hobbs opened a branch of the Bank of Egypt at Khartûm. 1902. On February 4 Kaimakam Matthews reported that the Sudd would be cleared from Baḥral-Jabal by about March 1.

with Mr. Royle (The Egyptian Campaigns, p. 554), that, in view of the melancholy failure of the Gordon Relief Expedition, his contract did not include the rescue of Gordon and the Sûdân garrisons. He transported the wounded to Cairo by water after the battle of Tell el-Kebîr, and when the British Army in Egypt was decimated with enteric fever, conveyed the convalescents by special steamers up the Nile, and made no charge in either case except the actual cost of running the steamers. He was greatly beloved by the natives, and the Luxor Hospital, which he founded, is one of the many evidences of the interest which he took in their welfare. Thousands of natives were employed in his service, and it would be difficult to estimate the benefits which accrued indirectly to hundreds of families in all parts of the country through his energy and foresight.

E