With Kitchener in the Soudan : a story of Atbara and Omdurman

by G. A. Henty

  " You have done well indeed!" he said. " It was a dangerous enterprise, and had I not known your courage and that of your men, I should not have ventured to send you forward. You have fully justified my confidence in you. In the first place I will go and see the house you have occupied. I shall leave you still in possession of it, but I do not intend that you should hold it. In case Mahmud comes down upon you, at once embark in boats and cross to the islands. It will be some time before I can gather here a force strong enough to hold the town against attack. Indeed it will probably be some weeks, for until the railway is finished to Abu Hamed, I can only get up stores sufficient for the men here; certainly we have no transport that could keep up the supply for the Avhole force. However, all this will be settled by the Sirdar, who will very shortly be with us."

  It was now the 6th of September, and the same afternoon two gun-boats were sent up to Ed Darner, an important position lying a mile or two beyond the junction of Atbara river with the Nile. On the opposite bank of the Nile they found encamped the Dervishes who had retired from Berber. The guns opened fire upon them, and they retired inland, leaving behind them fourteen large boats laden with grain. These were at once sent down to Berber, where they were most welcome, and a portion of the grain was distributed among the almost starving population, nearly five thousand in number, principally women and children. Supplies soon began to arrive from below, being brought up in native craft from Abu Hamed as far as the cataract, then unloaded and carried up past the rapids on camels, then again placed in boats and so brought to Berber. Macdonald's brigade started a fortnight after the occupation, their place at Abu Hamed having been taken by a brigade from Kassinger, each battalion having towed up boats carrying two months' supply of provisions.

  A fort was now erected at the junction of the two rivers, and occupied by a small force under an English officer. Two small steamers were employed in towing the native craft from Abu Hamed to Berber. Still, it was evident that it would be impossible to accumulate the necessary stores for the whole force that would take the field; accordingly, as soon as the railway reached Abu Hamed the Sirdar ordered it to be carried on as far as Berber. He himself came up with Colonel Wingate, the head of the Intelligence Department, and diligently as all had worked before, their exertions were now redoubled.

  On the morning after the Sirdar's arrival, an orderly came across to General Hunter's quarters with a request that Mr. Hilliard should at once be sent to head-quarters. Gregory had to wait nearly half an hour until the officers who had been there before him had had their audience and received their orders. He was then shown in.

  "You have done very valuable service, Mr. Hilliard," the Sirdar said, "exceptionally valuable, and obtained at extraordinary risk. I certainly did not expect, when I saw you a few months ago in Cairo, that you would so speedily distinguish yourself. I was then struck with your manner, and thought that you would do well, and you have much more than fulfilled my expectations. I shall keep my eye upon you, and shall see that you have every opportunity of continuing as you have begun."

  That evening General Hunter suggested to Colonel Wingate that Gregory should be handed over to him. " There will be nothing for him to do with me at present," he said, "and I am sure that you will find him very useful. Putting aside the expedition he undertook to Metemmeh, he is a most zealous young officer. Although his wound was scarcely healed, he took charge of the baggage animals on the way up from Merawi to Abu Hamed, and came forward here with Ahmed Bey and his followers, and in both cases he was most useful. But at the present I cannot find any employment for him."

  "I will have a talk with him," Colonel Wingate said. "I think I can make good use of him. Captain Keppel asked me this morning if I could furnish him with a good interpreter.

  He is going up the river in a day or two, and as neither he nor the other naval officers know much Arabic, Mr. Hilliard would be of considerable service to them in questioning any prisoners who may be captured as to hidden guns or other matters. I should think, from what you tell me, Mr. Hilliard will be very suitable for the post."

  " The very man for it. He is a very pleasant lad—for he is not more than that,—quiet and gentlemanly, and yet full of life and go, and will be certain to get on well with a naval man." On returning to his quarters General. Hunter sent for Gregory.

  "You will please go to Colonel Wingate, Mr. Hilliard. I have been speaking to him about you, and as it may be months before things are ready for the final advance, and I am sure you would prefer to be actively employed, I proposed to him that he should utilize your services, and it happens, fortunately, that he is able to do so. The gun-boats will be running up and down the river, stirring up the Dervishes at Metemmeh and other places, and as neither Keppel nor the commanders of the other two boats can speak Arabic with anything like fluency, it is important that he should have an interpreter. I think you will find the berth a pleasant one. Of course I don't know what arrangements will be made, or whether you would permanently live on board one of the boats. If so, I think you would be envied by all of us, as you would get away from the dust and all the discomforts of the encampment."

  " Thank you very much, sir! It would indeed be pleasant, and I was beginning to feel that I was very useless here."

  "You have not been useless at all, Mr. Hilliard. The Sirdar asked me about you, and I was able to give him a very favourable report of your readiness to be of service for whatever work I have found for you to do. I have told him that I had great doubts whether Ahmed Bey would have pushed forward to this place after he had lost the protection of the gun-boats if you had not been with him."

  Gregory at once went to the quarters of Colonel Wingate and sent in his name. In two or three minutes he was shown in. A naval officer was in the room with the colonel. "You have come at the right time, Mr. Hilliard. I was just speaking of you to Captain Keppel. I suppose General Hunter has told you how I proposed utilizing your services?"

  "Yes, sir, he was good enough to tell me."

  "You speak both Arabic and the negro dialect perfectly, I am told?"

  " I speak them very fluently, almost as well as English."

  " Just at present you could not be of much use to me, Mr. Hilliard. Of course I get all my intelligence from natives, and have no occasion to send white officers out as scouts. Otherwise, from the very favourable report that I have received from General Hunter, I should have been glad to have you with me ; but I have no doubt that you would prefer to be in one of the gun-boats. They are certain to have a more stirring time of it for the next few weeks than we shall have here."

  "I should like it greatly, sir, if Captain Keppel thinks I shall do."

  " I have no doubt about that," the officer said with a smile. " I shall rate you as a first lieutenant and midshipman all in one, and I may say that I shall be very glad to have a white officer with me. There are one or two spare cabins aft, and you had better have your traps moved in at once; I may be starting to-morrow."

  "Shall I take my servant with me, sir?"

  " Yes, you may take him if you like. I suppose you have a horse?"

  " Yes, sir, a horse and a camel; but I shall have no difficulty in managing about them. Excuse my asking, sir, but I have a few stores, shall I bring them on board?"

  " No, there is no occasion for that. You will mess with me. Thank goodness, we left naval etiquette behind us when we came up the Nile, and it is not imperative that I should dine in solitary state. Besides, you have been on Hunter's staff, have you not?"

  "Yes."

  " I know his staff all mess together. I shall be very glad to have you with me. It is lonely work always messing alone. My boat is the Zafir, you know. You had better come on board before eight o'clock to-morrow morning, that is my breakfast hour."

  Gregory needed but little time to make his arrangements. The transport department took over Zaki's horse and camel and gave him a receipt for them, so that when he returned, those or others could be handed over to him. One of the staff who
wanted a second horse was glad to take charge of his mount. The tent, and the big case, and his other belongings were handed over to the stores. Zaki was delighted when he heard that he was going up in a gun-boat that would probably shell Metemmeh and knock some of the Dervish fortifications to pieces.

  " What shall I have to do, master?" he asked.

  "Not much, Zaki. You will brush my clothes and make my bed, and do anything that I want done, but beyond that I cannot tell you. I am really taking you, not because I think you will be of much use, but because I like to have you with me. Besides, I sha'n't have much to do, and the English officer who commands will have plenty to look after, so that I shall be glad to talk occasionally with you. However, as I know the gun-boats carry Maxim guns, and each have two sergeants of the marine artillery, I will hand you over to them, and ask them to put you in the Maxim crew. Then you will have the satisfaction of helping to fire at your old enemies."

  Zaki's eyes glistened at the prospect. "They killed my mother!" he said, " and carried off my sisters, and burned our house. It will be good to fire at them; much better this, bey, than to load stores at Merawi."

  Gregory was much gratified that evening after mess at the kindly manner in which the members of the staff all shook hands with him, and said that they were sorry that he was going to leave them, General Hunter was dining with the Sirdar. The next morning, when Gregory went to say " Goodbye " to him, he said:

  " I was telling Sir Herbert Kitchener yesterday evening that you were transferred to the naval branch. He said:The gun-boats Avill all take up troops, and there will be native officers on board. It is a rule in our army, you know, that all white officers have the honorary rank of major, so as to make them senior to all Egyptian officers. Will you tell Mr. Hilliard that I authorize him to call himself Bimbashi? There is no occasion to put it in orders; my authorization is sufficient. As long as he was on your staff it did not matter, but as presently he may be attached to an Egj'ptian regiment it is as well that he should bear the usual rank, and it may save misunderstanding in communicating with the natives. He will be much more respected as Bimbashi than he would be as lieutenant, a title that they would not understand.' A good many lieutenants in the British army are Bimbashies here, so that there is nothing unusual in your holding that honorary rank."

  " I would just as soon be lieutenant, sir, so far as I am concerned myself, but of course I feel honoured at receiving the title. No doubt it would be much more pleasant if I were attached to an Egyptian regiment. I do not know whether it is the proper thing to thank the Sirdar. If it is, I shall be greatly obliged if you will convey my thanks to him."

  "I will tell him that you are greatly gratified, Hilliard. I have no doubt you owe it not only to your ride to Metemmeh, but to my report that I did not think Ahmed Bey would have ventured to ride on into Berber had you not been with him, and that you advised him as to the defensive position he took up here, and prepared for a stout defence until the boats could come up to his assistance. He said as much to me."

  At the hour named Gregory went on board the Zafir, Zaki accompanying him with his small portmanteau and blanket.

  "I see you are punctual, Mr. Hilliard," the commander said cheerily; "a great virtue everywhere, but especially on board ship, where everything goes by clock-work. Eight bells will sound in two minutes, and as they do so my black fellow will come up and announce the meal. It is your breakfast as much as mine, for I have shipped you on the books this morning, and of course you will be rationed. Happily we are not confined to that fare. I knew what it was going to be, and laid in a good stock of stores. Fortunately, we have the advantage over the military that we are not limited as to baggage."

  The breakfast was an excellent one. After it was over, Commander Keppel asked Gregory how it was that he had— while still so young—obtained a commission, and expressed much interest when he had heard his story.

  " Then you do not intend to remain in the Egyptian army?" he said. " If you have not any fixed career before you, I should have thought that you could not do better. The Sirdar and General Hunter have both taken a great interest in you. It might be necessary perhaps for you to enter the British army and serve for two or three years, so as to get a knowledge of drill and discipline; then from your acquaintance with the languages here you could, of course, get transferred to the Egyptian army, where you would rank as a major at once."

  "I have hardly thought of the future yet, sir; but of course I shall have to do so as soon as I am absolutely convinced of my father's death. Really, I have no hope now, but I promised my mother to do everything in my power to ascertain it for a certainty. She placed a packet in my hands, which was not to be opened until I had so satisfied myself. I do not know what it contains, but I believe it relates to my father's family.

  " I do not see that that can make any difference to me, for I certainly should not care to go home to see relations to whom my coming might be unwelcome. I should greatly prefer

  THE GUN-BOATS OPENED FIRE AT THE TWO NEAREST FORTS

  to stay out here for a few years until I had obtained such a position as would make me absolutely independent of them."

  " I can quite understand that," Captain Keppel said. "Poor relations seldom get a warm welcome, and as you were born in Alexandria they may be altogether unaware of your existence. You have certainly been extremely fortunate so far, and if you preferred a civil appointment you would be pretty certain of getting one when the war is over. There will be a big job in organizing this country after the Dervishes are smashed up, and a biggish staff of officials will be wanted. No doubt most of these will be Egyptians, but Egyptian officials want looking after, so that a good many berths must be filled by Englishmen, and Englishmen with a knowledge of Arabic and the negro dialect are not very easily found. I should say that there will be excellent openings for young men of capacity."

  "I have no doubt there will," Gregory said. "I have really never thought much about the future. My attention from childhood has been fixed upon this journey to the Soudan, and I never looked beyond it, nor did my mother discuss the future with me. Doubtless she would have done so had she lived, and these papers I have may give me her advice and opinion about it."

  "Well, I must be going on deck," Captain Keppel said. " We shall start in half an hour."

  The three gun-boats were all of the same design. They were flat-bottomed, so as to draw as little water as possible, and had been built and sent out in sections from England. They were constructed entirely of steel, and had three decks, the lower one having loophole shutters for infantry fire. On the upper deck, which was extended over the whole length of the boat, was a conning-tower. In the after-portion of the boat, and beneath the upper deck, were cabins for officers. Each boat carried a twelve-pounder quick-firing gun forward, a howitzer, and four Maxims. The craft were a hundred and thirty-five feet long, with a beam of twenty-four feet, and drew only three feet and a half of water. They were propelled by a stern-wheel.

  At half-past nine the Zafir's whistle gave the signal, and she and her consorts—the Nazie and Fatteh —cast off their warps and steamed out into the river. Each boat had on board two European engineers, fifty men of the 9th Soudanese, two sergeants of royal marine artillery, and a small native crew.

  " I expect that we shall not make many more trips down to Berber," the Commander said, when they were once fairl} T off. "The camp at Atbara will be our head-quarters, unless indeed Mahmud advances, in which case of course we shall be recalled. Until then we shall be patrolling the river up to Metemmeh, and making, I hope, an occasional rush as far as the next cataract."

  When evening came on, the steamer tied up to an island a few miles north of Shendy. So far they had seen no hostile parties—indeed the country was wholly deserted. Next morning they started before daybreak; Shendy seemed to be in ruins; two Arabs only were seen on the bank. A few shots were fired into the town, but there was no reply. Half an hour later Metemmeh was seen. It stood half a mile from the river.
Along the bank were seven mud forts with extremely thick and solid walls. Keeping near the opposite bank the gun-boats, led by the Zafir, made their way up the river. Dervish horsemen could be seen riding from fort to fort, doubtless carrying orders. The river was some four thousand yards wide, and at this distance the gun-boats opened fire at the two nearest forts. The range was soon obtained to a nicety, and the white sergeants and native gunners made splendid practice, every shell bursting upon the forts, while the Maxims speedily sent the Dervish horsemen galloping off to the distant hills, on which could be made out a large camp.

  The Dervish gunners replied promptly, but the range was too great for their old brass guns. Most of the shot fell short, though a few, fired at a great elevation, fell beyond the boats. One shell, however, struck the Zafir, passing through the deck and killing a Soudanese, and a shrapnel-shell burst over the Fatteh. After an hour's fire at this range the gun-boats moved up opposite the position and again opened fire with shell and shrapnel, committing terrible havoc on the forts, whose fire presently slackened suddenly. This was explained by the fact that as the gun-boats passed up they saw that the embrasures of the forts only commanded the approach from the north, and that, once past them, the enemy were unable to bring a gun to bear upon the boats. Doubtless the Dervishes had considered it was impossible for any steamer to pass up under their fire, and that it was therefore unnecessary to widen the embrasures so that the guns could fire upon them when facing the forts or going beyond them.

  Suddenly, as all on board were watching the effect of their fire, an outburst of musketry broke out from the bushes that lined the eastern bank a hundred yards away. Fortunately the greater part of the bullets flew overhead, but many rattled against the side. The Maxims were instantly turned upon the unseen enemy, the Soudanese fired volleys, and their rash assailants went at once into the thicker bush, many dropping before they gained it. The gun-boats now steamed slowly up the river, and then turning, retired down stream again, shelling the enemy's position as they passed. As they were going down they came upon a number of Dervishes who were busy unloading half a dozen native craft. The Maxim soon sent them flying, and the boats, which contained horses, donkeys, grain, and other goods, were taken in tow by the gun-boats, which anchored at the same island as on the previous night.