By the middle of February the last of these reinforcements for the Soudan had left Egypt.
1882.
12th November.
About the 12th November, 1882, a rebel Sheikh attacked Duem, but he was defeated and captured, and subsequently hanged at Kartoum.
15th November.
Construction of a canal south of Kartoum.
On the 15th November the long projected canal south of Kartoum was commenced, eight hundred to a thousand yards in front of the town. Its dimensions are as follow: length, when the rivers are in flood, 5900 yards; when at low water, 6700; depth of ditch, 8 feet; width at top, 17 feet; at bottom, 10 feet; slopes steep; width of parapet at bottom, 20 feet; at top, 14 feet; height, 7 feet. The principal defects of the parapet are its great length, and the absence of flanking defence. The idea of constructing a defensive canal, and turning Kartoum into an island, originated with Musa Pasha in 1864.
December.
State of the garrisons of El Obeyed and Bara.