“There did not appear, as far as I could see, any desire to cross spears or weapons. Their dress was of the most picturesque description, from the embroidered mushalla to the simple sheepskin; nor were their arms less various,—the musket with the bayonet fixed, the lance, blunderbuss, pistol, sabre, dagger, and crease; and I confess the danger appeared to me greater from our own troops in our rear, who were firing over our heads, than from the retiring foe, who had to turn half-round to discharge his piece, whilst his horse was at speed. Our pursuit lasted for upwards of an hour, during which time about twenty-five of the enemy were killed, and twenty-seven taken prisoners; when, finding General Jochmus did not advance from his position, and the regular cavalry had halted on a high sand-hill, some distance in the rear, we counselled our motley brothers in arms, with whom we were enabled to communicate through Major Wilbraham, to call together their separate tribes, and return to the camp, as the enemy had now joined their main body, and we were no match for them.
“We returned by the Gaza road, our pursuit having been on the sandy hills, partially covered with grass, between it and the sea.
“The rain fell in torrents, and we returned to as wretched an encampment as I ever remember to have witnessed. Late that night General Michell, having received no communication from General Jochmus, sent a staff officer to ask for the orders. They were, to march at daylight,—not, however, to our surprise, on the road to Gaza, but back to Jaffa, General Jochmus assigning as a reason, that the heavy rains had rendered the roads impassable for artillery.
“General Michell had not been consulted, nor had any questions been asked of Colonel Bridgeman, Majors Robe and Wilbraham, or myself, as to the state of the Gaza road, although we had been nearly halfway to that place. I will merely add, (having, since that period, twice travelled the road by daylight,) that nearly the whole of it is a sandy soil, and I should say the rain which had fallen had rather been beneficial than otherwise.
“If we had disapproved of the expedition in the first instance, how much greater was our mortification at having to abandon it after having come in contact with the enemy.
“We learned afterwards that the Egyptian cavalry, with whom we had been engaged at Medjdel, was making its customary reconnoissance to ascertain if any movement had been made on the part of the Turks, as well as to forage: and that, in all probability, the action had been brought on by the dashing conduct of Colonel Rose in charging their advanced picquet.”
CHAPTER X.
General Jochmus’s further Reports to Sir Robert Stopford—Destruction of the Magazines at Maan—Ignorance as to Ibrahim’s movements—Ibrahim crosses the Jordan to Jericho, and menaces Jerusalem, while supposed to be wandering in the Desert—General Jochmus’s Account of the Movements of Ibrahim—Reported Destruction of his Infantry—Ibrahim did not intend to enter Palestine—his Statement to Colonel Napier.
To proceed with General Jochmus, I may remark that a letter of his to the Admiral, of the 20th of January[[36]], clearly shows what little reliance could be placed in the reports that were made to him, of the state of Ibrahim’s army from all quarters. After giving an account of the destruction of 230 camel-loads of grain by the Baron Dumont, at Maan, after Souliman Pacha had provisioned himself, and marched on Suez, with the greatest part of the artillery, women, and children, he states, “The army itself, of which the second column was to sleep at Maan on the 11th, seeing its provisions burnt, had been obliged to countermarch, and is now wandering in the Desert harassed on all sides by Bedouin tribes. Its state seems to be dreadful, and all over the country through which the Baron Dumont came back to Kerek, he saw the bodies of small detachments which had been cut off by the Bedouins.”
We look in vain for a confirmation of this in Baron Dumont’s report[[37]]. The Baron talks of the quantity of grain he destroyed, of the forty-four camels he captured, and forty he found dead, which are included in the eighty-four taken in one night, but not one word of dead bodies destroyed by the Bedouins, or of Ibrahim’s army wandering in the Desert; and so far were they from wandering in the Desert pursued by the Arabs, that on the very day that the magazines at Maan were said to be destroyed, Ibrahim, hearing of the movement on Gaza, crossed the Jordan at Jericho, menaced Jerusalem, and forced Hussein Pacha to return to Abugosh. Having succeeded in this point, he recrossed the Jordan, passed to the south of the Dead Sea, and arrived at Gaza without any person knowing what had in the meantime become of him, as will shortly be seen by Lieut. Loring’s report.