The Downfall of the Dervishes; or, The Avenging of Gordon

by Ernest Nathaniel Bennett

No account of the recent campaign could be in any way complete if it did not include some mention of the valuable assistance rendered to the Sirdar and the Anglo-Egyptian forces by the gunboats and the Friendlies. I have thought it better to keep this portion of the narrative distinct from the rest, and to mould the present chapter more or less into the form of a diary.

The Sirdar's fleet at the end of the campaign consisted of the following gunboats:—Sultan, Sheikh, Melik, Fatteh, Nasr, Hafir, Tamai, Metemmeh, and Abu Klea. In addition to these were the old unarmed El Tahra and, up to 25th August, the gunboat Zaphir.

The navigation of the Nile was full of difficulty. The river charts were bad or non-existent, and no reis, or native captain, could really be trusted to keep his boat in the deep channels with any certainty. Still, it must be remembered that the bed of the Nile is continually changing its position, and what are deep holes one year may be turned by next year's flood into shallow pools. On the whole, it is astonishing that the river service was not frequently overtaken by disaster. The engines on a boat like the Tamai were always on the verge of dissolution, the current was terrific, and all the vessels—gunboats, barges, and ghyassas—were loaded down to the water's edge. The barges, on which the troops were packed together with barely room to turn themselves, were especially liable to accident, as they were exceedingly top-heavy and loosely constructed. I remember seeing a gunboat gently collide with one of these barges as it lay, fortunately without any crew, off the bank at Wad Hamed. The whole structure collapsed at once; the top platform fell off, and in less than two minutes the remains of the barge and all its cargo that would float were drifting rapidly down the Nile.

One gunboat alone, the Zaphir, was overtaken by serious disaster. It happened as follows: On 23rd August the Zaphir left the Atbara at 4 p.m. The officers on board consisted of General Rundle, Prince Christian Victor, Lieutenant Micklem, R.E., Major Dodd, R.A.M.C., and, in command of the vessel, Commander Keppel, R.N. In the ghyassas, which were lashed to the gunboat, were packed "details" of various native battalions. All went well for two nights, although on the 23rd the Zaphir tied up to the bank in the midst of a violent storm of wind which suddenly swept over the river from the desert. At 4.45 p.m. on the 25th of August the officers were sitting on the upper deck taking tea, when Mr. Poole, the engineer, suddenly asked Commander Keppel to come below at once. Prince Christian meanwhile walked forward, and noticed that the ship lay very low in the water, so much so, in fact, that the rapid current was washing over the bows. As he walked back to General Rundle, Commander Keppel rushed up from the lower deck and informed the assembled officers that water had found its way into the hold, and the gunboat might go down any moment; meanwhile, he had ordered the engineer to make for the shore at full speed. On the receipt of this startling information the officers walked to the side of the vessel, and as they did so, the Zaphir, which was floundering in a clumsy fashion towards the bank, suddenly gave a heavy lurch to starboard, and seemed on the point of "turning turtle." A general exodus of natives followed; servants, sailors, and "Gyppy" soldiers sprang out of the nooks and crannies in which they hide themselves on board, and, leaping into the stream, swam easily to the shore. At the same instant General Rundle, Major Dodd, and Lieutenant Micklem jumped from the deck on to the ghyassas at the side. The Zaphir, however, righted herself again, but as the fires had been put out by the inrush of water, she drifted slightly and began to settle down. An attempt to get a rope from the ship to the shore failed. Prince Christian then jumped upon a ghyassa, and lastly, just as the gunboat sank within thirty yards of the bank, Commander Keppel followed his example. Most fortunately, someone had the presence of mind to cut the ghyassas adrift, otherwise they would certainly have been dragged down with the vessel as she foundered. On the return journey from Omdurman I noticed that part of the funnel was still out of the water, and a twelve-pounder gun projected from the stern battery a couple of feet above the stream. The whole party bivouacked on shore that night in rather a destitute condition. Nobody seemed to know how the leak was caused, but from the time the inrush of water was noticed, at 5.40, only eleven minutes elapsed before the vessel sank. A few stores had been saved, and off these the shipwrecked officers made a meal. Everyone by good luck had managed to land in his helmet, but otherwise the clothing of the party was rather nondescript. Prince Christian, for example, had nothing left except a pair of trousers and a canvas shirt. Next morning the natives dived about the wreck and fished out some odds and ends of clothing and baggage. At midday on the 26th, Major Drage, D.S.O., happened to pass up the river in the El Tahra, and conveyed the Zaphir's crew to Rojan Island, where Commander Keppel transferred his flag to the Sultan, accompanied by Prince Christian and Major Dodd.

On the day before the loss of the Zaphir, the "Irregulars" or "Friendlies" had assembled at Wad Hamed. This motley corps was composed of detachments from the following tribes:—Gaalin, Ababdeh, Shukriyeh, Batahin, Bishariyeh, Mersalamieh, Gimiab, and a few Hassaniyeh. All these tribes have for thirteen years been bitterly hostile to the English and Egyptians, but, thanks to the impolitic conduct of the Khalifa and the cruel devastation practised by his generals, many of his adherents amongst these Arab tribes have been alienated from the Mahdi's successor, and now look forward to an era of peace and security under a settled government. By far the most useful and important section of these Friendlies was furnished by the Gaalin, a brave and warlike tribe, who fought gallantly against the British at Abu Klea, Abu Kru, and Gubat in January 1885. In July 1897 Khalifa's army under the brutal Mahmoud—who was captured at the Atbara, and is now imprisoned at Wady Halfa—suddenly, on their march northwards, attacked the Gaalin, and butchered a large number of them at Metemmeh. Ever since this treacherous massacre a deadly feud had existed between this tribe and the Khalifa's government.

As a fighting force the Irregulars, numbering about two thousand five hundred, presented a rather quaint appearance. They were armed with every imaginable weapon. Some had rifles, others were equipped with old flint and steel muskets, elephant guns, ancient muzzle-loading pistols, spears, swords, and daggers. Their methods of locomotion were almost as varied as their accoutrements. Some were mounted on horses, some marched on foot, others ambled along on camels, mules, and donkeys. About twelve hundred Remingtons were supplied at Wad Hamed for distribution amongst the tribes in proportion to their numbers, and it was a proud day for many of these picturesque ruffians when they secured one of these rifles. The possession of guns always seems to exercise a peculiar fascination over semi-barbarous peoples. A friend and myself once bestowed three ancient Snider carbines, rubbed bright with Monkey Brand Soap, upon a small Arabian potentate, who was delighted with the present and had the rifles carried after him by three almost naked courtiers wherever he went. We took good care not to give the monarch any cartridges, but his attendants did not seem to mind the absence of ammunition. What they liked was to swagger about with the Sniders, and use them as a sort of glorified walking-stick with the muzzle stuck into the ground.

For the command of this extraordinary army the Sirdar had selected Major Stuart-Wortley, whose military ability and almost unique experience of Sudan campaigns marked him out as the proper man for the work of impressing some order and discipline upon the rough and turbulent material of the Friendly Contingents. Lieutenant Wood also accompanied the force as staff officer.

The Gaalin and the other Friendlies crossed over from Wad Hamed, and were ordered to proceed along the river parallel to the advance of the Anglo-Egyptian forces on the opposite bank. The various tribal contingents marched separately under their own sheikhs, and presented a most picturesque appearance across the river as their white-clad columns moved in and out of the green bushes. They first came into touch with the enemy on 29th August, when the village of Gaali was found to be occupied by a small detachment of Jehadieh infantry and Dervish cavalry. These were speedily routed by the Friendlies, who attacked the small force before them in fine style, and captured ten prisoners.

On 31st August three gunboats—the Sultan, Melik, and Fatteh—were ordered to advance up the river from Seg-et-taib and shell the advance post held by the Dervishes on the Kerreri ridge. Before midday the gunboats took up a position opposite Kerreri village, and proceeded to enfilade the Dervish camp on the hill. Some splendid practice was made, and great confusion was produced by the twelve-pounder shells as they burst in rapid succession amongst the enemy, who could be seen rushing about, collecting their property and striking their tents. The camp was soon rendered untenable by our fire, and as the Dervishes fled over the plain towards Omdurman, they were followed by shells from the gunboats, which knocked over about a dozen cavalry.