Still keeping Khartoum, with its noble defender, in view, the expedition, though yet more than 450 miles from their destination, pushed on with vigour. Passing Hebbath, the scene of poor Colonel Stewart's murder by the chief of the Monassir tribe a few months before, thence to El Kab, where the current is very swift, the 215 boats of the force arrived at Huella, not far from Abu Ahmed, with its beautiful green sward on the banks of the river.
Death of Gordon
This was destined to be the furthest point to which the river expedition was to penetrate. Relief had arrived too late, for here the British force learned that the end had come in Khartoum, and that all their labour had been in vain. The city had been treacherously taken by the Mahdi, and General Gordon had been killed on the 25th January, or nearly a month before.
As the object of the expedition was said to be merely for the relief of Gordon with his Egyptian garrison, and the British Government had determined to abandon the Soudan entirely, there was nothing left for Lord Wolseley to do on the receipt of this sad intelligence but to retrace his steps. On the 13th February, Sir Redvers Buller, with the Desert Column, which had reached Gubat, evacuated that place; and, as the reason for the occupation of Berber by the River Column had practically ceased, orders were received commanding a halt. Ten days afterwards the flotilla commenced the return journey down the swift and broken waters of the Nile. It was an unfortunate end of an undecided policy which delayed the relief of the noble Gordon until it was too late. Had the Government taken up the matter earnestly some months earlier than they did, Lord Wolseley's expedition would not only have saved Gordon a tragic death and relieved Khartoum, but would then have crushed the power of the Madhi for ever. Thus would have been accomplished in 1885 a piece of work which, simply by being then neglected, had again to be taken up thirteen years afterwards, but which was brought then to a successful issue by the entire overthrow on 2nd September 1898 of the Mahdi's successor by General Sir Herbert Kitchener at Omdurman.
Wauchope all through this expedition had proved himself an invaluable pioneer in the rough and arduous work they had to encounter, and the many difficulties to be overcome. He was highly popular with all ranks from the Commander-in-Chief to the youngest drummer, for he looked upon every one as simply his fellow-workers, and was ever ready to help any in trouble. 'Gifted,' as one of his brother officers has said of him, 'with a singularly attractive and lovable disposition, he made friends of every one he met. With the simplest of tastes himself, and (after the deaths of his father and brother) with ample means at his disposal, he used to help more particularly those married with or without leave in the regiment, and these cases I only heard of by accident. He never spoke of them himself.'
A staunch Prespyterian
Nor was his interest in his men limited to merely secular matters. He was deeply impressed with the conviction that, carrying as the soldier did his life in his hand, there was no class of men who ought more to be prepared for death. And facing death, as he so often did himself, he felt that the consolations of religion should be within the soldier's reach when needed. He was a staunch Presbyterian, loyal to his national religion, and ever ready to give the chaplain of his regiment his support and help. When the Nile Expedition had reached Korti it was resolved that none but fighting men should go further, and some of the chaplains were accordingly left behind as an unnecessary impediment. Just before starting, an officer of the staff came to the chaplain of the Black Watch, who happened at the time to be standing beside Colonel Wauchope, with the order that he was not to proceed further. The chaplain replied that there was nothing for him to do at Korti, if he were separated from the regiment; he urged that he had been sent from Cairo with the Gordons and the Black Watch, and that he would go with them where duty called. Wauchope at once said, 'Stick to that and I will back you up.' The chaplain without any further demur was allowed to proceed, and he was the only chaplain who got beyond the base to be in time to do duty in action. In this connection an instance of his strict military discrimination may be mentioned. A man of his company came and complained to him that he had been told off by the sergeant-major to remain at the base. A certain number of men of each corps had been so ordered, and naturally the best soldiers were not left behind. Wauchope replied to this man, 'You are a soldier who is often drunk, often late for parade, often absent, and we can't depend upon you. We prefer to take men we can trust.' The man, very much crestfallen, and evidently disappointed, said, 'Sir, if you will take me to the front, I promise you I'll never be brought before an officer again.' Wauchope said, 'Very well, I'll take you at your word, but if you don't keep it, I'll never do anything more for you.' The man behaved perfectly well during the campaign, and loyally kept his word. 'It may be hoped,' says the friend from whom we have the story, 'that Wauchope's considerate action was the means of pulling up a man who was on the downward course, and the making of a good soldier out of a bad one.'
One may be sure that the disappointment of not reaching Khartoum, and the sudden cessation of their active efforts, had a depressing effect upon the whole force. Lord Wolseley, in his message to the Nile Column ordering it to return, sought to soften the disappointment in some measure by judicious praise. 'Please,' said he, 'express to the troops Lord Wolseley's high appreciation of their gallant conduct in action, and of the military spirit they have displayed in overcoming the great difficulties presented by the river. Having punished the Monassir people for Colonel Stewart's murder, it is not intended to undertake any further military operations until after the approaching hot season.'
The Soudan abandoned
When once more the expedition headed down-stream, difficult as they had found it to ascend, the return movement was even more risky and dangerous. The eighty-five Canadian steersmen were now found to be invaluable, or, as one has remarked, 'were worth their weight in gold.' Boat after boat with their loads of troops came down at lightning speed in order of two fathoms' length between each boat. It required a quick eye and steady steering to avoid collision or being thrown on the rocks, for half a second was as good as a wreck when shooting madly between the sunken rocks of the cataracts. A few boats came to grief, but only one belonging to the Black Watch. And so Wauchope and the other wounded were steered down the great river—perhaps the most wonderful stream in this world of ours—to Meraivi. Rochefoucauld has said that strong minds suffer without complaining, while weak ones complain without suffering. Wauchope's exemplary patience under such trying and painful circumstances, we have been told, was extraordinary. He was ever cheerful, and not a murmur escaped his lips. At Meraivi the regiment erected huts and an hospital, and remained for two months, but were always on the alert night and day against threatened attacks by unfriendly Arabs. The Government ultimately abandoned the idea of the reconquest of the Soudan at that time. It was left to its fate in the hands of the victorious Mahdi, all the troops being recalled. Leaving the boats at Akasheh on 8th June, the Black Watch took train for Wady Halfa, thence to Assouan, then by steamers and diabehas to Assiout, and thereafter by train to Cairo, which was safely reached on the morning of the 27th June, Lord Wolseley telegraphing to London, 'The Black Watch has arrived in splendid condition, and looking the picture of military efficiency.'