Ismailia

by Sir Samuel White Baker

I explained to them the difficulty of fighting against an enemy whose tactics would not permit a battle; at the same time, I should now operate against them somewhat upon their own principle; by establishing a series of sharpshooters who should occupy the neighbourhood, and render it impossible for the Baris to remain in the country.

My corps was now complete, as I had brought up those who had remained at Gondokoro; I had thus forty-eight officers and men. To this force I now added fifty selected men from the line, and marched them away from camp.

Upon arrival at the broad bed of the river, I explained to them the plan. The natives generally approached unperceived by means of this winding trench, which entirely concealed them. The banks of this river were in most places nearly perpendicular, and were about nine feet deep. The river was about sixty or seventy paces broad, and was nearly dry, as a very shallow stream flowed through the centre of its bed.

If the high banks were occupied for a distance of several miles by small parties of sharpshooters concealed in high dhurra, or behind an ant-hill, or crouched in high grass or bush, or in anything that would serve as a protection, it would be impossible for the Baris to approach by the favourite river-bed, without being exposed to a deadly fire from the long line of sentries.

I therefore selected a position commencing far beyond my line of posts, and entirely commanding the river-bed for a distance of several miles. The soldiers were delighted with the plan suggested. I arranged that before daylight on the following morning, they should occupy the positions assigned in parties of two men if sniders, or three if muskets, at intervals of one hundred paces; thus the country would be protected by a chain of guards perfectly concealed from view.

I gave orders to the officers commanding the two stockades to carry out this system throughout the neighbourhood, so that it would be impossible for any enemy to move without falling into an ambuscade.

At daybreak I was up, and as usual drank my coffee and smoked the morning pipe. At that time my wife and I occupied a tent outside the stockade, beneath the most magnificent tamarind-tree that I have ever seen. From this spot we had a clear view of the country. On the west of the plain, two miles distant, rose the mountain of Belinian. On the east was park-like land interspersed with fine ornamental timber, through which the river winded. For about a hundred acres around the camp, the high dhurra had been cut down; therefore the view was uninterrupted.

Everything was perfectly still at this early hour; the birds were only beginning to chirp, and the vultures were just lazily assembling to see if they could discover one more morsel at the slaughtering-place of the preceding day.

No one would have suspected that the entire neighbourhood was occupied by sharpshooters, for a distance of some miles. The wily Baris had delighted in their leopard-like tactics, which had given them several opportunities of inflicting loss upon the troops. They now commenced their daily occupation, and started in small but numerous parties from their distant villages, for the purpose of waylaying any stragglers. The sun rose, and with my telescope I observed natives about half a mile distant on the other side of the river; sometimes these people disappeared in the high dhurra; every now and then they reappeared; then again they were lost to view. They were stealthily approaching for the purpose of occupying their positions for concealment. These wily Baris imagined that we were, as usual, keeping on the alert around the camp, but they had no idea that the leopard was himself so near the hidden snare.

Suddenly a puff of white smoke shot rip from the bright green grass on the other side of the river-bed—then another, followed by the reports of two rifles! I saw natives running at full speed to the left. Another and another puff of smoke issued from a different quarter, as the astonished Baris in their hasty retreat stumbled over the next ambuscade. I now saw a native running like a deer, but chased like a good deerhound by one of the "Forty Thieves." The native was so hard pressed by this good runner, who was encumbered with clothes, rifle, and ammunition, that he had been obliged to throw away his bow and arrows, together with his lance. He now gained upon the soldier slightly, but they were not five paces apart when they disappeared in the high dhurra. That soldier was Ali Nedjar, of the "Forty Thieves," the strongest man, the best shot, and the fleetest runner of the force. Presently I heard a shot.