This was an example of the utter helplessness of the officers and men when left to themselves. If the natives had repeated the attack, they would most probably have got into dire confusion.
Having started the boat, I took ten men of "The Forty," and, accompanied by Lieutenant Baker, I marched along the bank in order to meet the detachment on their return, when recalled by Mohammed Deii. During the march I continued to shoot ducks, as this amusement would deceive the natives respecting the retreat of Major Abdullah, which might then be attributed to some other cause than fear.
In about an hour, I distinguished a sail coming round the point of Gebel (Mount) Regiaf. The wind was fair, and she quickly ran up the stream. I now discovered that she was towing the boat that I had sent down the river to recall Abdullah's detachment. (This was a vessel from Gondokoro on her way for a cargo of corn. She had met the retreating party of Abdullah, and had brought them on by the river.)
Upon her near approach, I hailed the vessel and ordered her to land the troops (with which she was crowded) upon the west shore.
In a short time, Major Abdullah and his gallant company had landed and formed in line.
His excuse for the precipitate retreat which he had commenced at daybreak was, that he feared a renewed attack, and he was short of ammunition. He had therefore determined to fall back on the station occupied by Lieutenant-Colonel Achmet.
He appeared to have forgotten that he could have communicated with me by bugle.
I inspected the men's pouches, and found that most of them had eighteen or twenty rounds of cartridge, while the minimum contained eleven rounds; this is what the major considered a short supply of ammunition for a march of a mile and a half along beautiful open country to my vessels.
He described the overwhelming number of the natives, and their extreme bravery in the attack, which his troops had repelled without any loss to themselves either killed or wounded. At the same time the troops under his command had killed twenty Baris, whose bodies he had himself counted.
I now ordered them to advance to the village, as I wished to examine the position. Upon arrival at the spot where the battle had taken place, there were a number of vultures settled in various spots where the ground was marked with blood, and the cleanly-picked skeleton of a man, lying close to the euphorbia hedge, showed that the Baris had really come to close quarters. (The officer declared that twenty of the enemy were slain, while the soldiers admitted that only five were killed. There was always a gross exaggeration in the reports.)