Hosh-el-Geref was therefore not reached until
the 1st of August--a day later than had been expected; but the rest had
proved of such benefit to the troops that the subsequent acceleration of
progress fully compensated for the delay. The column moved on again at
midnight and halted at daybreak at Salmi. In the small hours of the next
morning the march was resumed. The road by the Nile was found too difficult
for the Maxim guns, which were on wheels, and these had to make a detour
of twenty-eight miles into the desert while the infantry moved ten miles
along the river. In order that the Maxims should not arrive alone at
Dakfilli, General Hunter had marched thither with the IXth Soudanese
at 11 P.M. on the previous day. The rest of the column followed a few hours
later. On the 4th, by an eighteen-mile march through deep sand, El Kab was
reached. A single shot was fired from the opposite bank of the river as the
cavalry patrol entered the village; and there was no longer any doubt that
the Dervishes knew of the advance of the column. Both the troops and the
transport were now moving admirably; nevertheless, their sufferings
were severe.
The nights were consumed in movement. Without shade the soldiers could not
sleep by day. All ranks wearied, and the men would frequently, during the
night marches, sink down upon the ground in profound slumber, only to be
sternly aroused and hurried on.
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