Amid the roar of the
firing and the dust, smoke, and confusion of the change of front,
the general found time to summon the officers of the IXth Soudanese
around him, rebuked them for having wheeled into line in anticipation
of his order, and requested them to drill more steadily in brigade.
The three Soudanese battalions were now confronted with the whole fury
of the Dervish attack from Kerreri. The bravery of the blacks was no less
conspicuous than the wildness of their musketry. They evinced an
extraordinary excitement--firing their rifles without any attempt to sight
or aim, and only anxious to pull the trigger, re-load, and pull it again.
In vain the British officers strove to calm their impulsive soldiers.
In vain they called upon them by name, or, taking their rifles from them,
adjusted the sights themselves. The independent firing was utterly beyond
control. Soon the ammunition began to be exhausted, and the soldiers
turned round clamouring for more cartridges, which their officers doled out
to them by twos and threes in the hopes of steadying them. It was useless.
They fired them all off and clamoured for more. Meanwhile, although
suffering fearfully from the close and accurate fire of the three artillery
batteries and eight Maxim guns, and to a less extent from the random firing
of the Soudanese, the Dervishes drew nearer in thousands, and it seemed
certain that there would be an actual collision.
Pages:
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437