For the first two hours the road
lay through doura plantations and high grass which rose above the heads
even of men mounted on camels; but as the town was approached, the doura
ceased, and the troops emerged from the jungle on to an undulating moorland
with occasional patches of rushes and withered grass. At half-past seven,
and about three miles from Gedaref, the enemy's scouts were encountered.
A few shots were fired. The soldiers pressed their march, and at eight
o'clock had reached a small knoll, from the top of which an extensive view
was obtainable. The column halted, and Colonel Parsons and his officers
ascended the eminence to reconnoitre.
A most menacing spectacle confronted them. Scarcely a mile away
a strong force of Dervishes was rapidly advancing to meet the invaders.
Four lines of white figures rising out of the grass showed by their length
the number, and by their regularity the discipline, of the enemy.
The officers computed the strength of their antagonists at not fewer than
4,000. Subsequent investigation has shown that the Emir Saadalla marched
out of Gedaref with 1,700 riflemen, 1,600 spearmen, and 300 horse.
The swiftness of the Dervish advance and the short space that intervened
between the forces made it evident that a collision would take place within
half an hour. The valley was rocky, and overgrown with grass and reeds;
but to the right of the track there rose a high saddleback hill,
the surface of which looked more open, and which appeared to command
the approaches from Gedaref.
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