On the 20th these troops were
concentrated at Fashi Shoya, whence Colonel Lewis had obliged Ahmed Fedil
to withdraw, and at 3.30 on the afternoon of the 21st the expedition
started in a south-westerly direction upon the track of the enemy.
The troops bivouacked some ten miles south-west of Fashi Shoya,
and then marched in bright moonlight to Nefisa, encountering only a
Dervish patrol of about ten men. At Nefisa was found the evacuated camp
of Ahmed Fedil, containing a quantity of grain which he had collected
from the riverain district, and, what was of more value, a sick but
intelligent Dervish who stated that the Emir had just moved to Abu Aadel,
five miles further on. This information was soon confirmed by Mahmud
Hussein, an Egyptian officer, who with an irregular patrol advanced boldly
in reconnaissance. The infantry needed a short rest to eat a little food,
and Sir Reginald Wingate ordered Colonel Mahon to press on immediately
with the whole of the mounted troops and engage the enemy, so as to prevent
him retreating before an action could be forced.
Accordingly cavalry, Camel Corps, Maxims, and irregulars--whose fleetness
of foot enabled them, though not mounted, to keep pace with the rest--
set off at their best pace: and after them at 9.15 hurried the infantry,
refreshed by a drink at the water tanks and a hasty meal. As they advanced
the scrub became denser, and all were in broken and obstructed ground when,
at about ten o'clock, the sound of Maxim firing and the patter of musketry
proclaimed that Mahon had come into contact.
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