command of the Sirdar, was to move by the river road, and consisted of the infantry division, the Field Artillery, and the Maxim guns.  The Desert Column, under command of Major Burn-Murdoch, consisted of the mounted forces, the Horse Artillery, and one battalion of infantry (the XIIth Soudanese) drawn from MacDonald’s brigade and mounted upon camels:  in all about two thousand men.  Very precise orders were given to the smaller column, and Burn-Murdoch was instructed to occupy the hills to the south-east of the centre of Firket village by 4.30 A.M.; to dispose his force facing west, with the cavalry on the left, the Camel Corps in the centre, and the XIIth Soudanese on the right.  The only point left to his discretion was the position to be occupied by the Horse battery.  He was especially warned not to come under the fire of the main infantry force.  As soon as the enemy should be routed, the XIIth Soudanese were to return to the Sirdar.  The cavalry, camelry, and Horse Artillery were to pursue—­the objective being, firstly, Koyeka, and, secondly, Suarda.

The infantry column began to march out of Akasha at 3.30 in the afternoon of the 6th, and trailed southwards along the track by the river in the following order:  Lewis’s brigade, with the Xth Soudanese leading; two Maxim guns and the artillery; MacDonald’s brigade; Maxwell’s brigade; and, lastly, the field hospitals and a half-battalion forming rearguard.  The Sirdar marched behind the artillery.  The rear of the long column was clear of the camp by 4.30, and about two hours later the mounted force started by the desert road.  The River Column made good progress till dark, but thereafter the advance was slow and tedious.  The track led through broken rocky ground, and was so narrow that it nowhere allowed a larger front to be formed than of four men abreast.  In some places the sharp rocks and crumbling heaps of stone almost stopped the gun-mules altogether, while the infantry tripped and stumbled painfully.  The moon had not risen, and the darkness was intense.  Still the long procession of men, winding like a whiplash between the jagged hills, toiled onward through the night, with no sound except the tramping of feet and the rattle of accoutrements.  At half-past ten the head of Lewis’s brigade debouched into a smooth sandy plain about a mile to the north of Sarkamatto village.  This was the spot—­ scarcely three miles from the enemy’s position—­where the Sirdar had decided to halt and bivouac.  The bank and foreshore of the river were convenient for watering; all bottles and skins were filled, and soldiers and animals drank.  A little food was eaten, and then, battalion by battalion, as the force arrived at the halting-place, they lay down to rest.  The tail of Maxwell’s brigade reached the bivouac about midnight, and the whole column was then concentrated.