ere,
wounded dervishes fell into our hands, and received every attention
from the medical staff. And in some of these actions our troops were
themselves in sore straits. Several hundred dervishes were picked up
within and without the Atbara dem, including the leader Mahmoud and
his two cousins. Be it remembered, our troops only remained there a
few hours, marching back to the Nile.

Still further abominable charges Mr Bennett lays at the door of his
countrymen who command British and Khedivial troops. The Sirdar
himself is included in his rigmarole of accusations. But whether
dealing with particulars or the general course of events, Mr Bennett
discloses that he has scarcely a nodding acquaintanceship with truth.
He has said:--"This wholesale slaughter was not confined to Arab
servants," _i.e._, killing wounded dervishes. "The Soudanese seemed to
revel in the work, and continually drove their bayonets through men
who were absolutely unconscious.... This unsoldierly work was not even
left to the exclusive control of the black troops; our British
soldiers took part in it."

On whatever ground Mr Bennett may seek to support these assertions,
they are unwarranted and untruthful libels. There was no wholesale
slaughter of wounded dervishes, nor was there anything done in the
least justifying or providing a decent pretext for that ferocious
accusation. Very many thousands of dervish wounded fell into our hands
that day and later. Officers have written to the press, denying these
charges and the rest of Mr Bennett's tale of monstrosity. The Sirdar
himself has confirmed by a personal cablegram my refutation of them.
Here is another of Mr Bennett's suggestions of evil-doing, by innuendo
and assertion:--"It was stated that orders had been given to kill the
wounded." And, "If the Sirdar really believes that the destruction of
the wounded was a military necessity," etc. Can colossal crassness go
further? There is not and never was a scintilla of truth for the
charge of wholesale slaughtering of wounded dervishes, nor that the
Sirdar ever issued such an order, or that any reputable person ever
received it, or ever had it hinted to him. The accusation is an
unmitigated untruth, and absolutely at variance with all that was said
and done by the Sirdar before and during the course of the battle and
the pursuit. I certainly never heard of the matter until Mr Bennett
made the accusation, and I cannot trace its authorship beyond himself.