January, 1883, the Mahdi was said to have taken more than £100,000 from the officials and notables, which he kept to himself, distributing nothing among his followers. On account of this worldly performance, many began to waver in their belief in his sanctity. In the hope of utilizing this discontent, General Hicks endeavored to open communications with the Baggara chiefs, and arrange a meeting with them.
On the 26th March Ala-ed-Deen Pasha was proclaimed at Khartoum as Governor-General of the Soudan, and on the same day Hussein Pasha left for Sennaar to relieve Abd-el-Kader Pasha of his military command. By this time the Mahdi had made rapid progress with his revolt. He had taken possession of Kordofan, Sennaar, and Darfur, and the forces under his command were variously estimated at from 100,000 to 200,000 strong.
General Hicks and staff left Khartoum by steamer on the 3d April, and arrived at Kawa on the 6th. An army of about 5,000 had been collected at Kawa, consisting of 5½ battalions of regular infantry, 1½ battalions of negroes, 5 guns, 2 Nordenfelts, and a squadron of Bashi-Bazouks.
On the 10th April General Hicks made a reconnoissance up the Nile. After steaming about an hour and a half, the boat was fired on from the western bank. As it advanced, many shots were fired at it, especially from a point opposite the island of Abba, where the rebels were behind trenches. On the 14th the general telegraphed to Cairo that he was anxious to get to Jebel-Ain, where the rebels were concentrating, but that he had great difficulty in obtaining supplies of food and ammunition.
It was not till the 23d April that the Egyptian army, nearly 5,000 strong, started to ascend the Nile from Kawa. Shots were fired from the banks almost continuously, and General Hicks learned from the chief of a Shillook village that the rebels were getting ready to attack the Egyptians on the march from Kawa. Having satisfied himself of the
