Meanwhile, Saleh Bey, who was now staying with Ras Adal, the chief of Amhara, was not idle, and was continually urging him to take possession of Galabat; he was shortly afterwards joined by the Fiki Medawi, formerly a wild, fanatical adherent of the Mahdi, and who, together with Abu Girgeh, had been one of the first to lay siege to Gordon in Khartum; this man, after the Mahdi's death, began to find out that he had been following an imposture, and fled from Omdurman; he stayed in Abyssinia for a time, and eventually reached Cairo. Abdullah was furious at his flight, and put a number of his friends in chains, believing that Fiki Medawi had been instrumental in pushing on Ras Adal to attack Galabat. Shortly after the festival of the "Three holy kings," in commemoration of the baptism of our Saviour in Jordan, known as "Ghittas," which means immersion (on this occasion--the 5th of January--a cross is always immersed in the river); Ras Adal, having collected a large army, amounting, it is said, to 100,000 men, of whom 20,000 were horsemen, advanced across the mountains and descended on Galabat. Sheikh Egeil, of the Hamran Arabs, who had always been loyal to the Egyptian Government, and had combated Mahdiism continuously, also joined Ras Adal, and entered Dervish territory. Wad Arbab, who had received full information of the Abyssinian movements, was awaiting their attack, strongly entrenched within Galabat. He had 16,000 well-seasoned troops, mostly Jaalin, and a quantity of rifles and ammunition. In a few minutes the Abyssinian cavalry, dashing down with wild impetuosity, completely surrounded Wad Arbab; the fight did not last long; the Dervishes were driven out, pursued in all directions, and Galabat was soon in flames. Arbab's men could not face the wild rush of the Abyssinians, and fell in great numbers; the high wind caused the flames to spread with terrible rapidity, and soon the powder magazine blew up with a terrific report, burying hundreds in its ruins; amongst these was a Greek who had come from Sawakin the year before to Omdurman, where he was imprisoned for a time, then released, and came to Galabat, hoping to escape into Abyssinia, just a few days before this fight which took place in January 1887. The Abyssinians captured a large number of women and children, whom they dragged off as slaves. A few months prior to this action, Gustav Klootz had died in Galabat. He had left Omdurman in September 1886, for Galabat, intending to escape into Abyssinia; but having no money, he was forced to walk the entire distance, and the great fatigue he had undergone made him seriously ill; he lingered on for a time, but eventually died; and perhaps it was fortunate that he did die, for only a few days afterwards an order arrived from the Khalifa Abdullah at Gedaref, ordering him to be thrown into chains and brought back to Omdurman, where a miserable death awaited him.