By the time the sun had well risen, the Dervishes were assembled in endless lines under their various flags. Khalifa Abdullah left his residence accompanied by his bodyguard; he was mounted on a magnificent camel, and advanced to the sound of the great onbeïa trumpet. Abu Anga, mounted on a pony and clad in a casque and coat-of-mail, now advanced to meet him, and his magnificent figure created no small impression on the assembled multitudes. His bodyguard, consisting of his very best soldiers, accompanied him, as well as a number of mukuddums. On approaching the Khalifa he adroitly dismounted and kissed his hands; he was warmly greeted, and ordered to mount again. Then the march past began. Upwards of 31,000 black troops, armed with Remingtons and formed up in long lines, went by to the sound of drums and trumpets; but the latter, on which the players attempted to produce some specially Dervish music, raised the most discordant sounds, which gave an intensely comic aspect to the whole proceeding. Each emir, with his flag, rode at the head of his division; the chief emirs were Ibrahim Wad Abdullah, Nur Angara, Zeki Tummal, and Ibrahim Wad Abu Tagalla. When the Jehadieh had passed, the sword-and spearmen followed, some 20,000 in number; then came the inhabitants of Omdurman in countless numbers. There could not have been less than 60,000. After the march past all were formed up again, and then the Khalifa, dismounting from his camel, stood on his sheepskin and conducted prayers. The shout of "Allahu Akbar" from over 100,000 throats was impressive in the extreme, and, as the sound rolled down the immense lines, it was echoed again and again through the hills, lasting for over a minute after each shout. On the conclusion of prayers the guns pealed forth salutes, and such wild fanaticism and enthusiasm prevailed that several men dashed up to the very muzzles of the guns and were blown to pieces. Of course the Khalifa announced that the souls of these stupid people had gone straight to paradise. The salutes over, the lines were once more inspected, and then all the flags were collected in one place, in the centre of which stood the Khalifa; this was the signal for the whole force to gather around and vie with one another in their shouts of loyalty that they would die a hundred times over for him and his cause. Khalifa Abdullah became so wildly impressed by the enthusiasm of these savage hordes that he could scarcely contain himself, and it was as much as his bodyguard could do to keep the impetuous crowds from crushing him to death. Numbers were bruised and kicked by the horses; but they were left quite unnoticed--a mere remark, "Umru Khalas" ("It is the end of his life"), was all the sympathy these heartless men ever offered.