_The Conquest of Borkou._—Our expedition consisted of 400 black soldiers, with two mountain-guns; about 200 Arab and Toubou volunteers, forming a “goum” or party of scouts, accompanied the column. We carried with us provisions for forty days, and the total number of our camels was about 2000. By a rather extraordinary piece of good luck, our forward march was not disturbed by the enemy. The season was favourable, the days not being over-hot, and the nights fairly cool; the usual temperature at sunrise was about 60° Fahr., but a very strong wind, blowing from the north-east and raising blinding clouds of sand, made it seem a great deal colder. Our march was skilfully concealed as far as Kourouadi, a point from which we could threaten the fortress of Ain Galakka as easily as that of Faya. There, after allowing the troops a day for rest and final preparation, it was decided to strike a decisive blow at Ain Galakka, the principal centre of the Senoussist forces. Our column, leaving its convoy a dozen kilometres in the rear, under a guard of fifty men, appeared before Ain Galakka on the morning of 27 November 1913; the enemy were completely surprised. The attack began by a bombardment of no more than about a hundred shells, which did great damage inside the _zawia_, and made in the outer wall many a breach for the infantry to pass through. The assault was opened at ten o’clock; the defenders, though not numerous, offered a vigorous resistance, preferring to die rather than surrender; by mid-day the entire fortress was in our hands. We had about forty casualties, of which a third were killed. [Illustration: THE COLUMN HALTED AT THE WELLS OF KOUROUADI, BORKOU] [Illustration: THE FORT OF BERRIER-FONTAINE, OASIS OF FAYA] [Illustration: ROCKY COUNTRY BETWEEN THE OASES OF YARDA AND BÉDO, BORKOU] [Illustration: DANCE OF THE NAKAZZAS, OASIS OF FAYA, BORKOU] Leaving our wounded in Ain Galakka with a small garrison, we marched on the _zawia_ of Faya, which we entered without striking a blow on December 1. Thence proceeding still farther into the desert, we reached in a week’s time Gouro, a point 200 kilometres north, the religious and political centre of the Senoussists in Central Africa, which was seized after a short struggle. Then, continuing its successful march towards the east, the column took possession unopposed of the oasis of Ounianga, 60 miles from Gouro, and leaving a small garrison there we returned to Faya, the best place to be chosen for the military and political centre of the newly conquered territory. _Importance of the Conquest of Borkou._—This laborious campaign had the very important result of depriving the Senoussists of the valuable _tête de pont_ on the south side of the Sahara which Borkou constituted for them, enabling them to distribute over Central Africa arms, ammunition, and propagandists of the holy war.