Matters stood badly for the State when the opportune arrival of Commandant Lothaire, with three hundred men, changed the outlook entirely. This occurred on January 9, 1894, a day marked by another singular piece of good fortune. The boma which had so long defied the best efforts of the besiegers was set on fire and destroyed, a shot from one of the Krupp guns having blown up the Arab magazine. In their haste to abandon it, many Arabs were shot, while others were drowned in a desperate attempt to cross the river. By cutting off their water supply, the other garrisons were compelled to surrender, so that within three days over two thousand Arabs were taken prisoners by the State troops. The Arab power was now effectually broken. To break it was an arduous task, expensive both in blood and money, but on the whole it was conducted as humanely as it is possible to conduct military operations. The sufferings of the Europeans were fully as great as, if not greater than, the sufferings of their enemies. Proportionate to their numbers, their mortality was higher. More succumbed to disease and the hardships of the campaign than were killed by the enemy’s bullets, among them the gallant De Wouters, who passed away in the very hour of his triumph. [Sidenote: Honours for Dhanis.] The chief honours of the Belgian campaigns against the Arabs undoubtedly rest upon Dhanis, who had exhibited foresight, patience, and skill in his every act. His ability and success were recognised by King Leopold, who conferred upon him the title of Baron. In his final report to King Leopold of the Arab campaign, dated December 20, 1894, Baron Dhanis thus tersely sums up the results of that memorable struggle: