The sun rose over the desert, striking with its first rays the motionless sentinels. On the horizon, the Hoggar mountains were colored pink. The night had been short, too short to rest the mission from the fatigue of the preceding days. A moment later, the general commotion threw the camp into excitement.
The officers passed from section to section and hurried the preparations. Within moments, the troop was ready to depart.
Its leader, Colonel Flatters, had barely slept. For five days the convoy had not encountered a well and the water supply was dwindling. We had to trust the guides, otherwise a terrible fate would threaten the caravan. The men whispered that the Tuaregs would not allow their country to be crossed with impunity
Leaving Ouargla on December 4, 1880, the heavy column had, two months later, lost all contact with the North. She had skirted the Mya wadi as far as Hassi-Inifel and reached Amguid. From Inzimane-Thikhsine his last mail had left for Ouargla.
After a failure suffered the previous year, the mission's aim was to reconnoiter the terrain a second time with a view to a connection by railway line between North Africa and tropical Africa.
90 men strong, it was the largest military caravan that had ever set out across the Sahara:with its 90 mehara , her 149 carrying camels, four months of food, ammunition, and gifts for the people of Sudan, she thought she could face the scorching sky and the long stages without danger.
Colonel Flatters had two officers under his command, Captain Masson and Lieutenant de Dianous. They were accompanied by the doctor Guiard, and the engineers Béringer, Roche and San-tin, whom the Superior Railway Commission had charged with the study of the soil and the topographical surveys.
Four other Frenchmen, sergeants Dennery and Pobéguin, the cook Marjolet and Brame, the orderly of Flatters, supervised 47 Algerian skirmishers and 31 camel drivers from the Chaamba tribe, enemies of the Tuaregs for centuries. A religious figure, the mokkadem, followed the expedition.
The column, on February 14, was two days' march from the enormous granite mass of Hoggar, and one of the guides had declared that we would find water there.
We camped two days later near Mount Atakor. It was necessary to reach the well indicated inside the mountain, Hassi-Tadjenout”, as some called it, Bir-el-Gharama said others, that is to say the “tribute well”. suspected how heavy the tribute would be to pay in the desert...
Flatters issued his orders:the column would divide into three groups:Lieutenant de Dianous, the engineer Santin and Pobéguin would guard the tents with 40 men. The camel drivers, commanded by Dennery, would take the animals to fetch water. Captain Masson, the two other engineers and Doctor Guiard would go to the front with their colonel.
Two hours later, Sergeant Dennery's 250 camels crashed into a cleft at the foot of the cliff.
The vanguard finally reached a platform dotted with scanty shrubbery The terrace overlooked a series of cirques, and the column began its descent, forcing its way through the ravine.
After an hour of exhausting walking, Dennery saw in the distance, in a verdant wadi, Colonel Flatters and Captain Masson who were helping the men to clean out the well cluttered with rubbish, while the engineers and Guiard were resting in the shade of the trees.
Suddenly, Dennery saw the guides, who had remained apart, jumping on their mares and riding away at full speed, without the knowledge of the officers. . Was it betrayal? Worried, the sergeant cocked his rifle. A confused murmur rose from the sides of the valley. It was as if a silent army was approaching.
Suddenly, a horde of veiled Tuaregs descended the slope, spears forward, under the horrified eyes of Dennery:300 Tuaregs charged. The two engineers and the doctor had their throats cut before they had time to draw their revolvers. The well-diggers fled:Flatters and Masson were left alone, facing a howling rush of demons. Each shot of their pistols struck, but when the cylinders were empty, they fell, pierced by shots. hadn't noticed yet, whipped his beast to bring it down. Then, kneeling behind the rampart of his body, he shot down the Tuaregs one after the other with his Gras carabiner.
As soon as he was spotted, a platoon of warriors mounted an attack :the 74 cleared the ranks, and the sergeant was about to fire his last cartridge when a javelin went through his throat. During this time, the conveyors who remained on the plateau tried in vain to hold back their animals, terrified by the water which they felt very close. They rushed into the ravine and the Tuareg took it.