The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1884-03-22 00:00:00

INCIDENTS OF THE BATTLE.

The special correspondent of the Standara says:
On reaching the point where the Arabs had charged
down upon the leading Brigade, the guns which had
been abandoned when Davis's square was broken were
recovered. Almost at the same moment a fresh body
of he enemy were seen issuing from a broad, deep,
rocky ravine, in which they had been lying coneealed,
this time in even denser numbers than before. Our
troops met the onslaught with the utmost steadiness.
It was a repetition of the battle of El Teb, but the
charges we sustained were made by larger bodies of
men, and were even fiercer and more determined than
upon that occasion. Of the brave natives who
swarmed down upon us none went back; it was, in-
deed, death or victory with them. It was pitiful to
see how the masses melted away under our fire, leav-
ing a trail of bodies behind them, till the last sur-
vivors fell close to our ranks.

The Times' correspondent says: Thrice the naval
officers commanding the machine guns were sur-
rounded, and at last they and many of their men
were cut to pieces. The York and Lancaster men
were hardly less ferociously attacked. Major
Dalgety, having emptied his revolver against the
rushing horde, but in vain, was attacked with the
terrible circling swing of a two-handed sword, and
his right wrist, as he raised his arm to guard his
head, was almost severed, but his head escaped with a
slight wound. Sergeant-Major Prendergast, while
bending over a wounded man, had a spear driven
through his back with fearful force, and is sadly in-
jured.
Two of the mounted infantry men, for a somewhat
careless act, nearly paid the penalty with their lives.
Mounted men, in such an actiom, should never dis-
mount singly to attack a foe; but one of these two
men did so, his comrade holding his horse. A native
was lurking in the shelter of some holes and firing,
and the dismounted man sought to turn him out of
this position, so dangerous to the English skirmishers.
He advanced some yards, fired at him, and missed.
The savage then, with excellent judgment, made, not
for his solitary assailant, but for the man encumbered
with two horses, and terribly he slashed him with a
two-handled sword across the bridle arm and shoulder.
The unwounded man, who had reloaded, dared not
fire for fear of injuring his comrade, whom he with
difficulty rescued. It was this peril, due to individual
prowess, by which our advancing troopers were mainly
threatened. In another case an enemy, jumping ur
from his hidinGlace in a bush, shot a mounted infantry
)21an through Sze shoulder at only a yard's distance.

The special correspondent of the Deity Telegraph
says One of the finest and strongest men in the
Blaal Watch was with Section 1, namely, big Jamie
Adams, and he was pluckily backed by Colour-
sergeant Donald Fraser. Both men faced the rushing
horde of nearly naked Arabs, charging partly over
the brink and down into the nullah. The battle was
too fierce to permit of time to withdraw empty cart-
ridges, let alone load rifles. These men and their
comrades opposed steel with steel, fighting with all
the physical power they possessed, which was vastly
greater than the sinewy strength of the swart savages.
The two Highlanders made over a dozen of their foe-
men bite the dust before they fell from loss of blood
sustained by cuts and thrown spears. While they
fought they used not only their rifles, the butts as well
as the bayonets, but when the Arabs closed in hit out
with their fists in the scramble.

Another man of the same section, Private George
Drummond, who came out alive with three wounds,
whilst bayonetting an Arab was cut over the head by
a horseman on a grey charger with one of those huge
cross-hilted swords. Drummond's helmet and the
swerving of the horse saved him. Though stunned, he
rallied in a moment, and drove his bayonet through
the Arab's body. Whilst tugging to get it out,
another Arab rushed at him, spear in hand, but his
fighting chum, Kelly, shot the savage. Poor Kelly
was killed almost instantly afterwards, and Drum-
mond had his work cut out to get away. It has since
transpired that the man on the grey charger was
Osman Digna's cousin, Sheikh Maliomednd that the
follower who rushed to his rescue was his steward or
wakil.

The following General Order in reference to the
defeat of Osman Digna has been published :
" The second task of the expedition has now been
accomplished; the rebel army that threatened
Souakim is dispersed, and its leader, Osman Digna,
is a fugitive in the hills, with a price upon his head.
"This result you, the officers and men of this small
army, have brought about by the disclipine and
steadiness which you have shown in the performance
of the several duties assigned to you. The men who
cheerfully worked on the wharf all night, who bore
the thirst and heat of the march, who quietly endured
the dropping fire of the enemy all that night before
the battle—those men showed themselves to be the
true stuff of which British soldiers are made.

"There was only one critical moment when dis-
cipline was forgotten, but remember, you men of the
2nd Brigade, how, when you rallied and stood
shoulder to shoulder, all danger was over, and the
enemy no longer faced you. Remember, also, those
brave comrades who stood to the last; who cared
more for your honour than for their own safety, and
who died nobly on that spot where the dead bodies of
over 600 enemies showed how dearly they had pur-
chased that temporary success.
"The thanks of the army are due to the Ist
Brigade for the steadiness with which it received and
repulsed the enemy's attack. The Naval Brigade for
a brief moment lost their guns, but through no fault
of their own. Three of their officers and seven men
were killed in trying to defend them, and each gun
was locked before it fell into the enemy's hands, so
that it could not be Used against us.
"The cavalry co-operated well with the infantry
as skirmishers and scouts, and at the most critical
moment protected the flank of the Second Brigade. ,
"The Commissariat and Transport department
were indefatigable, and showed the admirable energy
of organisation, without which the army would in this
waterless country have suffered terribly.
"The arrangements made by the Army Medical
department for the comfort and transport of the
wounded and sick were all that could be desired.
Many instances of self-devotion on the part of the
medical officers occurred which will not be forgotten.
"The Staff, too, have evinced great zeal. and
capacity, a proof of which is shown in the smoothness
with which all in authority have worked together for
the general good.
"The Naval Brigade have shown the same fine
qualities of courage and endurance that carried them
through the Tokar expedition, and their share in our
work will always be remembered with admiration by
their comrades In the army. I have already had the
honour to convey the thanks and congratulations of
Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen, who never
forgets her soldiers, and of his Royal Highness the
Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief. The country
will also thank you for maintaining the honour of the
English name, and your general will always be proud
to be associated with you."

I In a telegram dated Sunday, the special corres-
pondent of the Standard says that the Admiral is
sending out the following Proclamation :
"I, the English Governor and General civil and
military of Souakim, make known that whosoever
will bring in the rebel Osman, the murderer, who has
by his lies caused the blood of the tribes to be spilt at
El Teb and Tamanieb, alive or dead, shall receive five
thousand dollars reward."

The special correspondent of the Daily News, under
date Souakim, Tuesday, writes: Spies have just ar-
rived with information that Osman Digna, who is near
his former encampment, is exhorting to a religious
war. He has about two thousand followers.

Admiral Hewett's proclamation offering a reward
for Oelnan Digna's capture was read by some sheikhs
with Osman Digna, after which all copies were torn
up or contemptuously thrown aside.
Osman Digna is bent upon fighting, promising
success to his followers in a third trial, but there is
much demoralization among the tribesmen.
Two Sheikhs trying to run away were chained by
Osman Digna, who has despatched some hundred and
fifty scouts to watch our movements, especially at Bir
Handoob, and who have been instructed to kill
stragglers, whether English or of friendly tribes.