The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1884-03-01 00:00:00

THE SURRENDER OF TOKAR.

A Times' telegram, dated Souakim, Feb. 22, says:—

Tokar has surrendered to the rebels. Five soldiers
have come in, who state that the rebels kept up a
heavy fire from Krupp guns and rifles for several
days, and many of the soldiers in the town were
killed. At last, being unable to defend the works any,
longer, the Governor sent emissaries on Tuesday to con-
fer with the rebels and to make terms for a surrender.
On Wednesday Adjutant-Majox Jacomb Effendi went
out, accompanied by Macaur Bey, the Governor of the
town. On their return they announced that the
soldiers must give up their arms. There was a great
commotion among the men, many of whom refused to
abandon all hope of further resistance. Finally, how-
ever, the surrender was arranged on the terms de-
manded by the rebels. During the night many of the
soldiers escaped, passing through the rebel lines.
These five men are the first who have arrived, but
they report that others are straggling on the road
thither. Tokar was finally given up yesterday.

A further telegram of the same date says
From a further conversation with the five fugitive
soldiers and the two lladendowa spies who were in
the rebel camp at the time when 150 soldiers visited
it, I gather the following details:—
On Tuesday Said Ithameesa, a merchant of Tokar,
who had been imprisoned by the authorities was released,
and went to the rebel camp. He was well received
there, returned, and made overtures to the garrison,
bringing an invitation to the officers to feast with the
rebels next day.

On Wednesday the officers went out to the
besiegers, became excellent friends with them, re-
ceived many presents, and returned from the camp
accompanied by 100 of the rebels, thus showing that
the surrender was quite decided upon. There were
three Greeks in Tokar—one a woman—and these
became Moslems. At one time there had been five,
but two had been killed in the sortie made at the
time of the battle of El Teb.

One officer only wanted to fight, and tried to gather
the soldiers round him, but was overruled by his
seniors, who, mostly former adherents of Arabi, pre-
ferred ceding the town to Moslem rebels to being suc-
coured by Christians. During the night the soldiers
who were still staunch escaped, journeying by night
and hiding by daytime, without water, and finally
vcu hero.

The town was to be surrendered on Thursday by
Sheikh Said Abu Bekr, formerly an inhabitant of
Souakim. There was no valid reason for the sur-
render, there being an abundance of provisions, with
45,000 rounds of rifle ammunition. The artillery am-
munition was short, only 22 rounds per gun. The gar-
rison numbered 300.

The authorities knew that the English were
coming; they had answered our two last letters, and
had heard the Carysfort fire. It is true that the
rebels had shelled the town with six guns for five days,
and had kept up a heavy rifle fire day and night, but
only two men of the garrison had been killed and 12
wounded in consequence.

In a telegram dated Souakim, Saturday, the special
correspondent of the Daily News says:—
Two soldiers who arrived this morning from Tokar
confirm the accounts already telegraphed respecting
the snrrender. They say, however, that the ammuni-
tion in the garrison was not so abundant as reported
by the previous refugees, but much more plentiful
than alleged by the officers of the garrison. Both
state that the townspeople first advised submission.
The latter were terrified by the firing of the Krupp
guns, which the victors at El Teb captured and turned
upon the town.
Some of the besiegers found their way into the
town in company with the deputation sent to treat
with the rebels, and these did their best to persuade
the people and the soldiery to surrender. The
soldiers, however, being told that they must yield
their weapons were alarmed, and at first refused to
give them up, on the ground that they feared a
massacre. The soldiers were asked to decide by the
morning whether they would lay down their arms,
and in the night these two escaped. Both are well
known here, and are recognised by the inhabitants.
Before they fled the soldiers generally agreed to
surrender. Both made for Trinkitat, but finding the
way blocked by the rebels, turned in the other direc-
tion.