Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1882-07-27
EGYPT'S ARMY.


by American officers, and as far rs ii
has any efficiency it is their creation.
These oilicers-Some twenty-five in
number-went to Egypt in 1867, nearly
all broken in fortune and filed with
high hopes in their new employment
1t was through Gen. Thaddeus p. Mott,
and son Of Dr. Valentine Mott, who
had made his way to Constantinople
and there married u Greek lady, that
these gentlemen were induced to enter
the service of the khcdve. Gen. Mott
served in Italy, and afterward rose to
the rank of brigadier general in the
federal army during the late civil war.
The best known of these Americans
was Gen. Charles p Stone, who almost
Immediately became chief of staff, and
soon after firmly established himself in
n post similar in power and authority
to that OF Gen. Won Moltke toward the
German armies. II was not long be-
fore the American officers began to
feel hostile pressure from two quarters
one from the American consul gen
eral, Col. George II. Butler, and from
the English influences prevailing in
Cairo and Alexandria. Then followed
some personal encounters and general
pickering disgraceful to all concerned,
and as body among the Christian
colonies of those two cities these
gentleman soon lost any collective
standing Individually, however, they
were soldiers of established reputation,
the larger proportion being from the
confederate army. and they have near
ly all led very adventurous careers,
both before and after leaving the
Egyptian service. The most promi-
ncnt confederate was Col. Charles
Rhett, chief of staff to Gen. Joseph +.
Johnston during the civil war. When
Col. Rhett went to Egypt he was very
much disinclpad to adopt the habits of
the military in matters Of costume,
and, in fact, had no sympathy with
the country a. all, and was quite out
spoken in his views. From this cir
cumstancc he was never given an inn
portant command, but like many
others, was given his pay regular, ac
cording to contract, which was an in
| flexible instrument. He was seized
with paralysis while on visit TO Eu-
rope, dying suddenly. He was the
most popular Of all the American
officers in Egypt
An ilicer of no less note was Loring
Pasha, who, in 1919, performed the
most difficult and painstaking march
known in American military annals.
He conducted a regiment supplied with
artillery across the Rocky Mountains
to OrCgOn--a five months tramp. He
subsequently engaged in the Mexican
war, leaving an arm on the field, but
when the civil war came he cast his
fortunes with the south. When he left
Egypt, where he was COmmandant of
AleXandria--thc important post today
the khedivc gave him $4,000, which
| il is understood has almost melted
away in disastrous speculation. 1t was
Gen. Loring who constructed almost
all Of the important dcfenscs of AlcXan-
diria, commanded the disastrous eXpe-
pediton against Abyssinia, and whose
hand is visible in the military organiza-
ton rs it exists to-day. He is living
in New York, engaged upon book re-
counting the experiences Of his life.
The career of Gen. Charles p. Stone
is well known to all army officers, and
had he remained in his original posi-
ton on the army list there is scarcely
an officer in the active service that
would now rank him. He was, how
ever, ut the instance of the late Senator
summer, sent to Fort Lafayette on
charges of reasonable conduct at the
battle of Balls Bluff. and was subsc-
quently dismissed. This event nearly
upset his reason; but he rallied, be-
came mining engineer, and finally
accepted the position at the head Of the
Egyptian staff which he still holds.
His conduct in Egypt has been both
highly praised and severely criticised.
One thing is certain. He was about
the only American officer who was
able to hold his place against all in
trigue, first with lsmail Pasha, the de-
posed khcdive, and then with his son,
Tewiik, his successor. Gen. Stone not
only undertook to organize the present
army, to revoutionize the rotton
methods he found in vogue, but
he set on foot n comprehensive
system of central African eXplor-
alton, under Col. c. c. Long, Spar
row Purdy, and Mais, Mason, Prout,
and Dye. The officers now remaining
at the scene of conflict are Gen. Stone,
Col. C. c. Long (not in the army, and
Maj. Mason. Sparrow Purdy is dead,
Among those no longer living, too, arc
Col. Jenifer, inventor of the Jenifer sad,
die; Gen Sibley, inventor of the Sibley
tent; Gen. Reynolds, Col. Frank Ray
nolds, Mai. Hunt, and Col. Campbell,
all ex-confederate officers. Gen. II. f.
Colston who made Il journey Of 1,70C
miles on litter in equatorial Africa &c
the Nile, is now engaged as u military
instructor at an academy at Washing
ton Heights. Col. Wood is living qui,
etly in Norfolk.
1t is hardly probably that any of the
American officers will participate in tn.
struggle with the exception of Gen
Stone, and it is extremely doubtful il
he will be permitted to retain any i'm,
portant command if q religious wal
grows out of the present situation.
Few of the officers now live TO see
the fruit of their labors. There is q
very large number of Americans and
officers everywhere who will watch the
result of the fighting as an evidence Of
what our military task-masters can dc
with African material. The army mum.
bers $4,000 men and the troops carry
Remington rifles. In all of the local
events of the Soudan the negro troops
have proved themselves better soldiers
than the Egyptians. As to the Be-
douins, there is the same romance
about their fighting qualities as there is
about the North American Indian in
the open field. Like other nomadS
they are valiant in ambush and can pro
duce havoc, but they do not love mod
ern artillery.
THE Mastador Cattle company, OF
Texas, is fencing the north line of its
range with barbed wire fence. This
fence, when completed will be 50 miles,
and will connect with the fence erected
by the Adafr- Goodnight interest, about
so miles long, thus making a continu-
GUS line of fence of about 1870 miles.