Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1884-12-05
TIE MODERN CAMBYsES.


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xoRp wOxSkxxry ExPBDiTYOE,
~ nussss - srasspsss, nssss - Travel
80 ~ grssps esesas6 - shs Task -
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The expedsslon fos The rc'ief Of GENERAL
{3or6eB, under lhe direction OF GeneraI
lIesd Wo,seley and some Of hls ATTEST lieu.
seaauts. Who hase icf yesrs bees associated
WiA him, y now fairly on ite way. The
peculiar features cf Lord Woiscley's eater
nsvee bove neeH ST forth from day 10 day.
aro uuiuse,Iisibk from lack Of correlation.
Tse os1ect a. she expedition. The means
Whorchy this object Il 10 be effected. and
fAe sctcfx IN The Latest British enterprise
IN Egypt viii, Il is hoped, he teftsr under.
stood from what follows.
The reason for the expedition needs only
bare mfutio6-to release or make safe the
brave c6ictr, who set out in the vain hope
q copcillauBg the Soudan tribes In rebel
Hon against the misrule Of the Egy ptian
Government, b the prime motive for the
enterprise. Whether the safe bringing
swsy Of General Gordon and the Egyptian
gs.Tison IL I'll that Il intended to accom-
piish remains % be secn. But Il seems
scarcely hkeiy that Ehsrtoum will be relic
gated 10 nstive Arab rule, Is being an iu1-
poTtant trade-centre, itmay be OF advantage
% hold h pernspeufly-d by the con-
structiou Il good means Of communication
4 can ie resdilv held. As one OF the OBJ
jects Of the expedition scarcely spoken OF,
aud yet Of great importance, may be mem
toned the possible ciearing.up Of the mys-
terry attaching 10 the fate Of the English
and other foreign officers who served In
the Inflated expedition under Hicks Pasha.
The famous artist vitxteIly. and the no less
famous war correspondent, O'Donovan.
have also to be heard from. for many vet
cherish the hope that the brave and good
humored hero Of the Mets oasis may be
alive In the hands Of FL Mahdi. while ru-
mors have frequently insisted that Wiz
telly Is alive, and the latest insist that he
il regarded ~ doctor and acts In that ca-
pacity.
Khsrou the objective point Of the ex-
pediticO, 10 situated at the Junction OF the
White snd Blue Nile, in attitude l5s 3J n.
longitude 32e 80 4. II II the centre OF
many conyergiDg caravan routes OF trade,
and from thence came formerly the Gen.
ostricb.feaihers. bees-wax. and hides; aud
through the same mesns the chief imports,
Mar chester eotton-goods, found their way
into equatorial Africa. II has population
Of about 5000. The place IL distant about
1.400 miles fUm Cairo "as the crow
1ies," but the routes thither, az will
be seen. have little that is straight
about them, and any crow making
the attempt would have TO carry his rations
with him and a considerable supply OF
water. The country around is sterile ; the
climate unhealthy for Europeans. and the
expedition-liEe that 10 Ashantee under
the same geperal-must largely be ga doc
tors and an engineers war;" Here, then,
Is the work before Lord Wolselcy: To
transport 10000 fighting men and NUM-
lions Of war, less than half way By rail.
rosd and uavieabIe river. thence across
caiaracfs and through shallow, treach-
erous stream; and then. leaving II alto
gefber, possibly strike across 100 miles OF
desert. where neither forage, food, nor
water can be obtained. Ii is obvious that
THE FIGHTING ELEMESToF THIS EXPEDITION
can scarcely outnumber the non-combat-
ants. IL ~ not unlikely, indeed, that il
will be In a considerable minority. But
all mus. he fed. transport ed, aud cared for,
and the 100 miles OF the desert Is the tough
est piece 81 the whole work cut out for the
troops. Right here, too, might be interject-
ed the remark that while an efficient fight
ing force will be ready and able to do
Nil the warfare the Arsos may desire, ii Is
not unlikely that no fight may take place.
II fair conditions insurIng the safety OF
Egypt can be- secured, or the leaders-the |
Mahdi or others are able and willing TO |
treat on the basis Of the sovereignty of the |
soudan. the expedition may fulfil its mis-
sion without any fighting at all. War is
not its prime object--war will be |
pply disagreesblc necessity. How the |
British force will get to the place where
his conclusion IA to be tried Is the thing |
10 be considered.
The river navigation Lord Wolseley has |
accomplished by the use Of stern-wbeel
steamers for the deeper portions, ARMED with |
,ne howltxer and Nordenieldt guns, and |
pne steamer is used for himself and per- |
sonai staff. A convenient and handy boat for |
IrayeTsing the shallow portions Of the river |
has been devised, and catamarans or dou- |
blc-boats have also been I'm service. To |
nan these and to convey them through the |
.atsructs and treacherous rapids. TOO Cana.
liam boatmen have been engaged. These
ire paid at the rate OF $40 per month; and |
hough rumors have not failed to arrive OF |
tendency to insubordination. IL is a fair |
resumption that these have been selected |
with Judgment, and that the commander |
4 the Red-river expedition has secured |
he class OF men needed and best fitted for
he work.
1t should be borne In mind that the
,isTAYcEs TO BE TRAvERsEp BY THE RELIEF
ire very great, and II will be frequent |
'hauge from water TO land, and rice versa.
4 panorama Of the Nile, ss II flows from |
afro to khartoum. show winding, sinu-
Jus stream, frequently bending In wide |
Utmost at right angles to the previous
course. Much OF this course Is plain |
'ailing for steamers, and at Z" high Niie''-
hat Is. when the river Is at its an.
nual hood-some OF the "cataracts I"
ran be passed with comparative ease by |
large boats or steamers. while Mt others the |
boats VIII have to be unloaded, placed on /
rollers. and so carried or dragged for |
over flfty-mies, TO the |
next launching place. Some idea of the |
distance between Khartoum and Cairo may |
be gathered from the fact that "high Nile"
IT kharioum is forty days earlier than at !
Cairo, the time taken by the current OF the |
stream between the two places. The dis
snee from Cairo to khartoum Is 1,64J
miles, and the only railroad reaches to |
Stout, 900 miles. From that point steamers
81 large draueht conveyed the troops to |
AssouaD, 320 miles up stream. Be |
lore Assouan Is reached the journey |
NJ the Nile In one 10 be envied. On either |
side OF the immortal stream rises before the |
voyagcrs succession az anc,cnt wonders, |
The ruins OF those mighty temples and |
statues which made this part OF the Nile |
lbe most wonderful OF the ancient world. |
Karnnk, Thebes, Memphis, Esueh. Edfou, |
Luxor, reveal their ruined wonders, and |
u Tommy Atkins" the traditional British |
private soldier. will have an awful lot to |
talk about when be gets home, II he keeps |
bis eyes and ears open. AT Assouan the |
difficulties of transportation begin. About |
one third Of the voyage Is over. and the |
Firt Cataract has been passed over by |
not without much difficulty.
A word rs to the cataracts themselves. |
The word Is somewhat misapplied. they |
are not waterfalls, but succession OF IA. |
pids. whirIpools, and eddics caused by |
rocks and islets. As the river falls Il be- |
comes divided into numerous narrow chan
nelx, which make navigation hard even for
small boats, and sometimes impossible. II
might also be said that The numbers are
nom the mouth Of the river. and the "First
Cetaract 2 Is the one nearest Cairo.