The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1885-01-08
RACING IN poNooLA.
Sixty Csmels ON the TraGk-A Runawsy
| -DOnksy RAce.

RACING IN poNcoLA
Sixty Camels ON the TraNk-A Runswsy i,
donkey Race.
tDongola Cor. London Standard.)
Last October the first British race
meeting ever held in Dongola, or, for
that matter, in the Soudan, took place q
mile to the north of the town. The
course was marked out alongside the
telegrapi ne, and the meeting was
announced as under the patron
age of Sir Herbert Stewart, X.
G.. B., as officer commanding, and the
mndir OF Dongola. The track consisted
OF grassy turf, with intervals of sandy
mold, and taken altogether it was rough
going Everybody who could be spared
from garrison duty turned out, and the
band of the Royal Sussex regiment
played during the intervals. The first
event was announced for $3.50 p. M, but
few minutes grace was given to allow
the mudir to arrive. Oriental like,
though he had sent express to intimate
he was on his way, he did not turn up
till after three events had been got over,
and three quarters OF III hour late
Late as he was, and as most of the
natives were also, in getting to the
course, they one and all, Turks, Arabs,
Egyptians, Nubians, and wild Bedouins,
continuously exhibited the vii lest inter-
est and delight in the racns. III the
400-yard camel race the mon of the
mounted infantry turned out fully
equipped for the field. Their camels
knelt down opposite the starting post,
and at the word go" the men had to
saddle up, seize their rifles, mount, and
of" 1t took the first man exactly
forty-five seconds to do all this and get
his camel under way, but then a girth
almost Immediately became undone. The
next man, or rather next three, for that
number rose together, took fifty-fve
seconds, and the lot were "olf" in min
ute Is seconds. There was q good deal
of floating in the air and flying angel
maneuvertng done by the riders, through
the wild PAGES of the camels, and several
came to grief before getting back to tho
winning post.
The race OF the day was unquestion-
ably the Press prize, for which there
were nearly sixty starters English
officers, soldiers, Nubians, Bedouins,
and Arabs, all competed. They were
sent from the winning post to the half
mile post, turn around and home. At
last they we're off, and 80 were many of
the riders, as the huge brutes trundled
along, urged by cries and cuts from
kourbashes. A charge from such
camelry would be positively irresistible.
A stone wall even could not withstand
their onrush. My camel was in the
running, and had put an Arab up to
ride him bare ba cked. That brute since
l bought him has been daily dis
covering to me new eccentricities
of camel life. off he went,
not at the long swinging trot peculiar to
camelS but positively at a gallop, Jump
ing like steeple-chaser. Everybody
laughed ~ he headed the string by
scores of yards. In minute his nos,
was turned westward and ddsertward
and l went laundering after on horse
back, thinking my Arab was tryin;
, camel lifting. Getting near the beast
. turned him with q cut, and my bold
Il Bedouin slipped of, with . Mortified OK
7 preston on his face, vOwing the beas
$ had tried to carry him to the noun
tains. / got them back to the post, but
/ am bound to say the camel when stop
! ped had a ferocious look in his eyes, ant
that as the man flew about in the air at
! every bound no ono exhibited more ter
/, ror than the son of tho desert did at his
: mount.
From the moment when you get on a
, camels back You feel the veriest orea
ture of circumstances, your relative posi-
tons are changed, and the camel is ab
0 solute master whenever stupidity or tenn
r per induces him to act on his prompting
regardless of the string in his nose. Tn,
d donkey race gave rise to Il great deal o
6 merriment, the natives from the mudi
down screaming with laughter. Their
were the customary quotas of destroyer
Gus donkeys and lively donkeys. Lor
Airlie led by fifty yards till clos
: 70 the post, when his donke
9 stopped to engage in an alterca
;, ton with dog that ran on the course
q and nothing could induce him to pre-
!, coed till the cur was disposed of, whic
Q resulted in his coming in second. Tn
$ mudir has signifed his intention Q
: giving 25 pound sterling in prizes ever
: Wednesday hereafter, on which day tn
meeting is to DO held, while the troop
g remain in Dongola. Hardly q bette
q means could have been devised tina
|, these race meetings for bringing abou
n friendly relations with the people here
|. They are fond of contests of the kind
e and accept our entering upon them as
u prof of our wish to act the part q
fri ;nds and allies.
d Asphyxia from Gas.
L Constellation