The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1885-01-30
WAR IN The DESERT.

WAR IN THE DESERT.
Ten Thousand Arabs Dash Into a Storm
of British Shot and She'll General Stew
arts Command Fiercely Attacked Willis
| Smuggling TO Relieve "Chinese Gordon
The False Prophets Dead Piled Up in
Heaps-The Survivors FIee-British Loss
| SeyentT-Four.
LONDON, Jan. GA battle between
General Stewards troops, numbering 1900,
and 5000 to 10000 Arabs has been fought
at point in the Passaniyeh desert, twenty
| three miles northwest from Metemneh, and
near the caravan station of Shebacat in
| which the rebels were routed Among
| those who fell under the enemyS fire
was Lieutenant-Colone Burnaby Be
sides Colonel Burnaby, the following
! were killed. Major Carmichael, Fifth Lam
/ GERS; Major Anterior, Fifth Dragons; Cap
tain barley and Lieutenant Shaw, Fourth
Dragons; Lieutenant Wolfe Scots Greys,
and Lieutenants Pigott and De Leslie, of
| the Naval Brigade. Lord St. Vincent and
Lord Airlie were wounded.
A dispatch has been received at the War
| Office from General IYolseley, dated Korti,
| JAN 81, 5 p. M, which reads substantially
as follows:
General Stewart has had a heavy engage
ment with portion of Ell Mehdi's forces near
| the Abu-Klea wells, about twenty-three miles
this side of Metemneh. The rebels had col,
| lected from Berber Metemneh and Omdurar
man. This last place, regretto say, so pris.
| Mehdi, and thus men were released from
| there to fight General Stewart On the after
noon of January 16 General Stewards cavalry
| reported that the enemy were in position
| some few miles this side of the wells
| AS it was too late in the day to allow of an
| advance and successful encounter General
| Stewart bivouacked where he was for the
| night. The enemy kept up harmless fire all
night and erected works on General Stewards
| right flank On Saturday General Stewart
| endeavored to draw the enemy on to make an
| attack, but the rebels hesitated. In conse-
| quence, General Stewart left all his impede
| mentS, also his camels, with a guard of the
Sussex regiment and some mounted infantry,
| and moved forward, keeping his forces
IN the form OF square. All the men were on
| foot. The British army passed around the
| enemyS flank, forcing them to make an at
tack or be subject to an entllade fire. The
enemy wheeled to the left and made a we'll
| organized charge under whitening fire from
our men. The square was unfortunate
| ly penetrated about its left rear,
| when heavy cavalry and camel regi-
ment were in possession, by sheer weight of
| numbers. The admirable steadiness of our
| men enabled them to maintain a hand-to-
hand fight with the opposing force, while
| severe punishment was being inflicted upoL
| the enemy by all other parts of the square
| The enemy was finally driven back under q
| heavy fire from all sides. The Nineteenth
| HuSSars then pushed forward to the wells,
| which were in our possession by five in the
left less than eight;
| hundred slain around the works The number
| of their wounded able to march or to be carried
| Off the field is estimated attwo thousand. The
| prisoners taken while the enemy was retiring
| report the number of the enemy s wounded is
| quite exceptional. One immediate effect of
| the battle is that many of the rebels are sub
| uniting. 1t was necessary for the army to re-
| main at the wells some hours to obtain water
AS soon as practicable the intention was to
push on with all expedition to Metemneh.
| The English wounded are doing well.
General WOlseley adds;
General Stewards operations have been
| most creditable to him as commander and
| the Nation has every reason to be proud of
| the gallantry and splendid spirit OF her Males
| ty 8 soldiers on this occasion. Our losses were
| nine commissioned officers killed and nine
| wounded and sixty-fve non-commssioned
| ofllcers and men killed and eighty-hye
wounded. General Stewards force consists
| of about 1900 men all told.
Later dispatches say that the British had
| no idea that the enemy was so near. The
| native reports had led them to suppose that
| only few rebels held Abu-Klea The rebels
| brought all their best troops to the attack.
| The assault on the rightof the British square
| was led by Abusaleh, Emir of Metemneh,
and the attack on the left was under Mo-
manned Khair, Emir of Berber, who was
wounded and who retired during the early
part of the engagement Abusaleh adj
Yanced fercely with hundred fanatics I'M
| til shot down in the square. Burnaby fell,
| pierced by spear which severed the jug
ular yeIn and his right hand cliuched in
death about the throat of the Arab who
killed him while CALAMITY fighting
with his comrades. The enemy's firing the
night before the fight prevented sleep. The
rebels came on i'll good order from the right
and left front at eight o'clock in the MORN
ing. A screw-gun battery checked their
advance for some time. Though the Brit
ish position was well protected the rifles of
the rebels made accurate fire. At ten
o'clock General Stewart determined to make
a counter-attack.
The medical staff under Surgeon Fergu-
son worked splendidly under the heaviest
fire. The stoppageS to attend to the
wounded delayed the advance The in
mass of falling camelS and struggling Arabs
and English soldiers. Three hearty cheers
were given when the square was
reformed on fresh ground. Nu-
merous Arabs, having pretended to be dead,
now rose from the field and rushed past the
square to join the retreating enemy The
rebels consisted of forces from KhartoUn,
Kordofan and Berber. During the night
General Stewart sent portion of the guards
back to bring everything from the in
trenched post in the rear. They returned in
safety on the morning of the 18th, when the
troops partook of their first food and water
for tWenty-fOur hours. The Hussars buried
sixty men where the square was attacked.
The rebels had nine hundred special negro
rifemen, all good shots.
LONDON, Jan. 22.-Frederck Burnaby, Lieu
| tenant Colonel commanding Horse Guards,
son of the late Rev. @. Burnaby, was born at
Bedford March 3, 1872, and received his educa-
ton at Harrow School and i'll Germany. He
entered the ROYAL Horse Guards. blues, Sep
TENDER 3d. 1859 He has for the most part of
his life since then been prominently connected
with the British array. Northumberland Bur
naby was a member of the Council OF the Aero
nautic Society of Great Britain, and has made
nineteen balloon ascents, beng on several Occa-
sions unaccompanied by any professional aero
naut. In March, 1882, he assembled alone in
the Eclipse balloon from Dover, and, after
some yiciSsitudes IN mid-air, descended near
Chateau de Montigny near EnverInu, in Nor
mandy. His works are: "a Ride to Khiya;''
Travels and Adventures in Central Asia
son Horseback Through Asia Minor" and
"a Ride Across the Channel, and Other Ad
ventures i'll the Air.
Twelve Dollars for Baby.