Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1888-12-26
4 COMPILED RouI..

- I Z
An engagement Botweer tho British and
Arab Forces at suakim = The Rebels
Badly Defeated, nnd with Heavy Loss--
Over 400 Filled and Wounded Tho
Britisli Loss slight. 4sgs s5#.
LONDON, Dec. 81. = Dispatches from
Suakim give thu details Of combined at.
tack upon the rebel position by the British
and Egyptian forces, They stol med the
redoubts and trenches, and after brilliant
engagement lasting half an hour drove the
enemy into the bush, scoring a completes
victory Tho British troops. are now ;en-
camped in the rebel position. S..
The British lost four men killed and tive
wounded during gallant cavalry charge.
The Egyptian and black regime nts charged
the trenches and carried Thorn brilliantly,
losing two mon killed and thirty wound
ed. The only officers injured in the at
lacking force were two Egyptians. The
rebel loss is placed a. 400 Osman Digna's
nephew, the Emir Of Trinkitat, and twelve
dervishes have been captured. All are
wounded.
E The battle was opened at 4 80 o'clock In
the morning by tho man-of-war Racer,
which began Smelling the enemy's trenches.
The forts joined in and the ships mp coast
followed suit and landed men who
position. This had the effect Of de-
ceiving the enemy coming from HAndoub.
The whole force moved toward the enemy's
left flank, with q naval detachment
cavalry and mounted artillery scouting
and protecting the TANKS and rear. Two
lines, comprising battalion : in double COM
panies, rushed toward the left corner OF
the enemy's trenches. the British infantry
and Egyptian re. erve lining the embank-
ment between the water forts. General
Grenfell and staff occupied position to
the left Of the Water forts. From 5 O'clock
heavy salvos Of guns and mortars from
every fort bore on the trenches.
+ The enemy hell its ground with intense
courage until the black brigade charged
tho trenches, which fell after half an hours
hard fighting. The rebels fought wiz The
bravery Of fanatics, but two or three guns
were captured. The British forces num-
bered 1000 men.
! The hussars chased the fleeing Arabs TO
within four miles of Handoub. The enemy
was still flying. .
A dispatch to the Times from Suakim
says: as -
1.-THE prisoners soy they believe that all the
mounted gunners were killed AL toll tho
same story Of prtvation and cruelty ut tho:
hands OF the Mahdts and Osnan D.gna- Mono
OF them wished 10 light, but were 10 reed to do
30 or persuaded to fight by promises
OF loot ut Suakim and other rewards
The trenches were bare. They found
no food, clothing or money, but only
Snder rides and cartridges. The prisoners
know nothing OF the reported CAPTURE Of Emlr
or OF the fail o, the equatorial provinces The
natives assert that Handoub would fan at the
first approach OF troops. The Government
ought not to lose this chance. The task Is ar
easy one, and there is not the slightest sign OF
any gathering OF the local tribes" -
LONDON, Dec. 2L-Lord Salisbury, in q
speech, said that the Ministry had NO in
tent.on Of entangling the country in new
Soudan expedition, but that they could
not abandon Suakim. The English, Egyp-
tian and Turkish Ministries, he said, were
unanimous that Suakim must not be aban-
doned -. - =.
LONDON, Dec. 2l-Lord Salisbury in his
speech Thursday. said the Government
was bound by Nj Gladstone's promise to
maintain the Red Sea ports A British
statesman's first duty is to prevent for
eigners from thinking that every change
Of government must necessarily mean the
changing Of our foreign policy. @
Lord al sbury continues:
!" It would be madness to surrender Suakim
when we are on the eve OF suppressing slavery
because the fn al struggle " III the slave-deal
ers must be fought upon the Red sea- By the
treaty OF Paris we are bound to uphold the in
tegrity OF the Sultan's empire"
BERLIN, Dec. 2l--The Emiu relief COM
mittee announced that after careful cx-
animation Of Osman D;gna's lett,r they
have concluded that proof of Emin Pasha's
capture has not been esta btished. They
will therefore start Lieutenant Wiss-
mann's expedition for ENNIS relief a.
the earliest possible moment
; LONDON, Dee. 81. The council Of the
Englis East Africa Company, the ma
jority of whom are concerned in the Emin
relief expedition, announced their belief
that Stanley arrived at Wadeia after
Emin had started on the march toward
Dado to encoun ter the Mandists, and that
Stanley is still awaiting Emin's return.
Very few Americans have q clear dea OF the
beginnng OF the present conflict in Nubia and
Uprer Egypt After Mehemet Ali in 1>11 made
himself master OF the lower Nile country he
south, and overran Shendy Berher and
Daner, the countr es which are fur
nishing most of the soldiers for the
present war, in 1922 The tribes
never acknowledged that they were conquered
and IL is not an unfair statement to say thai
the war has been going on for sixty-six years,
with occasona truces. The Sheik Tahir is tho
direct descendent OF the old ruling house OK
Damer. He is with Osman d gna at the head
OF the 'rebels," and he is regarded by the pee
pie with superstitious loyalty, while they have
for the Khedive nothing but hatred and con-
tempt. m-,s.E rs
s Osman Digna is descended from slave
trading fam ~ OF Suakim. he is by blood OF
the Hadendowa tribe, and was appointed by
the Mahdi his Emir, or Lieutenant, Ia 1888.
Since that time he has been constantly men-
acfnR the Egyptian settlements along the coast
and on the Me, and he is now followed by q
large army. 5.s@asT
Upto 1884 the Khedve claimed Sovereignty
over the Soudan and equatorial Africa but
Wada Ha!fy is now the agreed front er OF his
lomnions, an agreement which the Mahd SITS
OF course dispute. f. a
English interference In Egypt began after
the entanglements OF the finances and the ma
tional bankruptcy brought about by the late
Kheaive. S nee 1892 British army Of occupa~
t on has renamed in the couatry. Tor the pus-
pose OF sustaining the authority OF the khe-
dive, against whom there have been several
serious revolts, especially the one led by Arab
Pasha In 1881, which was suppressed by Ell"
gland
The affair at Suakim is only an incident i1
the war There has been almost CONSTANT
fighting in the neighborhood q the town TOR
years past. and the character OF the country
as we'll as the desperate lighting qualities