Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1893-03-27
THE FIGHTING DERVISHES.
SONS OF THE DESERT WHO ARE
UTTERLY FEARLESS.

aside from his prey than thor
oughly excited Dervish from his
swoop on an enemy, writes cor
respondent on the London Telegraph.
His half brother in tanaticism and creed,
the Indian or Afghan Ghazi, is terrible,
but the African and Arab Dervish IS
superlatively awful, with an incuraoie
delirium for his opponents gore.
Howling and whirling Dervishes, such
as travellers are Especially conducted to
see when visiting the East" are COM
paratively harmless sort of lunatics COM
paled with those types of the African
bigots who, "converted" to Mahdism,
burn to run amuck with the rest of the
unbelieving humanity. Once fairly Bit
ten with the tarantula of Moslem sectar-
ian zeal, the proselyte is consumed with
the belief that the delights OF the
seventh or any number OF heavens await
him if he can only engage in sturdy,
steady butchery with "infdels, of his
own or any race. tits matter OF indif-
ference to him if, in the operation, while
he sheathes his sword in his and his
Prophets enemy, the latter is doing the
5dLl6 W AlLus FhASh ehN e"PpJ
ton he holds as his sure reward.
The stiff fight the other day between
the Egyptian troops south of Wady
Halfa and the Mahdists recalls to me
many bygone incident aud fierce strug-
gle between British and Egyptian troops
and forces largely composed OF Der
wishes. Ambigol Cataract, where the
skirmish took place, is about sixty miles
south of Wady Halfa. There is an Egyp-
tian outpost at Gemai, where the great
Second Cataract proper begins, and an
other at Sarrass. The one station is fif-
teen miles and the other thirty-three
miles further up stream, and the railroad,
line and irouclad train still run through
to both posts. No doubt when the Der,
wish raiders, numbering 400 strong, were
repulsed from the forts they fell back
from the river towards the easier-going
tracks inland, along which they must
have sped on their camels. The Egyp-.
tian cavalry-which, under careful Eng.
lish training, have learned to trust their
weapons and their own physical strength
in contest with the Bedouinese-prob-
ably not numbering more than two squad
rons, overlook the raiders at the pleas
ant aforetime camps of Ambigol. There,
no doubt, under the palm trees grateful
shade, hard by the rush and roar OF the
mighty river, the Egyptian troops at
once opened fire upon them. Although
the whole of the enemy we're unlikely to
have been Dervshes-for these gentry
never run away, but, when necessary,
walk sedately out of a fight, merely to
assume fresh coign Of vantage-ash sharp
engagement seems to have ensued. The
Mahdists, nothing loath, swarmed,
mounted and foot, up the rocky hills,
which their pursuers had, with sound,
tactical judgment, crowned, and whence
they had opened fire.
think it was at the battle of Ell Teb
I first made the acquaintance of the
Mahdist Dervishes. The Fuzzy Wuzzy
Hadendowah tribesman is the bravest Of
the brave, but the Dervish is heroism
run crazy. These so-called "holy beg
gars," self-sworn to devote themselves
to the Prophets cause, came at General
Graham's square of marines, Highland
men, and stout linesmen as il we had
n N h
D,e1 OSea GttoM =: .ta;. ~ 30 hSas,. ns sr W i'll
anai - ,sa - p 80 80 ,u;th
nn aea bo.tar 80 ,aoan~ns to- st;orS thoa
nSaroad FIJI, IN front Of the fire'wolle5
snnaSe nown tbov want hv acores and
hnnarads hnt o+hor. onioI,ir tooI ~, tha
rrnn;na tonord -. COW thon, that
W4ors tbon ono of them ~,,;ercod
tbyoua ab and througb with Martini Henry
huIIet wounds como iercslv on rool;nn
l;ke drunlren man tbe;r teetb ,,eom;na
and eyeo alamo with botred Hann1
were thew If tbev could hrt crdss
weanons with our Lovonets Whon er
bousted nature failed them tbe;r last 90.
was oeneraIlv to burl the weonon I tbsu
carrie6 sticlr larce or sword ,owasJ
our ranks and sbout an Arah ;r,nroo,
tion ayainst us e.Nosranii, IN.zarunoi,
An Old orav. .baired sbe;lr ootuaJIn
charoed the souare readina tbo Kora1
aloud which he hold in his hand"
Later on. when Sir Herbart Ithen
CoIon Ct. -, 49,