The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-02-28
FIGHTING FURIES.
Fearlessness and Forocity OF the
African Dervishes.
Undnunted by Superior Numbers They
Charge Their English Foes and Fight
AS Long tho Breath OF Lilo
Remains in Them.

Cndnunted by Superior Numbers They
Charge Their English Foes and Fight
AS Long rs tho Breath OF Lilo
Remains in Them.
ut is easier to turn hungry tiger
aside from his prey than thoroughly
excited Dcrvsh from his swoop on an
enemy" says the military correspond
cnt of the London Telegraph Ills
half brother in fanaticism and creed,
the Indian or Afghan ghazi. is terrible,
but the African and Arab dcrvsh is
superlativcly awful, with an incurablc
dclirinn for his opponents gore. Howl
ing ard whirling dcrvishcs, such as
travellers are specially conducted to
sec when visiting the cast are IL CON-
parativclT harmless sort of lunatics
compared with those types of the Afri-
can biGOtS who, converted TO Mahd-
ism. burn to run amucll with the rest of
unbclicving humanity. Once fairly
bitten with the tarantula of Moslcn
scctn"ian zeal, the prosclytc is con-
summed with the belief that the delights
of the seventh or any number of hcav-
ems awaits HIM if he can only engage
in sturdy. steady butchcry with inf
dcls, of his own or any race. 1t is
matter of Indifference TO him. if, in the
operation. while he shcathcs his sword
in his and his Prophets enemy, the lat
ter is doing the same to him. Ouicll
and happy translation he holds as his
sure reward.
The stiff fight the other day be-
tween the Egyptian troops south of
Wady llalfa and Mahdists recalls 10 me
many Il bygonc incidcn. and fierce
struggle between British and Egyptian
troops and forces largely composed of
dcrvishcs. Ambigol cataract. where the
s!lirnsh took place. is about sixty
miles south OF Wady Iialfa. There is
an Egyptian outpost ut Gcmai, where
the great Second cataract proper be-
gins, and another ut Sarrass. The one
station is fifteen miles and the other
thirty-thrcc miles farther up the stream,
and the railroad and ironclad train still
run through to both posts No doubt
when the dcrvish raiders. numbering
four hundred strong, were repulscd
from the forts, they fell back from the
river towards the easier going tracks in
land, along which they must have sped
on their cancls. The Egyptian cavalry
which, under careful English train
ing. has learned to trust their weapons
and their own physical strength in
contest with the neutrality-suspicious.
not numbering more than two SQUAD
rons, overlook the raiders at the pleas
ant aforctime camp of Ambigol. There,
no doubt, under the palm trees
grateful shade, hard by the rush and
roar of the mighty river, the Egyptian
troops ut once opened fire upon them.
Although the whole of the enemy were
unlikely to have been dervishcs-for
these gentry never run away, but, when
necessary, walk sedatcly out of Il fight,
merely to assume fresh coiGn of van
tage-a sharp engagement seems TO
have cnsued. The Mahdists, nothing
10th, swarmcd, mounted and foot, up
the rocky hills, which their pursucrs
had, with sound, tactical Judgment,
crowned and whence they had opened
| fire.
Il think it was ut the battle of FL
Tcb l first made the acquaintance of
| the Alahdist dcrvishcs. The Fuzzy Wuz-
~ 1iadcr;lowah tribesman is the BRAY
est of the day, but the dcrvish is hero
ism run crazy. These so-called holy
bcggars,' self-sworn to devote them
selves to the Prophets cause, came at
Gen. Grallan's square of marines, High
landrncn and stout linesmcn as if we
had been children to be frightened by a
cry. Clad in their patchwork rags,
with shaved, barred heads, many armed
with no better weapons than sticks,
they charged full in front of the fire
walled square. Down they went by
scores and hundreds, but others quickly
! took up the running toward us. | saw
them that day : more than ono
of them = pierced through and
through with Martini-Henry bull
let wounds, come ticrcely on, recling
like drunken men, their teeth cleaning
and eyes ailamc with hatred. Happy
were they if they could but cross wcap-
ons with our bayonets. When exhaust
cd nature failed them, their last act
was generally to hurl the weapon they
carried, stick, lance or sword, toward
our ranks and shout an Arab imprcca-
ton against us. 'Nosranin (NazarunoD
An old gray-haired shcill actually
charged the square, reading the Koran
aloud, which he held in his hands.
Later on, when Sir Herbert (thcn
coloneD Stewart charged the worstcd
Arab footmcn with his two regiments
OF cavalry, their mounted dcrvishcs
faced his whole force and boldly
charged them in return. Again, at
lanai, when the Arabs broke into Gen.
Davis square, where was, and having
temporarily captured our six machine
guns, on which they danced in fiendish
Glcc, the dervishcs were in the fore
front of the attack. A big marine, who
had bayoncted one of them, found his
riila caught and clutched by the fanatic
savage, who strovc to reach his foeman