Omaha daily bee., 1896-04-25

| There Is one thing to be said in his favor
/ he is not offensive in the use OF his power
/ and he has a strong liking for sensible Amer
/ leans. The fact that he has plunged into
! this Soudanese war without asking the con-
4 sent Of his suzerain, the sultan Of Turkey,
shows that he has high sense OF inde-
! pendence and is willing to cast his lot with
! the bold Britons.
The khedive was on public exhibition to
such tourists as were willing to rise early
! yesterday morning. The occasion was a
| ceremony connected with the Taps Sacre, "
! or Sacred Carpet which Is annually sent from
Egypt to Mecca to form canopy over the
! tomb of Mahomet. Yesterday morning the
various pieces of this costly fabric were
| brought to the citadel, and after certain
/ amount OF praying and palaver, in which the
! khedive took an active part, they were sent
! off TO a mosque to be sewn together. Ihe
! sacred camel which is to bear Egypts gilt
! to the Holy City was paraded in the citadel
| square in rich and ornate housings, mucn 10
! the delight Of the early rising tourists Inc
| sacred camel with its sacred load, IN charge
| of certain sacred pilgrims, Will depart lor
| Mecca, by way Of Jeddah IN month or so
| The camel If he stands the trying tour, will
| bring back the sacred tapestry which was
| taken over last year, and this fabric, having
| rested for an entire year upon the tomb OF
| Allah's sole terrestrial ex-agent, will be an
object of veneration quite too sacred to talk
| about On the day Of the departure of the
camel and carpet the khedive Will be out in
! all his effulgence He is very fond, am
| told, of these religious ceremonies, and by
| his strict observances he doubtless draws to
him the respect and admiration Of all devout
| Mussulmans.
THE EGYPTIAN FLY.
Aside from its dust its importunate beg
! gars, its snake jugglers its table dhote
dinners and its screeching donkeys, Cairo has
| one nuisance which will awaS be serious
| mpediment to its expansion as a resting
cnpt fp- fnf rex ry nj nd
flies. OF all the ancient plaques of Egypt
this one has been carried over in all Its dia-
bolical, pristine vigor. The average do
nestle fly in most lands possesses slight
share of timdty. 1t can be flicked and
scared and there is limit to its pertinacity
and persecution. Not so with the Egyptian
| fly. 1t has so long enjoyed immunity at the
| hands Of the natives that its impudence
knows no bounds. The natives either love
| the tickling sensation produced by flies OF
| their religion, which teaches consideration
| for all forms of life, carries them to the
| extreme in their tolerance toward flies. They
| seldom brush them or interfere with their
| pastimes. Nothing is more common than
| to see a child sitting in tho sun placidly with
| hundred flies crawling over its face or
perching upon its eyelids. The fly, enjoy
| Ing such privileges for ages, has come to
think that he has vested rights.
The white invader is his special vanity. II
| YOU sit down to read he hops down on your
nose with a thud. He seems to weigh at
| least an ounce. You make a dive at him
| with your left hand. He springs out of the
| way but quicker than stroke OF lightning
| he is back in the same place You swipe
! him again. and he repeats the same perform
| ance You keep on, angry slapping at him,
| but the malignant devil continues to cling to
you. You finally desist. Then your per-
| secutor unlmbers his suction pump and pre-
| Goods to insert it in your epIdermis. The
| sting suggests the Jersey mosquito in his
| busiest season. By this time he has been
| reinforced by dozen hilarious companions,
who plat their hind legs and balance on
their noses while mbibing your best elixir.
| You start in to fight again. They go through
| their salutatorlal performances again, but they
| never desert you. You are exhausted and
angry You swear and you brush the whole
| lot away with your newspaper or book. But
| the Egyptian fly has his rights and he will
| not be done out of them. You have an at
| tack en- masse and you spring out of your
| chair and move to another spot. There you
| find fresh lot of enemies, who begin their
| prosecutions and in sheer despair you give
UP and start out for a walk or drive. But
| your foe, continue with you and you never
| feel quite safe from them until you curl up
| under your mosquito bar at night.
The natives sell you a gaudy, short-han-
died fly brush, wherewith you may protect
yourself from the pests But they are awk
ward and ugly Nothing is more ridiculous
than the spectacle of an aged English tourist
sitting on a hotel Yeranda fighting flies with
his little brush and fairly anathematizing
bis ancestors for bringing him into the world
without consulting his wishes. Colonel Sell
lers could see great demand for his eye
wash in sore-eyed Asia, but the man who
finds the means of destroying the Egyptian
fly, or reducing him to reasonable activity,
will not only win the everlasting gratitude
of the white race, but put considerable sum
of piasters in his pocket as well.
EGYPTS MILITARY CHIEF.
General HOIatio Herhart Kitch-
ener who commands the Anglo Egyptian
army, under the title Of "Sirdar." has the
merit of being handsome He is the very
picture of soldier and he has a most ex-
cellent record. / feel sorry for him, for l do
not see how he is going to glorify himself in
this campaign. His mongrel army is about
as certain of being whipped at the outset as
| anything | know of. General Kitchener is
only 40 years of age, but he has seen con-
siderable service, mostly in the pay of
Egypt. He stepped from the rank of cola, e
in the British army to that of brigadier gem
eral In the Egyptian service in 1874. He
helped Sir Evelyn Wood rebuild the army of
Egypt in 1881, and was in the Nile eXpedi-
tion of 1884. He was concerned in the opera
tions around Suaknm in 1888, and took part
in the battle of Gemaizah. He was also in
the battle Of Toski in 1889, receiving the C.
b. for his gallantry. Sir Horato is quite
popular with his officers and men, and the
greatest confidence is reposed in him by the
khedive.
In Slatin Pacha he has an able and expert
enced coadjutor. Slatin one of Gordon's
l!eutenants in the Soudan, and was prisoner
in Khartoum when Gordon was slain. The
head of the murdered chief was brought to
him and exhibited before him in all its
ghastliness on the day of the execution. He
spent thirteen years in prison in the Soudan
and yet he is a hale, hearty man today. He
speaks the dialect of Egypt luently and
his knowledge of the country and the tribes
will be of vast assistance to the srdar
In brief chat that l had with him Just
before his departure for the front, he dis
played hopefulness which astonished me.
He expressed much pleasure over the recep-
tion given everywhere to his recently pub
lished book, Fire and Sword in the Sou
DON" He said that he had not heard from
America, and he greatly doubted whether
the public in that quarter cared very much
for the Soudan country or what occurred
there"
WOULD WORK FOR UNCLE SAM.