The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-09-05
THE DAILY MAILS STORY.
The Advance of the sirdar's Troops Upon
Omdurman.


London, September 4.-The Daily Tele-
graph issues special edition with the
following details of the movement ON
Wednesday and Thursday, telegraphed
from Nasri:
"This (Wen desday) morning, the
Anglo Egyptian troops began the advance
In three brigades, side by side with
front a mile wide, the army giving the
impression of vast square, with races
each mile long. Our cavalry occupied
Jebel Sheikh Pail, three miles ahead at
six o'clock and an hour later our infantry
had arrived at the banks of the river
which was flooded at that point fully .
mile inland.
"Here the force halted, while the gun
boats proceeded. The cavalry and camel
corps trotted forward, but only q few
scouts were seen nnder the command of
Abdul Baik, Dervish Enir, who fell
back rapidly without contest.
"In village we passed number OF
charred and mutilated bodies were found
bodies of natives suspected of spying
and killed by the Dervishes. At seven
o'clock the Maxim's fred few bounds,
scattering a body of Deryishes in the
bush. Then there was lull until noon.
though the cavalry and camel corps were
several miles in advance, and in the rear
OF the low hills around Kerrert. The gun.
boats signalled that FIVE hundred
Dervish horsemen we're moving west up
on the Egyptian right, and the lancers,
on the left trotted to intercept the enemy,
the camel corps supporting. But the
Dervishes slipped back to their camp in
the bush, mile inland, camp consist
ing of an old redoubt at Kerreri.
sThe lancsrs advanced through the
hill passes and got within a mile of
Kerreri. Then two officers went ahead
and discovered that there were many
flags in the Dervish camp. They were
fred upon and eventually the entire
mounted force returned to Sur -Urab, in
side the Zereba.
"During the afternoon the gunboats
shelled the Dervish camp for several
hours, apparently doing much damage.
A number of Dervishes who had fled to
the bush TO escape the shells surrendered
during the evening. Among the refugees
were the Shaikh of Kerreri and a grand
son of Kursh1d Pasha.''
''This (Thursday) morning. in spite of
a fierce rain storm, which continued all
last night and until nine o'clock today,
the army advanced at five O'Clock and
found Kerreri deserted. The lancers on
the left and the Egyptian cavalry and
camel corps on the right advanced six
miles ahead of the infantry, which
marched in square, Brig General
Lyttleton's battalion leading The lancers
got within mile Of Omdurman and saw
the dome of the Mahdi's tomb, Tuti
island and the palm trees of Khartoum.
"Drawn up in five divisions, with a
wing thrown back, was the Khalifa's
army, its spears and swords cleaning in
the sunshine, arrayed northwest of the
town in the desert. The tents of the
camp were on the north side of the tow n.
In the central division was an enormous
number of banners. including one of
blue and one of black.
GA number of mounted Dervishes
ealloped forward and our dismounted
troopers fred upon them, hitting several
aud driving off the remainder. Two
squadrons of our cavalry pushed to with
in eight hundred yards of the enemy, who
then advanced, our lancers and the
Eovntians retjriDo The ounhOatS are
now (Thursday afternoon) bombarding
the forts at Omdurman and Khartoum.