The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1898-09-08

with the design OF rushing our flank.
But the withering fire maintained for
Is minutes by all our line frustrated the
attempt. and the dervishes. balksdg
swept toward our center, upon which
they concentrated a fierce attack. A.
large force OF horsemen. trying to face
a continuous hail Of bullets from the
Cameron highlanders, the Lincolnshire
regiment and the Soudanese was litv'
orally swept away, leading to the withA
drawal of the entire body. whose dead
strewed the field.
The bravery of the dervishes can
hardly be overestimated. Those who
carried the flags struggled to within a
few hundred yards of our fighting line,
while the mounted emirs absolutely
threw their lives away In bold charges
When the dervishes withdrew behind
the ridge In front OF their camp the
whole force marched In battalions to-
ward Omdurman. AS our troops sur
mounted the crest adjoining the Nile
the Soudanese on our right came into
contact with the enemy. who had re-
formed under cover Of rocky emf
nence, and had massed beneath the
black standard Of the khalifa, In order
to make a supreme effort to retrieve
the fortunes OF the day. A mass, $1,000
strong. bore down on the Soudanese.
General Kitchener swung round the
center and left OF the Soudanese and
seized the rocky eminence, and the
Egyptians. hitherto In reserve, Joined
the firing line in ten minutes. and be-
fore the dervishes could drive their at
tack home.
The flower Of the khalifas army was
caught in q depression and within a
zone Of withering cross FIRE from three
brigades, with the attendant artillery.
The devoted Mahdists strove herOically
to make headway. but every rush was
stopped. while their main body was lit
orally moved down by sustained
deadly cross fire.
Defantly the dervishes planted their
standards and died beside them. Their
dense masses gradually melted to COM
beneath the leaden hail. Finally they
broke and fed, leaving the field white
with jibbah clad corpses.
At 11:15 the sirdar ordered an ad-
vance, and our whole force In line drove
the scattered remnant Of the foe into
the dessert. our cavalry cutting Off
their retreat to Omdurman.
Among the chief incidents Of the bat
tie was Q brilliant charge by the Twen-
ty-first lancers, under Lieutenant Col
onel Martin. Galloping down on a de-
tached body Of the enemy they found
the dervish swordsmen massed behind,
and were forced to charge home against
appalling odds. The lancers hacked
through the mass, rallied and kept the
dervish horde at bay. Lieutenant Gren-
fell. nephew OF General Sir Francis
Grenfell, and Captain Caldecott, OF the
Warwickshire regiment. were killed
and four other officers wounded. Twen-
ty-one men were killed and 20 wounded.
The heroic bravery Of the dervishes
evoked universal admiration. Time
after time their dispersed and broken
forces reformed and hurled themselves
upon the Anglo Egyptians. their emirs
conspicuously leading and spurning |
death. Even when wounded and In
death agonies they raised themselves
to fire last shot.
Among the wounded Is Colonel
Rhodes. the correspondent Of the Lon
don Times, and a brother Of Cecil |
Rhodes. |
Khalifa Abdullah, with his harem.
and Osman Digna, his principal gen.
eral, managed to eecape, but Abdullah's
banner and thousands Of prisoners are
in our hands. 1t Is estimated that l6,-
900 Of the enemy were slain. Our total
casualties were about 500.
Besides Colonel Rhodes. another cor
was slightly wounded. Mr..
Howard. the New York Herald corre-
spondent. was slain by shell In ON.
6arman. .s.s y