The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1898-10-15
CAMPAIGN OF
KITCHENER
IN THE HEART OF THE SUMMARIZED
SOUDAN, 'a :

Impressions of an English War
Correspondent Who Is in the
Thick of the Fighting-Many Are
the Trials That Confront War
Correspondents in the Pending
Campaisn-No Easy Matter Even
to Get Started.
The p. and o. steamship Rome, by which
proceeded to Egypt. was one of the
mail stf amers running on the line
from London to Gibraltar calling at
Marseilles for overland passengers to the
East. The new departure has only been
In operation for the last few months and
the wonder is that the company has not
opened this desirable route before. 1t
saves, for instance, that extremely irri-
tatlng journey - from the inevitable
"darane" point of view--and traversing
the most uninteresting part of Italy,
down the east coast to Brindisi, which
passengers eastward by P. and O. were
wont to take to avoid the swell of the
Blscay Bay,
In the morning. catch the Nice Rapide
from Paris in the evening to Marseilles,
and within four and twenty hours one is
on the quay, in time on Wednesday
morning to hear the steamer bugler sound
the call for breakfast. Regarding buglers,
on our good ship arriving at Gibraltar
the captain heard Of the good luck which
had befallen young De Courcy, a first
saloon steward and bugler of the lately
arrived homeward bound P. and O.
steamer at Plymouth.
On his landing he was Immediately ac-
quainted with the fact that fat legacy
q a hnan Of h i'm
After this news I rather looked upon
ships stewards, and especially buglers,
az possible gentlemen in disguise, says
Frederic Villiers in a letter to the New
York Herald, from Shellah. Some of the
passengers even discovered in our bugler
real touches of genius in his bugling. For
instance, on passing Finisterre we were
awakened by the last bars of 'There she
O." -. '''0 '' - '''0 10y '
But what struck me as a stroke Of gen
ius was in the Gulf of Lyons when a fof
enveloped us. For many hours the cap
tain could not take the sun, and he was
forcibly struck regarding the uncertainty
Of his whereabouts by hearing the bugler
call for dinner to the sweet and plaintive
air of "TIe dunno where he are" For a
peaceful old liner like the Rome-for she
will never carry gunS-Our voyage did not
lack a spice Of adventure.
Off Carthagena one of Camara's fleet,
recently returned from the canal, evil
denly took us at first for an American,
for she sbore down upon US, and after
twice circling round us reluctantly walked
away, evi !.ntly till somewhat suspicious
of our intentions. Perhaps after ALL like
the metropolitan policeman who hairs a
cabby to take his number, the Spaniard
had come up simply 10 take our name.
For on the previous night near the Span
ish coast, we had come across schooner
which, not showing any lights, we con-
siderably mauled in the darkness, shaving
her bows off and knocking one of her
masts askew. She, in return, took away
a port window scuttle, grazed boom of
one of our midshfp lifeboats and I'M
shipped a. couple of stanchions supporting
our aft awning.
There were cries of distress, so the
Rome hove to, and dropped patent
light buoy; but the crew of the schooner
gave no sign. Probably she also took us
for an American, and was only too glad
to avoid us, for I doubt if her injury
would have sent her to the bottom. How
ever, the noise and excitement caused by
the collision aroused most of us and gave
the ladies of the second saloon an OPP
portunity of appearing in gayly ribboned
robes de mutt and pretty tea gowns as
they hurried on deck.
On board the Rome, bound, like myself,
for Port Said, were several British officers
chosen for special service with the new
Nile expeditionary force, among whom
were Bimbashi Persse. of the Egyptian
cavalry, who received bullet in his left
before the attack on Mahmoud's position
on the Atbara. and Capt. Maclachlan, of
the Seaforth Highlanders, who was seri-
ously wounded during the brilliant
charge on the zareba during that recent
memorable battle.
Both these young officers, though hardly
recovered from the soreness of their
wounds, were returning to the seat of
war, anxious to meet the enemy once
more, and were now quite uneasy in their
minds as to whether they would be in
time to find the Kalifa still at home.
Capt. Cowie, r. N. r., the popular COM
mander of the Rome, was quite in SYM
pathy with the desire of these younf Of
ficers to arrive in Port Said in time to
catch the 8 a. m train for Cairo; and,
as promised by him, the low streaks Of
sand. with the solitary lighthouse, which
one first sees Of the land of the Pharaohs,
were sighted about Z a. m, and at 8 we
were in the line of the famous canal.
BY the bye, Capt. Cowie as first officer
Of the old p. and o. steamship Tanjore,
when in Egyptian waters in 1882. volun-
teered his services to the naval authori-
ties after the bornbard1nent of Alexandra
to assist the blue Jackets and marines
IN pdCrOIllHB Tic SlIeelo' niu W
the Mamma in case of an attack by
Arabi's troops.
remember him quite well landing with
contingent of Tanjore sailors armed to
the teeth, and marching through the
streets of the smouldering town to take
UP guard duty near the Rosetta gate.
On meeting Capt. Cowie for the first time
since those days 1 was rather surprised
to find that he did not possess the Egyp-
tiam war medal, for it is we'll known that
shippers of tramps carrying canned peet
for the troops to the port OF Alexandra
during that campaign are in receipt OF
the blue and white vertical striped rib.
bon with the silver disk. The ways OF
the war office are strange and incom-
prehe nsible especially when war medals
are in question. Even officers servants,
who polished boots at the base Of opera
TORS during that campaign, were pre-
| sented with the coveted decorations.
| Cairo was noisy with the clank of arms,
for the Second brigade Of the English
division was moving on to the front. l
arrived in Cairo in time to see the rifle
| brigade entrain, and I am very glad that
/ I did not miss the sight. I have never
seen a keener set of men or soldiers SO
elated at the near prospect OF facing pne
enemy. From colonel to private there
| was a joyous lighthea-tedness beamins
from every face. They looked abnormal
ly bulky with their field kit upon them,
for they carried three days rataons for
! the train journey. In fact, there was
nothing Of the smart rifieman to be seen,
| but merry, perspiring, tanned race
| peering from bundle OF khaki, black
bags and accoutrements.
They had marched from the Kasr-el-
Nil barracks right across the town IN
an almost tropical sun, apparently with
! out turning a hair. Watering parties
met the companies as they paraded on