The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1898-09-25

na0 the BrltlSn SuHereu q reverse, u Throw
their lot in with the dervishes, are sub
dued and ready to make obeisance TO the
conqueror who has carried the campaign
through with such signal success.
In the desert the loser Is looked upon
with the utmost contempt, no matt"r how
game a fight he put up before succumb ing.
So accustomed are the dervishes to re-
gard their cause as Identical with that Of
the Deity, that their despair at the loss
of q battle is only equaled by the blind
confidence that Is back of the reckless rush
of spear-armed men that the British SOL
dlers know so we'll. The dervishes cannot
understand why Allah has deserted them.
The prisoners talk gloomiIy among them
selves of the terrible fighting abilities of
the men who have swept their ranks away
by squads and regiments at Omdarman,
but no one gives the entire victory to the
Martini Henry rifles and the Maxim guns.
1t was the desertion of Allah that los: them
the fight, and the previous fights. and
these religious fanatics are struck dumb
with despair at the thought. Ferocious
bloodthirsty and inhuman as they are.
they certainly reverence the supreme be-
ing and are confident that he is theirs
alone against the world.
to know why he has deserted them. the
Anglo Egyptian troops, 1t may be said
without irreverence, are making little god
Of the Sirdar, General Kitchener. He has
become known as the imam of certainties,"
for the reason that he made no mistake
throughout the entire campaign, neglected
nothing that would tend to make as safe
and comfortable as possible the march OF
hun nf mill of
desert and proved himself in every skir-
mish, every attack and every battle to be
one Of the foremost men OF the age in the
art OF war.
The force that set out to suhdue the der
wishes, and did 1t so we'll. was the finest
equipped army ever gotten together. Those
Of us who have read the accounts of the
sufferings of our American troops in Cuba
through the shortness or utter absence of
necessary supplies, cannot help, good
patriots as We are, making comparison
between American unpreparedness and the
perfection Of thoughtfulness shown in the
equipment Of General Kitchener's army,
where nothing was forgotten, not even the
Roehtgen rays.
Tommy Atkins could not have been bet
ter cared for had he been the pampered pet
VI d wealthy uOuScHOIu. o look q MIN IN
the uniform he wore when he rushed the
Dervishes' defences at Atbara and ON
durham he is not so pretty as when, in the
glory of red coat and bear-skin hat, he
paraded in Hyde park and captured the
hearts OF nurse girls. but he knows that
the clothes he wears are the very best the
sclentihc military man can procure to help
the wearer combat desert Dangers. On the
m nf tl,n
Is spinal protector" which Is worn as
precaution against sunstroke This hood
falls over the shoulders and is fastened
10 the BACK or the khaki coats. 1t adds
considerably to the size of the wearer. who.
IN comparison to the little men of Egypt,
seems to be gigantic.
AS 1t was with the quipment of his men.
30 1t was with the military tactics adopted
IN every light that occurred In this most
remarkable war. Not a single thing was
FORGOTTEN, not precaution neglected. not
lie needlessly wasted. The military ge-
MUS or Kitchener is simply beyond criti-
clsm The bravery of his army, Egyptian
ana British alike. was just what might he
expected from men led by such a soldier
as the sirdar. When the army of Hicks
Fasha was annihilated there were heard
hotnlng but expressions of contempt for
the british soldiers, and the dervishes
went abroad boasting of their deeds and
giving every son Of the desert to under
stand that no one would dare send troops
against them again. 1t was this feeling
or confidence that prompted the aggressive
acts OF the dervishes. and showed the No.
cessity for the lesson that has lust been
taught them. The change from roaring
lions to whipped ours has been complete
and Is likely to be lasting. British inf1u
ence in the Soudan has been established
on basis of chilled steel
Stories of the great fight at Omdurman
are beginning to be told from the stand
point OF those who do not tell them for the
newspapers or for the sake of rounding
OH dispatches. A young sergeant of the
lancers after fierce charge that has been
compared with that of Balaclava. found
himself cut off from the rest of the regiment
with living wall Of Infatuated Deryishes
surrounding him. His lance had been
broken In the melee and he had drawn his
sword to continue the killing. 1t was
hopeless and unequal fight and he was al
ready wounded In several places, when helm
came In the shape of half dozen comrades
OF MS company, who, seeing his plight
turned back from the main body. and
standing in their stirrups and using their
carbines with both hands as clubs. sma shed
right and left into the-ruck. A pathway
was cleared to the wounded lancer and he
was taken on the saddle of one of his res
cuers anu borne In triumph TO where the
rest of the regiment were hacking. club
bing and stabbing their way through the
crowded masses Of Dervishes
1t seems that Kitchener had a narrow
escape from death. In his eagerness to get
where he could see the progress of the
fight he came a trife too near the line of
lire of his own men, and bullet cut
through the sleeve of his coat. To have
been accidentally killed by British SOL
dier just as he had won the last of his
hard fought victories would have been q
hard fate for the great Sirdar.
In the famous charge of the lancers It
was largely everyone for himself. for the
enemy through which they cut their way
were SO thlckly massed that proper align
ment during the terrible rush was an i'm
possibility corporal Of Company A rode
out at the other end Of the line when the
impetuous charge had driven through the