The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-10-16

smaller one Said and a heavy roadster
he named Mohammed. He gave them
these names as he frankly explained to
us, in order to make himself popular
with the Sheiks. His reputation soon
spread on account of this consideration
which ne showed for the natives, and he
was The guest of honor whenever we en-
tered a Sheik's tent The seats in these
tents run around three sides. In the CEN
ter sits the Sheik and the one whom he
intends 10 honor is seated just to the
right. II was an eye opener to most of
the men to see Kitchener squatted on
the divan chatting in Arabic.
He is also popular with these chaps
because he is Unfortunately fond of smoking
lacome or the cigarette called Turkish
Delight One hardly ever sees Kitchener
without a cigarette in his mouth. He is
also fond of smoking the narghlic or
Turkish pipe and never refuses the prof
fered bowl. 1t is an old proverb that
when salt is eaten with an Arab you
are his friend for life and Kitchener never
refused to make friends in this way, al
though ordinarily he eats but little. He
says the less he eats the better he works,
and l certainly never saw a soldier who
could endure so much. Rarely on an ex-
petition does he sleep more than five or
six hours out of twenty-four and the rest
of the time he can be continually in the
saddle without showing fatigue"
The Camel Corps Feud.
One of the most strikingly interesting
incidents of This march related by the in
terpreter TO illustrate KiCchener's unusual
characteristics was the following: When
the expedition got as far as Assouan
a quarrel broke out among the natives
in the commissariat department. This
was made up of two distinct camel corps,
one from Alden, consisting of Somals, the
pine breed of Arabs who live in Alden; the
other of Egyptians from Cairo and Alex
andria At the first encampment bad
blood broke out. The contention as to
who were the most proficient in camel
driving was heightened by the alleged pre-
ference which was shown to the Adentes
by the English Finally the Somalis chal-
lenged the Egyptians to fair fight to
see who were the most valiant.
THE Egyptians refused the contest. l
was one of the interpreters who reported
the matter to Capt Wilson, in charge
Of the commissary. The next morning
Maj. Kitchener himself came into the
camp and ordered the temedar (head
groomsman) of the Adenites and the Sheik
of the Egyptians to present themselves.
He heard the two sides of the grievance
and then, turning quickly, commanded
the Sheik and twenty of the foremost
Egyptians to be bastinadoed for coward
ice. There was the greatest excitement in
those piercing eyes followed up the or
der. About twenty of those who refused
to fight were tied on boards and rattan
canes given to as many of the Adenites
and to use the interpreters exact Ian
guage, They jolly well bastinadoed the
Egyptians feet off" Some Of them were
so belabored that they could not walk for
weeks, their feet being cut and swollen,
but it stamped out all cowardice in the
army.
The Shot Drill.
Kitchener Is a martinez in the observ-
ance of rules and is severe in furnishing
He comes down rather heavily on drunk
enness, and for this reason has made him
self to a certain extent unpopular with
some of his soldiers. Rogers, his body
servant, is teetotaller, which is an ex-
ceedingly rare thing to find in the ranks
of Tommy Atkins. "Kitehener's cure for
drunkenness" is a by-word among his
men. Once taken 1t IS never forgotten.
The culprit is logged out in full marching
equipment, which is a matter of sixty
pounds, and is then compelled to carry in
eacn hand bag of shot weighing fifty
pounds. sergeant and a guard are put
over the victim TO see that he does not
stop walking or drop the shot. man is
sometimes kept at this shot drill' for
SIX hours.
Another severity which called down I'M
pleasant comments on Kitchener was his
order kill the wounded dervishes" Eng
land heard of this with horror, but the
British soldiers We're loud IN their praises
Kitchener had seen how these dervishes,
after being wounded, would lie quiet on
the battlefield, concealing in their clothes
a pistol or scimetar shaped knife. When
the ambulance corps and surgeons came
out on the field to give aid to the wounded
enemy these fellows would wriggle out
through the heaps of slain and give a last
thrust or put bullet in nurse or doctor.
Al other times they would ham-string a
horse. and in this way disabled nearly the
whole BLACK Watch" Kitchener's order
is carried out TO this day. 1t was the SOL
diers only protection.
Kitchener on the March.
"There were 5000 men in that first ex-
petition" continued Mr. Morren land
they moved along like clock work The
Canadians were expert at shooting the
rapids, and could have made splendid
time. But our orders from London were
to proceed at eight and ten miles a day
Kitchener was for pushing forward in
spite of orders. God he would exclaim,
poor Gordon viii be murdered just be-
cause of a lot of fog heads al home
Every day or two a runner would reach
camp after making his way through the
Mahdi army in disguise, and tell us that
GOfuon provisions We're almost gone and
that he could hold out but a few DAYS
Kitchener had figured out almost to the
hour when we would reach Khartoum at
the rate we were travelling, and decided
that We would get there too late. But he
was only junior officer, and his counsels
to push forward did not prevail.
THE men were all with him, though
they could never quite understand him.
At one time he would tear along on his
Said, cursing the slow motion of the army
and at other times he would ride alongl
hardly paying any attention to his horse.
and intenty reading the Koran or some
volume of the ancient Persian and Ara
bian poets He knows the Koran so well
that he can quote il to the sheiks with
more fiuency than the Arabs themselves
lie always addresses a soldier just like an
officer, and seems TO prefer the companv
of the privates, though he is so reserved
that he associates little with any one
Finally, we were getting near Khar-
toum, and hopes of saving Gordon began
TO rise. They were suddenly dashed IL,
EARTH though, by the arrival of a Greek
named Lycurgus who was carried into
camp almost dead. He brought a nessae a