The herald., 1898-09-05
! being easily dist,neulsnaols in white


Later the correspondent says: The ON
duran forces replied necessarily. but the,
had no chance against the qufck-fre gun!
ON our runboats. No better amphitheatel
could possibly be found for an engagement
The plain, smooth. bushless and stretch
ing to the south, Is perfect for cavalry
and artillery. On the right are low hills
and on the left the Nile and a low, flooded
marshy country for miles; eastward arr
Tut, island and Omdurman. the Mahd?'
tomb rising white above the interminabl'
line of brown mudhouses In the center o.
the town.
The war Office has received the follow
ing dispatch from Gen. Kitchener. dated
Saturday evening:
1.-THE remnant OF the khalifa's force has
surrendered and l now have large num-
Der of pris soners on hand.
"Our cavalry and gunboats are Still
pursuing the khaNfa and his chiefs. who
with only about 140 fighting men, are ap'
parently making for Kordofan."
The left bank of the White Nile is so DIFF
ficult Of approach owing to the overflow
and thick brush that the gunboats cannot
effect a landing. I therefore can only
rely upon the cavalry to capture him.
a complete ruin, but the lower portions
show some of the principal houses still
standing. The people are naturally de-
lighted to see us. So far as I can see at
present Khartoum Is the best position.
Omdurman is very extensive and the
stencil there is unbearable.
have therefore moved the troops down
to Khor Skambat, where we now are in
a good camp on the river. All the British
wounded will descend the river with this
dispatch. There are no cases that cause
grave anxiety.
First Congratulations
LONDON, Sept. 5.-The Cairo CORE
spondent of the Times says
The first telegram Of congratulation to
arrive from Europe was from Emperor
William, who said:
II am sincerely glad to be able to offer
my congratulations on the splendid VIC
tory at Omdurman, which at last avenges
poor Gordon's DEATH"
The queen and General Lord Wolseley
the commander-in-chief Of the British
army, telegraphed their congratulations
to the sirdar direct. The Marquis Of
Landsdowne secretary for war. sent his
through Major Francis Wallace Greenfe,l,
inspector general of the auxiliary forces
now at Cairo and charged with the gen.
eral direction of the successful expedition.
Prisoners Taken
The war correspondent Of the Daily Tel
egraph with the AngloIEgyptian forces
says:
Khalifa Abullah, with his harem. and
Osman Digna, his principal general, man
aged to escape, but Abdullah's banner and
thousands of prisoners are in our hands.
1t is estimated that 1900 Of the enemy
were slain. Our total casualties were about
800.
Besides Col. Rhodes, another corre-
spondent was slightly wounded.
Mr.. Howard, the New York Herald cor
respondent, was slain by shell In Om-
durman.
Victory Not Easy
The war correspondent of the Daily News
Bays:
Our victory was not easily or cheaply
won. The Dervish loss was enormous 1t
Is estimated that the killed OF the enemy
were not fewer than 5000.
Our whole force was engaged In fighting
from $50 a. m. until sundown. Instead of
waiting for us in Omdurman, where they
could have made a resistance that would
have cost us thousands Of lives, they ad-
vanced 10 meet us. The sight was extraor-
dinary. Some 1900 men in four brigades
attempted to rush our Zereba. With des-
perate gallantry they were repulsed. suf-
fering huge loss. Our Maxim guns es-
pecially made terrible lanes In their ranks.
and our artillery dealt havoc in the town,
which was full of women. The Dervish
army of 10000 Is utterly broken, but we are
fully prepared to fight tomorrow II they
wish 1t.
The Standards war correspondent also
pays tribute to the magnificent courage Of
the Dervishes, but adds:
FORTUNATELY for US, their leaders showed
little or no wisdom In choosing a battle
field. BY not occupying the hIll on our
left front. the enemy missed his opportun-
ity. That would have left the S!rdar two
alternatives. He might have either ac-
cepted the challenge or elected to make a
wide detour into the desert to reach Om-
durman.
In the former case we should have been
compelled to meet the Derv:shes In the
open. In the latter case the enemy's
chances of offering a prolonged resistance
would have been materially increased, but
the Baggara have lost none of their for
mer courage, and were resolved to attack
US where we stood, trusting to weight of
numbers and hoping to hurl themselves
against us with an irresistible rush.
Describing the attempts Of the Baggara
horsemen to retrieve the days fortunes by
a final charge. the correspondent says:
"Dashng. across the level stretch of
pebbly soil the Khalifa's cavalry rode
madly at the steady line of infantry. Our
troops awaited the charge without fine.
ing. On came the Dervishes, but again
the deadly fire poured into them did It's
deadly work. Men and hJrses fell thick
and hardly a rider In that desperate
charge escaped.
"A large body of the enemy's infantry,
undismayed by the slaughter, could be
seen preparing to follow the cavalry. but
our field artillery and Maxms, descending
from the hill on which they were posted,
eame again into action, and the conflict en-
tered new phase -
"The attack on our camp had been 1-e-
pulsed, and the only question was whether
the defeat of the enemy was complete. 1t
was rot long before the Dervishes were
seen in full flight toward the right, leaving
their dead on the field as they fled Prac-
ucally the whole army of the Khalifa was
destroyed. Our casualties number over