New Iberia enterprise. (New Iberia, La.) 1885-1902, 1898-09-10

! ht SIoIy VI tle STttt Dattie III WHlc
the wild chivalry of the Dcrvishes of tn
African Soudan went down before Brtisl
valOr and modern methods and weapons
Of war is told in the following account
On Friday, Sept. =, the army of 81
Herbert Kitchener, composed of British
white troops, Egyptians and Soudanes,
Arabs, to the number of about 80 900, me
the So men of the Mahdi, neal
Omdurman, on the Upper Nile, gran,
rallying point for the wild tribes in that
part of Africa.
The Mahdists made the attack. Many
of them were mounted, and their tactic.
consisted in making grand rushes upon tn,
front and fanks of the invader. The wilt
cavalry, with snowy burnouses or turbans
charged in solid masses upon the Europe
ans, who were armed with improved rifles
and machine guns. Their furious on
slaugths would have been terrible if they
could have broken the formation of the
British and Egyptian troops, exposed as
they were upon the plain. But before the
| wild chivalry could reach their adversaries
they had been cut to pieces by tho steady
fire Of the Maxim machine guns and the
magazine rifles. From 10000 to l5, 900 of
the warriors of the desert were slain, and
| the plain was snowy with their white tur
baned corpses. General Kitchener with
the black standard Of the Mahdi which he
had captured, entered Omdurman on the
same day.
Kitchener's great victory, after march
of more than a thousand miles into Il dcs-
ert under the equator, is one of the most
magnificent military achievements Of mod
ern times.
Omdurna, Opposite khartoum, on the
Nile, Nubia, Sept. 2, by Camel Post to
Nasri. General Sir. Herbert Kitchener
with the khalifa's black standard cap
turediduring the battle, entered Omdur
man, the capital of Mahdam, at 4 o. clock
this afternoon at the head of the Anglo
Egyptian column, after completely routing
the dervishes and dealing death blow to
Mahdiam.
Last night the Anglo Egyptian army en-
camped at AgaiZa, eight miles from
Omdurman The dervishes were three
miles distant. At dawn to-day our cav
airy patrolling toward Omdurman dis
covered the enemy advancing to the at
tack in battle array, chanting war songs.
Their front consisted of infantry and
cavalry, stretched out for three or four
miles. Countless banners tluttered over
their masses, and the copper and brass
drums resoundcd through the serried
ranks Of the savage warriors, who ad
vanced unwaveringly with all their old
time ardOr. Our infantry formed up out
side the camp. On the left were the First
Bait aliOn Northumberland Fusileers, the
Second Battalion Lancashire Fusileers,
and the First Battalion Grenadier Guards,
hn hnffnrv
Royal Irish Fusileers. In our center were
the First battalion Warwickshire Regi
ment. the First Battalion Cameron High
landers, and the First Battalion Lincoln
shire Regiment, with Maxims worked by a
detachment of the Royal Artillery, under
Major Williams. On our right were the
Soudanese Brgades, commanded by Gen
eral Maxwell and General Macdonald.
The Egyptian Brigades held the reserves,
and both flanks were supported by the
Maxim Nordenfelt batteries.
At 7:2O o. m. the enemy crowded the
ridges above tho camp and advanced
steadily in enveloping formation. At TAO
our artillery opened fire, which was an
swered by the dervish riAemen.
Their attack developed on our left and
in accordance with their traditional tactics,
they swept down the hill side with the
design of rushing our Asnks. But the
fire maintained for fifteen
minutes by all our line frustrated the at
tempt, and the dervishes baked, swept
toward our center, upon which they con
centrated force attack. A large force
of horsemen trying to face u continuous
hail of bullets from the Cameron High
landers, the Lincolnshire Regiment and
the Soudanese, was literally swept away,
leading to the withdrawal of tho entire
body whose dead strewed the field.
The bravery Of the dervishcs can hardly
be overstated. Those who carried the flags
struggled to within few hundred yards OF
our fighting line, while the mounted emirs
threw their lives away in bold
charges.
When the dervishes withdrew from the
ridge in front of their camp the whole
in echelon Of battalions toward
As our troops surmounted
the crest adjoining the Nile the Soudaneese
on our right came into contact with the
enemy, who had reformed under cover Of
Q rocky eminence and had massed beneath
The black standard of the khalifa in order |
TO make supreme effort to retrieve the
fortunes of the day. A mass 5000 strong, |
bore down on the Soudanese.
General Kitchner swung around the cen
ter and left Of the Soudaneese and seized |
The rocky eminence, and the Egyptians,
hitherto in reserve, joined thefiring line in |
ten minutes, and before the dervishes
could drive their attack home.
The flower of the knalifa's army was
caught in depression and within a zone
Of whitening ssire from three brigades
with attendant artillery. The devoted
Mahdris strove heroically to make head
way, but every rush was stopped, while
their main body was literally mown down
by sustained deadly cross fire.
Defantly the dervishes planted their stan
isrds and died beside them. Their dense
masses gradually melted to companies
and the companies to driblets beneath the
eaden hail. Finally they broke and fed,
leaving the field white with jibbah hclsd
,orpses, like snow drift dotted meadow.
At ll:l5 the sirdar ordered an advance
and our whole force in line drove the |
scattered remnant of the foe into the
iesert. our cavalry cutting off their re
.reat to Omdurman.
Among the chief incidents Of the battle
was brilliant charge by the Twenty first
uuucI Nlditiu.
;alloping down OH a detached body OF the
,nemy, they found the dervish swordsmen
nassed behind and were forced to charged
nome against appalling odds.
The Lancers hacked through the mass,
allied aud kept the dervish horde at bay,
Lieutenant Grenfell, nephew of General
Sir Francis Grenfell, was killed, four other
,fficers were wounded, 81 were killed and
20 wounded.
The Egyptian cavalry were in close
lighting throughout with the Baggas horsc-
men. For short period the enemy cap
ured and held the gun, but it was bril-
iantly retaken.
The heroic bravery Of the dervishes
.voked universal admiration. Time after
ime their dispersed and broken forces re-
ormcd and hurled themselves upon the
Anglo Egyptians, their emirs conspicuous
y leading and spurning death. Even
when wounded and in death agoDies they
aised themselves to fire last shot.
khalifa Abdullah, with his harem. and