The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-09-05

encamped at Agaiza, eight miles from
Omdurman The dervishes were three
miles distant. At dawn today our cav
airy, patrolling toward Omduram, dis
covered the enemy advancing to the at
tack in battle array, chanting war
songs. Their front consisted of in
fantry and cavalry, stretched out for
three or four miles. Countless banners
fiuttered over their masses and the cop
per and brass drums resOunded through
the Serried ranks of the savage war
riOrs, who advanced unWaverlngly with
all their old time ardOr. Our infantry
formed up outside the camp. On the left
were the First battalion Northumber-
land fusileers, the Second battalion
Lancashire fusileers and the First bat
talon grenadier guards, with the Max
i'm battery, manned by the royal irish
fusileers. In our center were the First
battalion Warwickshire regiment, the
First battalion Cameron Highlanders
and the First battalion Lincolnshire
regiment with Maxims worked by
detachment of the royal artillery, under
Major Williams. On our right were the
Soudanese brigade, commanded by Gen
eral Maxwell and General Macdonald.
The Egyptian brigades, commanded by
General Maxwell were supported by the
Maxim Nordenfeldt batteries.
At 1920 a. m. the enemy crowded the
ridges above the camp and advanced
steadily in envelOping formation At
7:40 our artillery opened fire, which was
answered by the d6FV1Sn T1f1emen-
Their attack developed on our left;
and in accordance with their traditional
tactics, they swept down the hillside
with the design of rushing our flank.
But the whitening fire maintained for
fifteen minutes by all our line frus-
trated the attempt, and the dervishes
baked, swept toward our center upon
which they concentrated a fierce attack.
A large force of hOrsemen, trying to
face a continuous hail of bullets from
the Cameron Highlanders, the Lincoln
shire regiment and the Soudanese, was
literally swept away, leading to the
withdrawal of the entire body, whose
dead strewed the field
The bravery of the dervishes can
hardly be overestimated Those who
carried the flags struggled to within
few hundred yards of our fighting line.
while the mounted enirs absolutely
threw their lives away in bold charges
When the dervishes withdrew behind
the ridge in front of their camp the
whole force marched in echelOn of bat
taIions toward Omdurman. As our
troops surmounted the crest adjoining
the Nile, the Soudanese on our right
came into contact with the enemy, who
had reformed under cover of a rocky
ernfnence and had massed beneath the
black standard of the khaIifa in order
to make a supreme effort to retrieve
the fortunes of the day A mass, $4,000
strong bore down on the Soudanese.
General Kitchener swung around the
center and left of the SOudanese and
seized the rocky eminence. and the
F5evptians, hitherto in reserve. joined
the firing line in ten minutes, and before
the dervishes could drive their attack
home.
The flower of the kha1ifa's army was
caught in a depression and within a
zone of whitening crossfire from three
brigades, with the attendant artillery.
The devoted Mahdists strove heroically
to make headway, but every rush was
stopped while their main body was lit
orally rnown down by a sustained dead
Iy crosSfre.
Defantly the dervishes planted their
standards and died beside them. Their
dense masses gradually melted to COM
beneath the leaden hail. Finally they