The record-union., 1898-09-05
PRELIMINARY SKIRMTSHING
Gunboats Shell the Dervishes and
the Forts.

LONDON, Sept. 3.-The Daily Tele-
graph" issues a special edition, with
the following details of the movements
on Wednesday and Thursday, tele-
graphed from Nasir: This (Wednes-
day) morning the Anglo-Egyptian
troops began the advance in three bri-
gades, side by side, with front a mile
wide, the army giving the impression of
vast square. Our cavalry occupied
Jebel Sheikh Pail, three miles ahead, at
D o'clock, and an hour later our enemy
had arrived at the banks of the river,
which was flooded at that point fully
a mile on land.
Here the force halted while the gun
boats proceeded. The cavalry and
camel corps trotted forward, but only
few scouts were seen, under the COM
mand of Abd-el-Baki, a DerviSh Emir
who fell back rapidly without a contest
In a village We passed a number or
charred and mutilated bodies of ma
tives, suspected of spying and killed by
the DerviShes.
AT o'clock the Maxims fired a few
rounds, scattering a body of Dervishes
in the bush. Then there was a lull un-
til noon, though the cavalry and camel
corps were several miles in advance.
THE gunboats sgnaled that 500
Dervish horsemen were moving west
upon the Egyptian right, and the Lane
ers, on the left, trotted to intercept the
enemy, the camel corps supporting. But
the Dervishes slipped to their camp in
the bush, mile inland.
The Lancers advanced through the
hill passes, and got within a mile of
OH nd
discovered that there were many flags
in the Dervish camp. They were fired
upon, and eventually the camp was
taken.
During the afternoon the gunboats
shelled the Dervish camp for several
hours, apparently doing much damage.
A number of Dervishes who had fled
to the bush to escape the shells surren
dered during the evening. Among the
refugees were the Shiekh of Jerreri and
a grandson of Khurshid Pasha.
This Thursday morning, in spite of
a. fierce rainstorm which had continued
all night, the army advanced. The
Lancers, on the left, and the Egyptian
cavalry and camel corps, on the right,
advanced six miles ahead. The Lane
ers got within a mile of Omdurman,
and saw the dome of the Mahdfs tomb
Rubbet-el- MahdD, Tut Island and the
palm trees of Khartoum.
Drawn up in five divisions, with
wing thrown back, was the Khalifa's
army, it's spears and swords gliSteni1y
in the sunshine, arrayed northwest of
the town in the desert. In the central
division was an enormous number Of
banners, including one of blue and one
of black.
"a number of mounted Dervishes gall
loped forward, and our dismounted
troops fired upon them, hitting several
and driving off the remainder. Two
suuadrons of our cavalry pushed to
within 500 yards of the enemy, who
then advanced, our Lancers and the
Egyptians retiring. The gunboats are
now (Thursday) bombarding the forts
at Omdurman and Khartoum."
ONLY TWO BRITISH OFFICERS
KILLED.
CAIRO, Sept. 4.-General Kitchener
telegraphs, saying: "Only two British
officers were killed in the battle-Lieu-
tenant Grenfell of the Wwenty-frst
Lancers and Captain Caldecot, War
wickshire regiment. Grenfell fell in
brilliant charge by the Twenty-first
Lancers, who lost twenty-one killed and
twenty wounded.