The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1898-02-11
ENGLAND's ARAB TROOPS.
A Scene Before Battle in the Egyptian
Campaign.

A Scene Before Battle in the Egyptian
Campaign.
The ColonePs words produced an al
most magical effect. With the Arabs
the fantasia must precede the fight.
So soon as the men heard these wholly
unexpected but to them exceedingly
welcome orders, there was scene Of
the most extraordinary excitement. In
moment and Of their own accord the
whole $50 men fell out of their ranks
and rushed off at full speed, shouting,
brandshing their rifles, and leaping
toward their huts; and there, as Is
their custom before going to battle,
they donned the amulets that heighten
courage and bring good fortune in war,
the armlets and necklaces of their
wives; and gave farewell embraces to
these dusky DANES, whose excitement
was as great as their own, for through
out all the hut eneampment now rose
the shrill lulung of the women and the
din OF beating tomtoms. But the men
wasted but little time in these tradi-
tional observances. Even as they had
rushed off, so did they soon hurry
| back, and were again drawn up before
| Colonel Parsons, ready, for the march
and eager for the fight and the looting
! of cattle which would be the reward of
victory.
1t was expected that they would be
about five or six days away, but their
commissariat arrangements were very
simple; they had with them few
camels to carry skins of water and a
little -four They had no baggage Of
any sort; barefooted, and clad in a
scanty robe of white cloth, each man
carried with him nothing but his rife
and ammunition, and was quite pre-
pared. If given his handful of -four a
day and a sufficiency of water, to
march from one end of the Soudan to
the other. Sons of the most warlike
| tribes of the Afioan Arabs-Hadendoa
| Benz Amer, and others-these savage
warriors presented a splendid appear
ance as they stood there drawn up
awaiting the final order that should let
them loose, moving restlessiy, MUIR
muir passing through their ranks, like
hounds with the prey in sight still held
back by the leash; while their proud
chiefs, clad in their picturesque flowing
robes of various colors, rode up and
down the line on their branching
horses. A little distance off stood all
the women, still luluing, clapping their
hands, and encouraging their husbands
with brave words. All the warlike in
! stincts of the race were uppermost,
and one felt that men like these need
no tighter discipline than that which
now controls Them when fighting I'M
| der their chiefs, to make them d most
formidable foe, even IL opposed to
picked European troops.
1 At last the short, quick word Of COM
mand was given, the bugle sounded,
and they We're off. a sixteen hours
march between them and the foe. 1t
| was a spectacle such as one seldom has
the fortune to behold. The sun was
Just setting, red disk, on the edge OF
the broad plain; and to the east the
huge granite buttresses and peaks of
the Jebel Kassala glowed in various
tints of luminous purple and copper
I brown. AS the bugle sounded the
chiefs waved their swords and spurred
their horses, the men gave yell and in
body broke into quick run, brand
ishing their rifles, leaping and cheering
as before, and rushed in the direction
of the setting sun, across the plain OF
withered grass, soon to disappear in
the clouds Of dust they raised So long
as they were in sight the women lulued
and the tomtoms beat. 1t was indeed
very fine setting out for battle.
think that had even the most peacea-
bic individual of those who regard all
war with horror been present the con-
tagion of that excitement would have
found out in him and made to tingle
some hidden unsupported fibre of the
old barbarian London Times