The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1898-10-20

was together again in a new place
The field in front was Fastening to-
ward Us IN a Whitley brown cloud OF
Daryishes. An order. Macdonald's
jaws gupped and hardened as the
fame spurted out again, and the whit
ey-brown cloud quivered and stood
still. He saw everything; knew what
to do; knew how to do il: did il. AT
the fire he was ever broOding watch
fully behind mis- firing line: at the
cease firing he was instantly in front
Of it; all saw him and knew that they
were being nursed TO triumph.
His blacks of the Ninth. Tenth and
Eleventh, the historic fighting regi-
ments Of the Egyptian army, were
worthy Of their chief. The Second
Egyptian, brigaded with them and
fighting in the line, were worthy of
their comrades and OF their own repu-
tation as the best disciplined battalion
in the world. a few had feared that
the blacks would be too forward and
the yellowS too backward; except that
the blacks, as always, looked happier,
there was no difference at all between
them. The Egyptians sprang to the
advance at the bugle; the Soudanese
ceased to fire in an instant, silent at
the bugle. They were losing men, too,
for, though eyes were clamped on the
Dervish charges, the Dervish fire was
brisk. Man after man dropped out be-
hind the firing line.
And the Dervishes? The honor Of
the fight must still go with the men
who died Our men were perfect, but
the DerviSheS were Superb-beyond
perfection. 1t was the largest, best
and bravest army that ever fought
against us for Mahdism, and it died
worthily of the huge empire that
Mahdism won and kept so long. Their
rifiemen, mangled by every kind Of
death and torment that man can de-
wise, chung round the black flag and
the green, emptying their poor, rotten,
homemade cartridges dauntlessly.
| Their spearsmen charged death at
every minute hopelessly. Their horse
men led each attack, riding into the
| bullets till nothing was left but three
| horses trotting up to our line, heads
! down, saying, For goodness sake, let
us in out of this" Not one rush or two
or ten-but rush ON rush, company on
! company, never stopping, though all
| lnElF view lUdL was HUI uilSudhSH eli
| envy was the bodies of the men who
| had rushed before them. A duslSy line
| got up and stormed forward; it bent,
| broke up, fell apart and disappeared
| Before the smoke had cleared another
! line was bending and Storming for
ward in the same track.
I 1t was over. The avenging squad
rons of the Egyptian cavalry swept
| over the field. The Khalifa and the
! Sheikh- ed-Din had galloped back &c
! Omdurman. Ali Wad Helu was borne
away on an angareb with a bullet
| through his thigh bone. Yakub lay
dead under his brothers banner. From
! the green army there now came only
death-enamored desperadoes, strolling
| one by one toward the rifles, pauSins
to shake a spear, turning aside &c
recognize a corpse, then caught by a
sudden jet of fury, bounding forward
| checking, sinking Imply to the ground
| Now under the black flag in a ring OF
! bodies stood only three men facing the
5000 of the Third Brigade. They fold
ed their arms about the staff and gaZed
/ steadily forward. Two fell. The last
Dervish stood up and filled his chest;
he shouted the name of his God AND
hurled his spear. Then he stood quite
still. waiting. 1t took him full; he
! quivered, gave at the knees, and top
pied with his head on his arms and
his face toward the legions Of his con
! querors.