The San Francisco call., 1898-12-18

up, as it were Fighting done after ward? Yes! Plenty of it, but nothing like that first charge I'll never for get that sight in all my living days. It can hardly be called a fight Too one sided, but there was lots of gun firing on our side and lots of dead and wound ed on the other. Why, the field in front of our center was literally carpeted with white, mixed all up with black, where the bare arms and legs of the poor beggars' showed out, and here and there a horse or two. Some of them, chiefs, sheiks and emirs, they call them. rode on horseback. It was a sight to last one man all the rest of his life.
 How many killed? Well, to speak by the card, I should say just all of them. That is all that were in the way of it. All that started across that open space toward our lines. 1 didn't see any going back. How many? I don't just know. I never counted them. l don't suppose anybody else did very closely. Just guessed at the number. The papers will tell you what the guess was, l just tell you what I know. All of them were killed Five, seven or ten thousand; just as many as started. All of them killed, that is, sooner or later. Of course. a good many were just wounded at first, but they were all dead men before the thing was over. You don't need field hospitals for those 'beggars.' They never quit till they are dead. So you see the enemy's loss is made up of two items-killed and pris- oners, and these last are not so many. The Sirdar knows hi business.
 The battle was on a Friday, We'll, on Wednesday night we were camped near the river about twelve miles below Om- thurman. A heavy storm came up with much thunder and lightning and the rain just poured down. In the midst of 1t all at daybreAk we struck our tents and started on the march again. Every man of us was wet through and through. We had had DO rest, not a bit of sleep, and were pretty well worn out, though we had full Stomachs and plenty more within easy reach. The whole army, about 2S, 900 men, was we'll under way by 5 o'clock. The march ing was heavy sure enough. The mud was so sticky" that when you lifted your foot a great mass of it hung on and made you step short. We began to feel better, though, when just before noon the sun came out, and after go- ing a short distance farther we went into camp just above the little old town of Kerreri, about six miles from Om- durman, where the battle was fought the next day. We halted about half past l o'clock in the afternoon, Thurs day, September l.
 Our line extended in a kind of a half circle, about two and a half miles, with both ends resting on the river.
 The position was good one. The ground was a little high and sloped easily away to the west, offering no cover to an enemy except here and there slight depression. few feet below the general surface, as far as the hills, the nearest of which. Jebel Surgham, lay little to the southwest about a mile and a quarter distant. A little farther away, directly to the west and opposite our center, ran a range of hills parallel to the river for some three or four miles.
 "On our extreme left next to the river and nearest the city, which was in plain sight, was our artillery and the Brit ish brigade. with the Twenty-first Lan- cers in the rear of their right. Next in the circle came the Fuzzy Wuzzies,' or the Soudanese, our black brothers in arms. Fighters, too, they were Then next and extending on around to the river again were the 'Gippies, or the Egyptian division, as they are of flcially called. The supply boats were in the river behind us, and the gun boats out in the stream, near our left
 We had early supper and early to bed. The night went off quite quietly and we had good rest. At early dawn, say 3:3O a. m., we were reused and stood to arms. The cavalry went out to take a look about, and we be- gan breaking the zereba in places to march through. Soon one of the gum d VI, just after the cavalry came galloping back and we knew the thing was about on; and so it was. Just after o'clock we heard a mighty noise of more yell ing. shouting and singing, and soon we caught sioht of them without num- ber first to the right of Jebel Surgham and then to the left, tapping all around our front. Some few were on horse back, but the great mass were on foot. They carried number of flags on long poles. which they kept waving as they advanced.
 When they were within about 1900 yards the artillery began on them, and many we'll directed shell left a batch of them to mark where it burst. When they had gotten within 1200 yards we began with our rifles and then the Maxims, shortening the range sights as they came. They did little firing, but just kept coming. They were soon within short range and were just moved down, but those that fell were not missed, the mass was so dense. I did not see much of what went on ex- cept just in front of me. That spec tacle just held my sight bound to it.
 Closer and closer, ever growing fewer and few, they came.
 Just before us was one specially at- tractive group. A young black man. evidently a chief, mounted on a spIen- did dark bay, rode in the front of the main mass, waving a sword in his hand and shouting Allah Akbar.' which means God Is great. On his left an old white bearded fellow kept pace with the horse, carrying a large white flag, which he kept waving as he shouted. With them, beside and be- hind. pressed the throng of white tur- bans and black faces, even yet more than you could reckon, but dropping by scores at every step. Well, they brought that flag right up to within 300 yards of our line A hundred hands and more had had 1t, and there it went down, but only when there was no hand left to hold 1t up. All had gone down. The field was carpeted, indeed, with the dead.
 The like of the last charge was never seen before. not even in the Sou dan.'