Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1898-10-20

the Nile recently the Mahdists at
tackled $4,000 strong in three grand di-
visions. Of the charge in front G. w.
Stevens writes in the London Daily
Mail:
1T was now $50. The flags seemed
still very distant, the roar very faint,
and the thud Of our first gun was al
most startling. 1t may have startled
them, too, but it startled them into
life. The line of flags swung forward
and a mass of white flying linen
swung forward with it, too. They
came very fast and they came very
straight and then presently they
came no further. With a crash the
bullets leaped out. of the British
rifles. 1t began with the guards and
MANIFESTATION volleys at 1000
yards; then as the dervishes edged.
rightward it ran along to the High
landers, the Lincolns, and 20 Max
wells brigade. The British stood
up in double rank behind their zariba;
the blacks lay down in their shelter
trench; both poured out death as
fast as they could load and press
trigger. Shrapnel whistIed and Max
inns growled savagely. From all the
line came perpetual fire, fire, fire,
and shrieked north in great gusts of
destruction.
"And the enemy? No white trooper
would have faced the torrent of
death for five minutes, but the Bag
CARA and the blacks came on The
torrents swept into them and hurled
them down in whole companies. You
saw rigid line gather itself up and
rush on evenly; then before a shrap-
mel shell or Maxim the line sud
denly quivered and stopped. The
line was yet unbroken, but it was
quite still. But other lines gathered
up again, again, and yet again they
went down and yet others rushed on.
Sometimes they came near enough to
see single figures quite plainly. One
old man with a white flag started
with five comrades; all dropped but
he alone came bounding forward to
within the 200 yards of the Four
teenth Soudanese. Then he folded his
arms across his face and his limbs
loosened and he dropped sprawling to
earth beside his flag.
''It was the last day of Mahdism.
and the greatest They could never
get near and they refused to hold
back. By now the ground before us
was all white with dead mems
drapery. Rifles grew red hot; the
soldiers seized them by the sings
and dragged them back to the reserve
to change for cool ones. 1t was not
a battle, but an execution.
There were losses on the British
side, say twenty-five to a regiment.
But loss on this scale was not to be
considered beside the awful slaughter
of the dervishes. If they still came
on our men needed only time and am
munition and strength to point a rifle
to kill them off to the very last man.
Only by now-small Wonder-they
were not coming on. They were not
driven back; they were all killed in
coming on. One section of fire after
another hushed, and by s o'clock the
village and the plain were still again
The last shell had burst over the last
visible group of deryishes; now there
was nothing but the unbending
grimly expectant line before the
Agaiga and the still carpet of white
in front.
1t was now twenty minutes to 10.
The British had crested low ridge
between Gebel Surgham and the Nile.
Maxwells brigade was just ascend
ing it; Lewis just coming I'D under
the hill. Men who could 90 where
they liked were up with the British
staring hungrily at Omourman. Sud
denly from rearward broke out
heavy crackle of fire. We thought
perhaps a dozen men or so had been
shamming dead; we went on staring
at Omdurman. But the next instant
We had to turn and galloped hot
heeled back again. For the crackle
became crashing, and the crashing
Waxed to a roar. Dervishes were
firing at us from the top of Gebel
Surgham, derVishes were firing be-
hind and to the right of it. The
Thirteenth Soudanese were bound |
ing up the HILL Lewis brigade had
hastily faced to its right westward, |
and was volleying for life. Macdon-
AIDS, beyond, still facing northward, |
was a sheet Of flashes and a roll of |
smoke. What was it? Had they
come to life again? No time to ask;
e-enforcements or ghosts, they were
on US, and the battle was begun all |
over again"
This was the flank attack by the
Mahdist divisions held in reserve and
ended as did the attack in front.
Four squadrons of the Twenty
first lancers pushed straight for ON
durham. They came on a small body
of dervishes and charged. This is
what happened:
Knee to knee they swept Oh until
they were but 200 yards from the
enemy. Then suddenly-then in a
fash-they saw the trap. Between
them and the 300 there yawned sud-
denly deep raVine, out Of the ravine
there sprang instantly a cloud of ,
dark heads and a brandished light
ming of swords and a thunder of say
age voices. Mahmud smiled when
he heard the tale in prison at Halfa,