Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1898-09-08
TAKING OF 0MDURMAN
Kitchener Defeated Khalifa
After a Bloody Battle.
GALLANT CHARGE OF BRITISH
Massed Tribes Were Unable TO With
stand the whitening Fire OF
Modern Ordnance.


Omdurman, Opposite Khartoum on
the Nile, Nubia, Sept. 6. The sirdar,
General Herbert Kitchener. with the
khalifa's black standard captured dur
ing the battle, entered Omdurman, the
capital of Mahdiam at 4 O'Clock this
afternoon, at the head of the Anglo
Egyptian column, after completely
routing the dervishes and dealing a
death blow to Mahdim. Roughly, our
losses were 200, while thousands Of the
dervishes were killed and wounded.
Last night the Ang To- Egyptian army
encamped at Agaiza, eight miles from
Omdurman. The dervishes were three
miles distant. At dawn today,
the cavalry patrolng toward Omdur-
man discovered the enemy advancing
to the attack in battle array, chanting
war songs. Their trent consisted OF in
fantry and cavalry, stretched out for
three or four miles. Countless banners
fluttered over their masses, and the
copper and brass drums resounded
through the ranks OF the savage war
Yiors, who advanced unswervingly,
with all their old-time ardor. Our
infantry formed up outside the camp.
At 1:20 A. NJ. the enemy crowded
the ridges above the camp and adj
vanced steadily in enveloping forma-
ton. AT TAO our artillery opened fire.
which was answered by the dervish
rifemen. Their attack developed on
our left, and in accordance with their
traditional tactics, they swept down
the hillside, with the design OF rushing
our flank. But the whitening fire
maintained for Is minutes by all our
line frustrated the attempt, and the
delvishes, baked, swept toward our
center, upon which they concentrated
fierce attack
A large force OF horsemen, trying to
face continuous hail of bullets from
the Cameron Highlanders, the Lincoln
shire regiment and the Soudanese, was
literally swept away, leading to the
withdrawal of the entire body, whose
dead strewed the field.
The bravery OF the dervishes can
hardly be ove1estimated. Those who
carried the flags struggled to within
100 yards of our fighting line.
When the deIvishes withdrew behind
the ridge in front of their camp, the
whole force marched in echelon Of bat.
talions toward Omdurman.
AS our troops surmounted the crest
adjoining the Nile, the Soudanese on
our right came into contact with the
Remick, who had reformed under cover
of rocky emnence, and had marched
beneath the black standard of the kha-
lifa in order to make supreme effort
to retrieve the fortunes of the day. A
mass $4,000 strong bore down on the
Soudanese.
General Kitchener swung round the
center and left of the Soudanese and
seized the rocky eminence, and the
Egyptians, hitherto in reserve, joined
the firing line in 10 minutes, and be-
fore the dervishes could drive their at
tack home. The flower of the khalifa's
army was caught in a depression and
within a zone of whitening cross-tire
from three brigades, with the attendant
artillery. The devoted Mahdis strove
herocally to make Roadway. but every
rush was stopped, while their main
body was literally mown down by sus-
tanned cross-fire.
Defiantly the dervisnes planted their
dense masses gradually melted to COM
panies, and the com panies to diiblets
beneath the leaden hail. Finally they
broke and fed, leaving the field white
with Jibbah-clad corpses, like snow
drift dotted spot.
At 1915 the sirdar ordered an adj
vance and our whole force, in line,
drove the scattered remnants into the
desert to Omdurman.
Among the chief incidents of the bat
tie was brilliant charge by the
Twentyfrst Lancers, under Lieutenant-
Colonel Martin. Galloping down on a
detached body OF the enemy they found
the derVish swordsmen massed behind,
and were forced to charge home against
appalling odds. The lancers hacked
through the mass. rallied and kept the
dervish horde at bay. Lieutenant
Grenfelt, nephew OF General Sir Francis
0renlelt, was killed, tOur Otner O1flCeIS
We're wounded, p men were killed and
20 wounded.
The Egyptian cavalry were in close
fighting throughout with the Baggara
horsemen. For short period the
enemy captured and held gun, but it
was brilliantly retaken.
The heroic bravery OF the dervshes
evoked universal admiration. Time
alter time their dispersed and broken
forces reformed and hurled themselves
upon the Anglo Egyptians, their emirs
conspicuously leading and spurning
death. Even when wounded and in
death asonies they raised themselves to
fire a last shot.
Among the wounded is Colonel
Rhodes, the correspondent of the Lon
don Times, and brother of Cecil
Rhodes.
-FOUR Young Women Drowned.
Erie, Pa, Sept. By an acct
dental jibing OF the sail Of the pleasure
yacht Calmenca, on Presque Isa bay
this morning FINN youut, xvo,,o, ,,..-