The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-03-03
THE EGYPTIAN TOMMY ATKINS.
Wonderful Transformation of the
Native Race Under british Power.

rom the Lpulbu 4hail-
on the fringe Of the desert in front Of /
the infantry barracks at Abassieh' /
crowd Of natives squat 10 family groups. /
The elders converse graveiy in low tones; |
the younger members Of the assembly |
play with the sand after the manner Of /
small fry at Brighton or Margate, and |
gaze with curious eyes at a staff officer |
who passes with jingling spurs and elank- !
Ing sword. These peasant families have |
come from afar to Abasslch; a pile Of |
sugar cane on the left and little heaps Of |
native loaves lying here and there show |
that the commissariat department has not |
bsen forgotten. Tomorrow, though, Abas- |
sieh viii them no more; tomorrow,
in the early morning. a special train will
depart with conscripts for the Soudan, |
and the families Of the embryo soldiers
will return to the uneventful life OF their |
native village. The bond of domestic af-
lection is strong among the fellahin, and
when Mohammed or Abas is drawn for
military service his father and his mother
and every available member OF the family
follow him TO the recruiting depot, making
the opening day of the couscripts mill
tary life harder to bear by their obtrusive
solicitude.
CONSUMPTION is never likely to be popular
In the peasant homes of any land But
III Icy pts inc IlAttIitsS OF UEdlu ltt5 pass
ed away from the WORK of the recruiting
agent. for in the villages OF every prov
ince the soldier on furlo1gh, well fed well
set up and with money in his pocket, is a
familiar sight The mother who deliber-
ately rObs her child of an eye to render
him unfit for the army Is not often -let
with now, and though no census of one
eyed men has ever been taken, their num-
Der must have materially decreased. An
occasional conscript will mutlate himself
In the hope of escaping service thereby,
but such cases are yearly becoming less
frequent.
Inside the barrack square, drawn up in
four lines, are some 200 conscripts in
khaki uniform, with blue puttees. regula-
ton boots. and forehead covering the ma
tional red tarboosh, beloved OF every Egyp-
tian. There Is a subdued air about these
Egyptian members of the Atkins family
Their faces do not Indicate any burning
desire for military glory. Yet, though only
a couple of weeks have passed since they
left their homes, there is a striking con-
trast between them and the group in the
long blue galabeahs of the peasant formed
up on their relationships of even more
recent date Many of the youths in uni
form hold their heads up, thrust their
chests forward. and generally comport
themselves az recruits who are beginning
to grow accustomed 10 their drill; their
brethren IN BdidDeanS look ike martyrs
about to be put 10 death to the accom-
paniment of horrible tortures. At a word
of command they shuttle Off, with down
cast eyes and rueful face, to another part
of the square, and dolefully watch the
movements of their uniformed kinsmen.
To the hard llnesr' of a sympathetic on
locker comes the quick retort, "A jolly
sight harder lines It would have been for
these young gentlemen, their cousins and
their aunts. If Grenfell hadn't helped their
fathers to interview Wad el Mejumi that
! morning at Toski. Finest thing in the
world for them to be able to take their
} own part"
And as the memory goes back to the des-
perate and mad attempt of the mahdis
bravest emir to force his way into Egypt
! less than ten short years ago, 1t must be
admitted that but for the spirited defense
OF the frontier by Grenfell with his Anglo
| Egyptian force II might have gone i'll with
the mild-eyed fellahin. As Col. Wingate
truly says, Mejumi had annihilated Hicks
and his army and captured Khartoum.
| Why should he fear to advance into Egypt
and to fight against Egyptian troops whom
he had learned 10 regard with contempt?
| Yet, though the gallant emir harangued
| his fanatical followers on the eve of the
| fight. offering paradise to those who fell in
| the holy cause; and rousng the widest
| enthusiasm in the breasts of all, the con-
| hdence and discipline created by British
| officers enabled the Egyptians not merely
60 face the dervishes, but to rush positions
! hid by the once-dreaded enemy.
| The "Gippy'' recruit, doleful though he
| be in the early days of his military ca
| reer, soon becomes reconciled to his lot.
| Look at the men who are running out as
! markers for the conscripts to form up on
sturdy, well-fed, cheerful fellows, SOL
! diering certainly seems to agree with them,
| ff-sf off tho ePala hoa
and put on the uniform, they were, no
doubt as doleful as any of the recruits
| who are being mustered to-day.
| Though the fellah, unlike the Sudani, is
not a born fighter he soon develops an
| interest In his work. Recruits not con-
| tent with their instructions on parade will
drill each other in the barracks room for
| hours at time. 1t is rare for "Gippy''
TO desert after the first few weeks of SER
| vice, and when his term has expired he
| will refer with satisfaction TO his martial
| career II been at Omdurman with lat
| terry artillery; he ped to smash mahdi's
tomb was the information proudly i'm
| parted to me the other day by one of the
| hotel servants, and whatever the Egyptian
| army may have done besides, 1t certainly
| has been the means of smartening up
| fair proportion of the male population of
| Egypt.
The recruits formed up in the barrack
|
| age about five feet eight inches in hight,
and after couple of months drill their
own mothers will scarcely know them, so
marvellous will be the transformation in
! their appearance A colloquy takes place
between the staff and his subordinate, the
word is given for the men to face inward
and in a loud and sonorous voice the sub
| altern proceeds to address the conscripts
in their native tongue. Never had orator
more attentive audience; his words are
eagerly drunk in by the parade, and this
is the substance of what he says:
"Oh, men, you are now soldiers; so do
your duty as soldiers, l warn you that
you refrain from attempting to desert for
If you do you will assuredly be taken, and
then the prison viii be your lot But IL
you are content 10 do your duty you will
be well clothed well fed and paid with
money, and you will be entitled to a fur
Tough every year so that you may visit
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