Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1899-01-19
NO.. %.
HORRORS OF soUDAN WARFARE.
After tho Battle Wounded Dervishes Are
Slain-Tragic Incidents.

Alter tho Battle Wounded Dervishes Are
slain-Tragic Incidents.
Now, there is no braver, kinder man
in the world than the army doctor,
writes the correspondent of the Lon
don Saturday Review from the scene
of the British victory in the Soudan.
In his extemporized field hospital,
often under heavy fire, with a hastily
thrown up screen of commissariat
cases, packsaddles, water tanks or
whatever came handy, he performed
miracles; he was ready to minister to
the wants of all wounded men. he
was anxious to tend the wounded Der
wish whenever one might be brought
in. But no wounded Dervish ever
was. 1t was as much as any ones life
was worth to go near wounded Der
wish. He would lie on the ground
glaring about him like a wild beast.
Approach him, and out came his curved
ham -stringing knife. With it he would
make vicious sweeps, any one OF which
would main you for life
tits not possible in the terrific stress
oi SOudan warfare to detail fatigue
parties TO overcome the resistance of
wounded men and beat them to the
field hospital Hundreds died of
their wounds as they lay on the battle
field, and those that did not die of
their wounds had to be put out of
their misery. Terrible stories are told
of this dire necessity. Those know
best who have been engaged in battle
with the Dervish what happened after
the fighting was over, and how the
problem of dealing with the enemy's
wounded was solved. In the cam
paign of 1855, parties of English SOL
diers, commanded by English officers,
used to go out to kill the wounded.
One private prodded the helpless body
between the shoulders with his bay
onet. If there was no movement the
party went on ; if the Dervish proved
alive and squirmed, another private
instantly blew his brains out.
In one case, remarkable for its in
evitable cold-blooded horror, it is said,
the troops inside a zereba, the night
after one OF the most desperate of
battles, were driven to madness by the
voice of a wounded warrior who lay
outside amidst heaps of slain. All
1T grooming cry of "Allahl
rose into tho silent night.
o4 sharp rng of the word
az cry for head Bong
n,. iorlng, desndiring
only. -. w.
man"-thst was the feeling OF ali.
Council was held al to how it could be
done. Soon three men were told off
to get upon the sandbags of the little
redoubt at the corner of the zereba,
and when the moon came out from
behind the clouds, to fire volleys in
the direction from which the cry came.
The volleys were fired but the cry
went on Finally it ceased. Whether
the man was thus silenced or not it
was not ascertained, but in the morn
ing there were only dead men in that
part of the field There were others,
however, still alive. These could not
be tended. Another story was cur
rent in those terrible days of how an
officer, going up to a group of sur
geons found a wounded Dervish, and
ihquiring what was the matter, was
told that nothing could be done with
him, no one could approach him. He
lay there with his knife out, ready
with one of those sweeping ham-string-
ing cuts for any one who dared to
come near. Whereupon the officer,
still under the blood madness of the
fight, and "seeing red," whipped out
his own knife, avoided the rapid sweep
Of the wounded mans weapon, and
drove his own to his heart.
Such are some of the incidents Of
Soudan warfare.