The times., 1899-02-27
HECHT and COMPANY, 5ls-5l5 7th St.

in their agony had crawled under the
scanty shade of a rock or shrub were club
bed to death or riddled with bullets by th;
irresponsible brutality of these native ser
wants. who were out in the battlefield to
loot the fallen. He goes further. He
charges that wholesale slaughter not
confined to the blacks. 1T was stated that
orders had been given to kill the wounded.
Whether this was or not | do not know.
but certainly no protest was made when
the Soudanese despatched scores of wound
ed men who lay in their path. The der
wishes who were stretched on the sand
within a few yards were bayoneted, or, in
some instances. stabbed with their own
spears. One OF the blacks picked up a
barbed spear. and. as its former owner
still showed some feeble signs of life, drove
it right into his face. and then planting
his boot upon the dervishes head. dragged
the spear out again by main force and car
ried OF the blood stained weapon. Arabs
who lay further out in the desert at some
little distance from the line of march. and
happened. unfortunately for themselves
TO move or turn over in their agony. were
Immediately pierced by rife bullets
No Relief for Wounded Foes.
Mr.. Bennett further complains that no
battle or next day to do anything for the
wounded dervishes He acknowledged that
the first care of the Army Medical Corps
must be bestowed upon its own wounded.
but in this case the military surgeons were
so numerous and the hospital arrange
ments so excellent that some help might
have been afforded TO the wounded
wretches lying about the desert four miles
away after the comparatively trifling NUM-
Der of wounded English and their allies
had been carefully attended to. In the
case of the thousands Of wounded men who
managed to escape on foot or were carried
off the battlefield miles away into the des-
ert it was of course, impossible to render
medical assistance. But. as it was. hum
dreds of wounded dervishes who had failed
to escape from the field were left to perish
miserably within easy reach of our succor
had it been forthcoming.
Let us turn to Omdurman itself. The
city was formally surrendered to the Sir
dar as he rode in at the close of the battle
on September 2. The victorious general
had promised complete indemnity to the
conquered. Yet all that night SOudanese
troops roamed at large about the city
"AIl night long shots were being fired.
What precisely happened nobody will ever
know but when Soudanese soldier goes
looting with a rifle in his hands he pays
rights. life and property of Individuals
For the three next days the pillage of the
surrendered city continued. As one en-
tered the town one was continually met by
little groups of soldiers carrying loot of all
kinds On September 3 | came across two
British soldiers who had fOrcibiy seized
bag of money and were carrying it off TO
the camp.
MIR. Bcnnctt's Purpose.
1t is idle to ask. with the conservative
Saturday Review" what good purpose
MIR Bennett expected to serve in revealing
matters on which silence should be kept
AS well might it be asked what service is
done when man who sees murder COM
mtted calls in the police.
If it is true that the British soldiery
made no effort to stop these hideOus scenes, !
and still more emphatically If any small
proportion of the British soldiery. as Mr..
Bennett indicates. actually took part in the
slaughter: it, in short. but a tithe of these
accusations are in accordance with fact. |
then the good name of the country is at
stake 1t is clear that there must be /
searching investigation, and by tribunal |
composed of independent men.
Naturally a wild outburst of wrath has |
broken around the head of Mr.. Bennett. |
Journalistic and other admirers OF the Sir |
dar have rushed into vitupeTative print |
One accusation which was inherently in |
credible has been promptly denied on the |
authority Of the Srdar. The massacre OF
the women and children after Omdurman
was not ordered by the Sirdar, who did
everything in his power TO protect them :
after the retreat of the dervishes.
But that an impression prevailed that
such orders had been issued and that this
impression was responsible for much of the
consequent bloodshed, is practically admit
ted Ii cannot be doubted that there was
n massacre by the blacks and that a few
OF the white troopers, possibly under (
strong provocation and not impossibly
from necessity, joined the blacks III DaSo-
netting the wounded.
What was the provocation and what the
necessity? Mr.. Bennett himself mentions
some OF these, which he does not, how
ever. consider a sufficient justification Tor /
all the horrors he enumerates. The Nah
dists are treacherous foes.
Treuchery of til. Dery.sb Wounded. +
1t has always been found during the
Soudanese campaigns that great risk was
incurred in approaching an armed dervish :
living wounded upon the ground. Instances
are undoubtedly on record OF British
troops having been shot by wounded ;
Arabs whom they were endeavoring 10
succor; but MIR. Bennett insists that these
are only individual and occasional acts OF .
treachery. The champions of the Sirdar
contend on the other hand, that they are I
universal wherever opportunity is afford .
ed. They cite numerous instances which /
they claim to BE- representative. One must
suffice a compassionate British soldier .
stopped over a dying dervish to place a /
flask of brandy to his lips \ wounded .
companion of the dying man raised him. !
self up from the ground, leveled his rifle.
and shot the Good Samaritan dead When
II is the nature of an Arab to revel in
such acts OF fiendish fanaticism is it not .
right ask these apOlogists, that any En-
glish troops who find il necessary to pass
by the wounded in a battlefield should
dispatch them as a precaution against in
jury?
And so the war of outcry and counter :
cry goes on in the English journals aud .
among the English people.
Amcricn and Her Sava.cS.
And we. the offspring of the English !
who stand to them somewhat in the atti-
tude of an impartial court--who are we