The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-07-21
SOUDANESE SOLDIERS.
Continued from Fourth Pagc.)

Continued from Fourth Pagc.)
days. the Mussulman's Sunday. the
'Haremat Lines held high carnival.
Inc tomtoms banged INCREASINGLY; the
men sat on the shady sides of the
houses, clad in snowy shirt and drawers,
with their families round them, and in
the evening there was nearly always
held "Dileuka" or dance, the members
OF each tribe joining together and per-
forming their tribal dance--aS a rule, a
curious, posturing shuttle, descriptive Of
the various incidents of love and wars.
AS the evening wore on the fun grew
last and furious, the torches flared, the
drums banged, the dancers shouted
their Warcries, until at last the bugles
sounded lights out" the revelry died
away and these happy. savages went off
to bed like tired children, to wake on the
next day ready for the military routine
of new week.
When the forward movement com
nlenced, in the beginning of 1896, of
course the wives and families had to be
left behind. But as we advanced into
the Dervish country their black sisters
fiocked from slavery to join the troops,
and as the Dervishes retreated or We're
defeated they left numbers Of women
and children behind them, among whom
our troops discovered many sisters,
mothers and even former wives. The
woman question soon became a serious
one. The Mahometan law allows man
a plurality Of wives; our men had not
seen their families for months, and were
anxious to form new tics; many women
had died at Assouan and Halfa in the
cholera epidemic, and there were cores.
ponding widowers in our ranks ripe for
consolation. So, wisely enough, men.
under certain conditions, We're allowed
to marry, and soon little villages sprang
up round all the cantonments. The men
who had permission took unto them
selves their dusky brides, and In many
cases adopted the small Dervish chill
dren, and all went merry as a marriage
bell. The little villages, built of dried
grass or mud were kept scrupu1ously
clean; military police were made respon-
sible for order; and the most prominent
lady was elected Sheikha, and with the
assistance of the Oldest non-commis-
stoned officer and some black commits
stoned officer settled all disputes and
never were there more orderly, law
abiding communities. When the troops
left the Dongola province for further OPP
erations south, the grass widows We're
sent down to Wadi Halfa to join the
other families, and it is to be hoped that
by now all have been happily reunited
at Fashoda, Khartoum, or wherever the
breadwinner may happen to be sta
toned I mention all this because ones
thoughts cannot help turning to Uganda
and to poor Thruston, whom we all
knew and liked SO much; and with the
opening UP of vast Black Empire and
the employment of numbers of black
troops, think that a word in season is
not amiss, and that a useful moral may
he deduced as to the great secret of deal
ing with black troops. Respect his one
great weakness-give him a wife and
family and home life, and he is the most
genial, contented, easily managed being
in the world deny him this and he rap
idly becomes restless and disconnected
spends his leisure in wandering about in
search of adventures, brawls and loots
in the villages, and gives endless trou-
BILE.
Some of our blacks were very good
shots, but the majority were below the
average of English soldiers and the
Egyptians were not such good shots as
the blacks.
AT the battle of Firket a company Of
Camel Corps were lining a ridge of
rocks, with corresponding ridge held
by the Dervishes some three or four
hundred yards to their front black
sergeant named Capsoon had found a
sort Of natural embrasure in these rocks,
1ich nffinpr'c attpn-
ton to his prowess he shot down Der
wish after Dervish as he showed himself
The company then charged the Dervlsh |
position and cleared them out, and the
fruit of Capsoon's skill at arms stood
revealed his bag was nearly dozen,
killed dead. This almost equals what
one has heard of Boer craftsmanship
Cornhill Magazine.