The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-09-03
KITCHENER'S ADVENTURE.
Strong Man Of British Army and
His Perils in Egypt.

to say that in Lord Kitchener rests much
of the country's hope that a different
complexion viii be speedily put on the
state of affairs in South Africa. Recent
events have demonstrated that a strong
is wanted there. Lord Kitchener is
a strong man. A great authority has pro-
bounced him as 1.-The most prominent man
in the British army" He has certainly
done much in recent years, and done it all
well. He Is a living contradiction of the
saying that "a man who never makes
mistake never makes anything" Lord
Kitchener has yet to make his mistake,
albeit he has made much.
Lord Kitcheners career in Egypt was
an unbroken succession of triumphs. He
had some of the most difficult problems to
tackle, and he overcame them all, his
GROWING achievement being the smashing
up Of Mahdism at -mdurman. Through
out that campaign he proved himself
commander, an organizer and a strate-
gist of the finest quality, although it is
none too often that combination of these
qualities Is found in one man. Lord SAL
isbury has described him as "a singular
master of desert warfare"
/ Cool, daring, resourceful and possessed
/ Of a wonderful power of self-restraint,
Lord Kitchener is the very man for the
position he will fill in South Africa. He
Is not the soldiers idol that Lord Rob-
erts. his great chief, is, because Kitch-
ener never spares his men; nor, for that
matter, does he spare himself. Once a
project is afoot, once "a goal is to be
I reached, Kitchener means to get there
He does not consider the mere comfort of
his men. Each unit he looks upon as part
OF vast machine, which must not stop
until he gives the order. If anything in
terferes with the smooth working of that
machine IL must be removed immediat ely.
services of men who for years have
worked under him well and faithfully I'M
I'll some temporary indisposition has laid
them low. They were no longer of use,
so they had to go.
IL is hardly to be wondered at that
man of this hard, cold. calculating dispo-
sitiOn is not loved, and Tommy will
never make a pet of Lord Kitchener
But he admires him and places implicit
faith in his judgment, and woul follow
him wherever he chose to go. And what
more would "A commander have?
An authority who was with Kitchener
In the Soudan, wrot of him: at appears
- be the sirdar's policy to advance DELHI
erately step by step. to make his position
secure after each step before venturing on
another, to run no unnecessary risks, but
at the right moment TO strike hard with
unexpected suddenness, and to follow up
the blow with energy" Lord Kitchener
Is obviously the right man i'm the right
place in. South Africa.
Every soldier hopes for a Chance" and
many hope in vain. Kitcheners chance
came in 1SS2, when the rising tide of
Mahdism threatened to sweep from end
to end Of the Soudan. But it was sus-
pected that the false prophets successes
were being exaggerated, and young
Kitchener was deputed to make investi-
} cations and report. He dressed himseli
! as an Arab trader and entered Omdurman
: taking his life in his hand. He wen,
: among the wild Kababish and treacherous
] pachas. who had they once penetrated
l his disguise. would have shown him little
, mercy. one day he witnessed an execu
ttion of a supposed spy in the town. The
poor wretch was subjected to such tortur,
that Kitchener procured a tiny phial o
! cyanide of potassium, which he concealed
D about his person. AS he subsequently re
; marked TO a brother officer. Death a
g their hands I did not fear-in fact, 1 ex
n pected II. But such death!
/ For two years Kitchener lived unde
: such conditions, never knowing when h
e might be brought face to face with VIC
u lent death, but all the while communicat
l ing to the heads of the Egyptian intelli
. gence department information of the ut
= most importance regarding the Mahdi an
u his movements. So strictly was his iden
J. tty preserved that the British troops di
: not know him, and Tommy on on
occasion flung a brickbat at the brav
~ young officer. whom he mistook for
i blooming nigger." The blow inflicted
e rather nasty scalp wound. and had tn
= additional result OF creating a pTovert
= Throw a stone at niger and you'll hi
u the sirdar''
y Now that the Roentgen rays are bein
:, employed with satisfactory results in ou
~ field hospitals. ii is improbable that an
officer will have such an experience as bt
y 81 kifchpnpr ah m During
~ skirmish near Suakin Major kitchens
sc was hit In the side of the face by stra
bullet. The missile made clean woun'
ie which soon healed. but the bullet itse
!. could not be found.
IN In those days. of course, the Y rays ha
not been discovered, and the doctors Ia
~ not the aid of the wonderful apparatus
20 their search for the missing bulle
70 Eventually they came to the conclusic
VI that, unknown to the patient, II hf
-, worked itself out and been lost. A men
III Der of the medical staff corps, Sergea
- Billion. was in attendance on the injur'
= officer. whom he one day induced to e
NC beefsteak. In the midst of the me
l. Major Kitchener stopped suddenly. "B
ton" he said. IF there was no bone
that steak. I've swallowed that bullet
And so he had.
Adventures by the score happened
IN Kitchener In the exciting role of dete
on tive of spies. On one occasion two su
lpected Arabs were brought into the Bri
10 ish camp and confined in the guard ter
ne shortly afterward they were Joined by
ne third. The trio he'll. an animated CO
re- versation for some minutes, and the
" much to the astonishment of the sentl
us the latest arrival stepped forward a
IN IN said in indisputable English: "All rigl
''ii sentry: I'm going to the general T
third prisoner was Kitchener. who, by II
- daring ruse. coupled with a perfs
Icn knowledge of native languages. confirm
ew the suspicion that the fellows were da
GOV gerous spies. They were promptly shot
IN Perhaps the most striking trait in Lo
- Kitcheners character is his disinclinati
lne to put n married man in a position of
sponsibility under him. He appears
~ hold the opinion that matrimony int
~ feres with business. He backs up his y
VI cept by example. for. as everybody know
Lord Kitchener Is a bachelor. Like ma
notable parsonage before him. he d.
not shine In the society of women. 1t
sa related that on one occasigh he was p
OH, sented 10 a certain well-known count
ely at Cairo. and opened the conversation
'oie asking: do you find Cairo nice at I
season OF the year, Delightful"