The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-01-07
KITCHENER MANY DIALECTS.
Impressions the Famous General
Made Upon an American.
From the Washington Post

From the Washington Post.
The writer first saw Lord Kitchener at
Cairo in 1884 He was on the veranda of
Shepheard's world-famed hosiery, sitting
with ChaiIlie-Long Bey on the one hand,
and on the other was man who was out
there for great London daily, the most
renowned special correspondent living, of
those who have written of war. A man
strobe up the steps He was about six feet
four built for strength and a quick, sud
den crisis. when one must be active as a
cat He was wearing the uniform of a
hey or colonel of Egyptian cavalry. AS he
came forward, Chaillie-Long lieutenant
colonel, and chief of artillery for the Egyp-
tian army, presented us. Kitchener was
then about 80 years old. His face was that
of man who neither asks for sympathy
nor wants it, one who will win to the
front, no matter what Is In his way. He
has steady, blue-gray, passionless eyes.
and heavy mustache covers a mouth that
shuts close and firm like wolf trap. He
has won over the native fighting man OF
the Soudan, because he shows not the
shadow of fear because hand and brain
work so perfectly together. He has no age
but prime of life, and In the fifteen years
ne mas spent III the SOuudn ne mas gain
cred and garnered a ripe harvest of expe-
rience that has made Gen. Lord Kitch-
ener of Khartoum one of the most nota-
BILE men of the century
He has astonished Archie Hunter, his
next in command in many ways, but never
more than when he found his chief SUI
perior speaking to Egyptian and Berber,
to his black regiments, Bishareens, Iaahns,
to all the fighting emirs in the country
eide for 1000 mics and speaking fuently
10 each in his own tongue. Where could
the sidar general have learned these
tongues?" asked Gen. Hunter, command
ing the first three brigades, of his crony,
Gatacre who was chief of the other di-
vision Give ii up; never supposed he
knew a word of Berber till he declined
an Interpreter and talked with Wad-El
Neiumi 0he greatest fighting emir of the
Soudan) for two hours, face to face"
Some officers greatly impressed with his
knowledge of Arabic and the dialects of
the Arab Negroid tribes of the Soudan
asked the sirdar about It. He got but lit
tie satisfaction from his saturnine chief.
''Why. / learned Them; had TO. You can
not control men, much less savages, unless
Won can speak to them" And that was
all
That these Soudan negro-Arabs fairly
worship this wonderful man Is not sur
prising They regard war as the only
business in life worth considering. Tor
sixteen years they have been fighting.
fighting. In all that time, pitted against
men WHO firmly believe II killed In battle
they 90 straight to paradise these blacks
that Kitchener and his officers have train
cd have invariably been successful. Then
their pay-14 shiiiings monthly and ra-
tions-to them is almost incredible In its
munlfcence. No one Is ever taken into
the black regiments who is not six feet
in stature. AS they stand at attention,
these black battalions look like statues.
The English colonel clicks out com
mand in Arabic; with a machine-like
snap Inc 749 statues of men now break
into column of companies. SouthernIborn
and bred before he had seen this, some
how the writer had always associated tho
negro with something either servile or
funny but these fearless blacks had never
been slaves 90 any race and acknowledged
no superiors but the whites. They hon
estly believe that to be white Is never to
have known fear. They have seen many
English officers die by bullet and by steel.
but they have never seen one of the
white race show fear, and their proudest
boast Is: I'VE are like the Englishmen;
we are never afraid"
What this bundle of steel wire and
brains called Sirdar Kitchener will do If he
lives twenty-five years longer is lmpossi-
BILE to predict He is not quite 50 years
old Standing six feet four, straight as a
lance he sees everything. He is never
tired or surprised never taken unawares
nor showing hurry; he is the ideal man for
just the conditions he has to deal with.
He came into British affairs in Egypt al
the right hour and he was the right man.
To-day he is absolutely king and ruler
over one-third of all Africa, from the Me
valley and It's tributaries TO the Cape o,
Good Hope. He IS the biggest coming man
Of that domain on which the sun never
sets.