The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-08-24

to civilization. Such renegades are
scattered through ali the remote cor
ners of the earth.
The British troops campaigning IN
Somaliland are learning TO their cost
that the Mad Mullah is assisted by
white man familiar with the art OF
modern warfare. His name is Kari
! Inger. He was an officer in the Aus
tTian army until q year or two ago.
An English officer, Captain Tnorp OF
the Yorkshire light infantry, who knew
him at Budapest speaks of him as an
exceptionally brilliant soldier. with a
natural gift for tactics and for COM
manding men. Inger used TO speak BIT
terly against the English and was fond
of expressing sympathy with the ma
tive races in their struggles with civ
ilization. He would rail by the hour
against the treatment of the Indians
in the United States. Of the Kaffirs in
I South Africa and of the Hind1s III
India.
He disappeared from Budapest short
" before the outbreak in Somaiiland,
and his acquaintance were not sur
prised TO hear that he was fighting as
a lieutenant of the Mad Mullah. Ma
tive spies reported that he adopted the
| MOhammedan religion in Cairo and
was taken to the Mullahs camp
| through Italian Somaliland by some
Arab pilgrims whom he met in Cairo
on their return from Mecca. 1t is as
| serted that he had much to do with
stirring up the recent war and per-
! sUading the Mad Mullah TO defy the
British.
Curiously enough, his old acquaint-
ance, Captain ThOrp. had been sec
onded" from his regiment and attached
TO the SOmaliland field force as a spe-
cial service officer. Thus they may
F,r InN
case one or the other is likely to go
under. for Captain Thorp. in common
with the other officers of the British
force, has vowed to risk the uttermOst
peril to slay this traitor to civilization,
who is held responsible for the cutting
UP Of Colonel SWayne's expedition
some months ago.
1t is said that Lord Lansdowne, the
British foreign minister, confidentially
asked the Austrian government
| whether it was true that Inger had
Joined the Mullah. The Austrian gov
eminent replied that there was reason
10 believe he had and added a hope
that if he was caught he woulG receive
no mercy.
Inger appears to be gifted with the
qualities that impress the savage mind.
He is skillful in planning ambushes
and strategems, and is especially val
liable to the Mullah because. knowing
the effects Of rifle and Maxim fire. he
prevents the SOmalis from madly fac
ing it and being moved down like
corn. as the dervishes were at Omdur-
man.
He takes care that they shall tight
the British troops in the jungle under
conditions which make the superior
arms Of the latter, ineffective. British
officers say that the trouble at Somali-
land would have been over long ago
but for Karl Inger.
If he were caught by native troops
| uncontrolled by an officer he would
probably die by slow torture. a Fan
zibari spy who has penetrated to the
Mullah's camp asserts that Inger has
made up his mind to shoot himself
! rather than be captured.
Another renegade from civilization,
! and one Of 1.-THE most notorious. is Os-
man Digna. the De Wet of the Soudan.
He was the right-hand man of the
Mahdi and afterward of the Khalifa.
/ Ever since 1882 he has been a thorn in
the side of the British.
For many years he was supposed to
| be an Arab chieftain. but Slatin Pasha
| found that he is a white man, born OF
! Scottish parents in Cairo. 1t is said
/ that he was in the employment of the
! government Of Egypt in his youth, but
was cashiered for theft and blackmail
! on the complaints of some European
/ merchants in Cairo.
Burning for revenge he went south
| and Joined the Mahdi Immediately
! after the latter raised the standard Of
/ revolt against Egypt in 1882. He soon
! became known as the best general Of
/ the dervishes, infiicting defeat after
! defeat on the British and Egyptian
! troopOs, massaering whole armies, cap
| turing cities and devastating many
| hundreds of miles. of country.
! He took no prisoners, spared no neu-
! trails. Wherever his swift cavalry and
/ camel corps went they left a trail of
/ desolation behind them.
! Many efforts were made to capture
! or kill Osman Digna, but all without
! success. A former captive in the camp
| of the Khalifa says that an Abyssinian
! whom he had injured stabbed Osman
violently over the heart.
/ The knife broke in two, but OSman
was Uninjured. Naturally the ignorant
/ dervishes thought he was invulnerable.
4 The simple explanation is that he wore
a coat of very fine chain armOr under
/ his burnouSe.
| A British officer recently told how he
/ fought in hand-to-hand combat with
/ Osman when the dervishes broke the
/ British square at TeI-eI- Kebir
II got a thrust with my sword right
home on his chest said the officer,
.
but his confounded chain armor turned
the point of the weapon. A rush of the
! dervishes then swept US apart.
I remember him as a very tall and
powerful man, with most ferocious
expression. He fought like a mailman.
His skin looks like white man. and |
! noticed that his eyes are light blue"
when the power of the Khalifa was
| utterly broken at Omdurman in 1898.
Osman Digna escaped the slaughter.
riding off the field with small body of
picked horsemen before the battle was
over. Lord Kitchener was bitterly dis
| appointed, and sent expedition after ex-
petition in pursuit of him. Most of his
| comrades, including the Khalifa, were
captured and slain, but Osman always
escaped.
He is now dwelling with the Mabas, a
Mohammedan negro race. who are the
ruling tribe in the kingdom of Wadai
| Natives assert that soon after Osmau
found refuge there he conspired with
Abu said, a son of the formet king OF
Wadai, to assassinate the reigning king
l The conspiracy Was successful
Abu Said now rules over Wadai, with
Osman as his prime minister. They are
supported by hOrdes of the finest and
most fanatical native fighting men in
Africa. including the remnants of the
khalifa's forces.
The English and French authorities
IN the SOudan eXpec- that Wadai will
give them serious trouble in the neal
future, now that Osman is there They
fear IL Will be The center of another
outbreak as fOrmida BILE ss the Mahdrs
I BY an Anglo FrenSh agreement mad,