Omaha daily bee., 1915-05-09
ON BATTLEFIELD
ABOARD STEAMER
Passengers En- Route Through suez
Canal Witness Engagement
Between Troops.
FIGHT CONTINUES ALL NIGHT

Correspondents OF The Associated Press)
CAIRO. May 5--There were two steam
ers bound from England 70 India which
passed through the Suez canal while the
attack BY the Turkish troops was ac-
traIiy in progress. one carried con-
siderable number OF passengers, who
were privileged 60 get more complete
panoramic view Of big battlefield than
mas probably been the good fortune OF
non-miiitary observers in any other field
n action. They not only saw fragments
al the repuised Turks at Kintara, bat
also the advance OF British troops into
Tho desert in their wide thanking move
mont farther down the canal letter
from one OF these passengers says in
part:
"a few minutes after we left Port Said
a notice was sent around that passen-
gers were 20 keep TO the port decks. az
Turkish snipers we're at work on the
north side Of the canal
For the first ten miles ali the low
lying land had been flooded. but from
there onward we commenced 10 see
troops entrenched. Every tenth mile
was camp. and about every hundred
Yards between were small trenches con-
"a ming about dozen indians. Farther
MP the troops we're mostly New Zealand
ers and Australians,
CAPTAIN ana Pilot killed.
About the ihirtieth mile we. passed
the Indian marine cruiser Hardinge and
here was our first evidence Of there hav-
ing been a fight. Tor It's funnel was gone
ali the way down one side and the other
side was riddled with bullets and Ste
bridge gone OF course ships in the
canal pass within a few feet Of each
other 80 we could ser everything. Its
captain and pilot. who were on the
bridge AT tho time. were killed. and about
sixteen others were wounded.
From this time on we passed several
warships. and troops were on both sides
Of the canal We amused ourselves by
throwing tins Of cigarettes out to them
We cleared all the cigarettes from the
bar.
IAN this time we were going at eight
miles an hour. which II three miles moro
than the speed limit, 30 Il was evident
that they wanted to get es through the
canal as quickly as possible
Turks Fight Miles Away.
Al the fortieth mile the men In the
trenches told as that they had been on
gagged with the enemy on the previous
dav. and that the Turks were now about
eight miles Off. ! went Up on the deck
and saw troops IN the distance, but could
not say whether they were Turks or
not From the forty-socond mile the
banks Of the canal are high and could
not see any great distance, except be-
tween occasional gaps.
~At the forty-slxth mile ] saw dead
l.orse. half on the bank and half IN the
water. and. little farther on dead
camel. Then the excitement began. First
one dead Turks was seen. then two. then
a batch Of seven or eight, and at tho
forty-seventh mile crowd OF them. with
number Of broken small boats. full OF
dead. simply smashed TO pieces, some
hanging over the side with q leg gone.
ttlsers without an arm. and some you
could not recognize as mon at all. just
here the banks are quite high. but they
slope down to the water, and on these
slopes were dead Turks in all sorts OF
positions. Some had fallen with their
heads and shoulders just IN the water.
climbed up In the rigging 10 see what
WAS over the top OF the bank. and there
] saw almost hundreds.
Caught I'm the pontoon.
IL appeared that the Turks were seen
coming. and the warships IN the canal
allowed them to throw a pontoou across.
When they were all gathered az this
srot the warahips let ny They had "a
Fotlre after losing several Of their guns
This place waa Kintara. a few miles
from the Bitter Lakes. The battle oc.
eurred on the previous day.
On arrival az the lakes we anchored
for the night, with ali lights out and
among about thirty other ships.
Fighting was going on all night Z
littl. farther up the canal. and w
thought We should be held up IN tn,
lakes. but ssc started off the next morn
ing with our bridge and deck protected
bs sandbags.
Prom here TO suez we passed cam
after camp Of soldIers. Most OF then
mad been in action The Turks wer,
about eight miles away.
sees the snake of Battle.
"A little farther on we heard the gun
end Jaw the British troops moving OF
70 the attack. The battle was quite
distance inland. ! could see the snok
nom The guns through my glasses
There ~ege some low sandhlils abou
five miles away. and could sec me
en this ridge The British had sewers
thousand men and six guns marchIn
over the flat ground for this ridge.
II don't suppose many people hav
had or VIII have the chance that We Ia
&C 30 straight through the middle of
battlefield. before they have even ha
chance to. bury the dead. The effc,
q these naval guns must be awful. an
from the curious positions OF the hilie
they must have been dead almost befo,
ihey reached the ground. OCCASIONAL
you would notice a man who apneare
20 have struggled. but most lay ev
IDENTITY where they fen"