The Wahpeton times. [volume] (Wahpeton, Richland County, Dakota [N.D.]) 1879-1919, 1916-12-28
PUSHED HARD TASE
TURKS DESPERATE EFFORT Te
CROSS THE DESERT.
Really Wonderful Work Accomplished
In the Face Of Almost Incredible
Difficulties, Though Success
Was Not to Be.

In writing Of recent trip through
the Suez canal, in Harper's Magazine,
William Ashley Anderson tells the
story of how the Turks brought pom.
toon boats across the desert in their
effort to force crossing of the canal,
as an English officer told him.
"We'll be at Kantarah soon,' said
young gray-eyed officer of the In.
dian marine.
Il looked forward. The canal wound
gracefully away to the southwark,
fringed on the Egyptian side by re-
freshtng growth Of green palms and
drab acacias, broken at long intervals
by tiny bungalows, where employees of
the canal company kept eternal watch
over the company's interests, much as
the armed sentries across the way
stood guard for the empire. On the
Arabian side was nothing but the bill
lowing sand, crowding itself to the
very waters edge, and seeping into the
channel. despite the revetments of
stone brought in ballast from far coun.
tries to hold the tiny particles in check,
despite the great dredges that prowl
up and down, sucking ut the invading
streams like monstrous anteaters fac
Ing migratory tide of insects.
'Kantarah?
"'Yes. There 1t is now.' His faca be-
came animated. Leaning far forward,
he fixed his gaze on the approaching
spot. and there. sure enough, was KAN
tarah, the point nearest Port Said.
where the Turks had attempted to
cross.
"'Not far He grfnned. 4 was in
charge of couple of armed tugs
We kept running up and down froxl
here to IsHaili;,, hanging away in the
dark"
"But they reached the canal?'
"'Oh, yes. They launched some
pontoOns-two. There's one now. The
others down ut Ismailia.'
"There, just swinging into the Kan
tarah bank ut the end of cable, for
all the world like Chinese ferry on
the Grand canal, loaded with Indian
troops, horses and fodder, was barge.
like iron pOntoon. recognized it's Ger
man origin; for I had seen such BE-
fore. But this was the first vessel
had ever known to cross q desert that
tries the stamina of Bedouins and the
endurance of dromedaries. It was not
the last. There was another Of Is
MALTA. And at Pork Tewf1k there
wqs long row of them, punctured by
shrapnel and bullets, flied with sand
and used as causewaY.
1T was in my heart to feel sympathy
for the wasted efforts of these surpris-
Ing Turks. 1t will be Il long while
before we understand the Organiza-
ton of the army that crossed the des-
ert, dragging pontoons and heavy guns,
effrcting simultaneous attacks ut three
main points on a front extending a
hundred miles along u barren shore
with IL salt desert as base; and per-
sisting in the attacks to the point Of
launching several pontOOns-six Of
which, probably, could have support
ed a bridge ana afforded sufficient ac-
.OnlmOdatiOn for Il strong advance
guard. There was one thing, however,
hat aroused equal admiration; it was
The appalling neatness with which the
attack was smashed. 1t was as though
hrce serpents, having crawlcd across
he desert, reared their heads stimuli
aneously only to have them complete
y crushed by several very large and
,ery determined h0bnailed boots.
at was all explained to me in de-
all, but I cannot explain 1t to you.
Nevertheless, 1 should like to have
picked kantarah camp up bodily
Ind deposited it somewhere near
plattShurp"