Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1916-10-07
ANCIENT Ell ARISE
WAR REEVES INTEREST IN ciTN
ALMOST FORGOTTEN.
Centuries Ago II Was One Of the Mos
Prominent Fortified Places In the
Esst--Was Captured by
Napoleon.

III Arish, one of the worlds FOR
gotten places until the English bonn
barded IL short time ago, Is the sub
ject of a war geography bulletin IS
sued by the National Geographic so
ciety. With its large square fort ant
battlemented walls, El Arsh present
much more formidable and imposing
appearance, viewed from the Medlter
ranean TO the north and from the Des
ert et-Tfh to the south, than its I'm
pOrtance has warranted in recen
years. Formerly a populous haltinl
place for the numerous caravans FOL
lowing the short desert route" fron
Egypt to Syria, its trade has waneC
materially since the completion o.
modern railway connections with Jaf
IA, Port Said and Alexandria. The
town clings to the banks of the Wad
aiel-Arish, stream which becomes
small torrent after every rain. Ii Is
more than 100 miles southwest of Je
rusalem and a slightly shorter dis
tance from the Suez canal, which lies
to the west.
The recent hostllities In this area
revive host of historical associations
dating as far back as the time of the
PharaOhs, when this town was a place
OF exile for political prisoners, its an.
cient name being RhinokOlura. It's
present name is supposed to be de-
rived from the custom which obtained
here Of "cutting off the noses of male
factors whose death sentence had
been cummuted.
Some 30 miles TO the east Of El
Arish, ON the Egyptian-Syrian bound
ary, lies ancient Rhaphia, now called
Er-Rafa, where Josephus tells us that
the Roman cOnqueror Titus made his
first stop on his march against Jeru.
salem. Here also SargOn over
whelmed the Egyptians in the eighth
century before the Christian era, and
SOC years later there was fought on
the same sands the famous battle be-
tween Ptolemy Philopator and Anti
Ochus, when the charging elephants Of
both armies played such spectacular
role. or these great beasts, which
had been introduced into Syrian and
Greek warfare after Alexanders CON
quests In India, much was expected.
The battle opened with a trumpeting
dash OF the opposing armored IaOun-
tains Of flesh. Ptolemy's forces com
manding 73 of the terror-inspiring
chargers, while Antiochus sent into the
fray 102. With the first onslaught
practically all Of Ptolemy's elephants
were captured, yet he won the day.
FL Arish fell before Napoleons
Egyptian army In September 1893, the
credit for the city's fall being given
to Frances great general, Kleber, com
mander of the vanguard which also
seized Jaffa and GAIA. 1t was dur
ing this campaign that Napoleon com
mitted the great atrocity at Jaffa,
shooting those prisoners whom be
could neither guard nor feed, yet
whom he feared to release. After Ma
poleon's departure Kleber concluded a
convention at El Arlsh with the Eng
lish admiral. Sir William Sidney
Smith, whereby the French We're TO be
allowed TO capitulate and were to re-
ceive safe transport back to France,
This agreement was revoked by Lord
Keith, however. Whereupon Kleber,
with 10000 men, marched to Heli0po-
lis and administered crushing defeat
TO the Turks, who outnumbered him
six to one. Had not fanatic assas-
sinated the great French tactician, on
the day that Napoleon won the battle
Of Mareng0. the fate Of French arms
In Egypt might have been different.
The Admiral Smith whose agree.
ment with Kleber was disallowed was
the same British officer who had
caused the signal defeat of Napoleon
before the walls of Acre, a relief work
for which grateful parliament voted
him an annuity of f1,000.
In the center of the town of III Arish
is granite wall with an inscription
in heiroglyphics perpetuating curl
GUS legend about the Egyptian god
Shu. A short distance beyond the
walls the traveller is shown the ruins
of the building in which Baldwin /,
one OF the Crusader kings of Jeru-
salem, died in l11S after an unsuccess-
full attack on Egypt.