THE MAHDI'S TOMB

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 93, 21 April 1933, Page 5

THE MAHDI'S TOMB

DESTROYED BY EXPLOSIVE

OFFICER'S NARRATIVE

A dramatic narrative of how he blew up, the Mahdi's tomb following th« battle of Omdurniaa was given by Lieutenant J. F. Maynard, late' of; th» Boyal Marines (states a special representative in the "Daily Telegraph,'? London). '. '[ ... ■.'.■,..*"■ .-., . - Lieutenant Maynard was at the tim'B a young sergeant on board the Egyp-' tian gunboat Melik,;and at the memo* rial service to General Gordon' at Khar* toum he fired the salute of twenty-ona guns which proclaimed the reconquest of the Sudan. .. J "Two days later," ,he said, "I had the task of disinterring the body."'of the Mahdi and destroying- his great tomb at Omdurman, with the help of sis Dervish prisoners, who were, intended to spread the news. The act was one of sensible policy, and not the petty revenge for Gordon's death that one .or ..'two' people'suggested ■it was at the" time. "We found the body six feet under ground, beneath a curious pent-roof o£ concrete. Over the grave was a looted ship's skylight, in; which mirrors had been substituted for the glass. i "When" the body had been removed and sunk in the. middle of the Nile we decided to blow up the octagonal tower and dome, leaving .only ths square base, as a warning. v . / :\ THE MAHDI'S PROPHECY. >; <'One of the prophecies of the MaKSi had been that- his, toirib should tie-vet be destroyed; and it was important for our'prestige that this should be don©..^. "Unfortunately the walls of the octagon were six feet thick and reinforced with steel railway lines. Our -first charge of gun-cotton merely blew four holes in the walls, leaving thestnic* ture standing, and there was terriffd excitement among the natives in consequence. A Sudanese regiment was ordered to stand by in case of trouble. "The next day we tried again and failed, but on the third .occasion nothing was left to chance. Three hundred pounds of explosives were laid; Sheikh Ibrahim, the Malidi's old enemy, was allowed to 'make .cpntact,' and the top part of the tomb crashed inwards. "The Sheikh stood J dumbfounded for a moment, and then burst into a torrent of triumphant curses. The . natives watched in silence. The pillar of black smoke meant a final end of 'Mahdism' as a religion." ; ■ •'■■', MEMORIAL SERVICE. Describing the historic" memorial serf vice to General Gordon; -which was hold t amid the ruins of his palace at Khai;toum,. Lieutenant Maynard said:—, "The Mclik was commanded by Gordon Bey, the nephew of the General, and we had on board tho lato Prince Francis of Tcck. ■ ; y ' "We loft Omdurman at daybreak on Sunday, September 4, 1898, and dropped down to Khor Shambat, where the victorious army was encamped, to pick up a number of officers, attaches, and war correspondents. Shortly before Iff a.m. we,made fast to the remnants of the quay wall opposite the ruins of tho palace. ■ ■ .•■•■': ■■■■ >^ "There was little enough of it leftjust a high white wall and the gardens, overgrown with weeds. Before the waji the troops were formed in a hollow; square, with the Sirdar, Lord Kitchener, and his staff facing tho men by; the side of the British chaplains, Catholic, Church of _ England, and Presbyterian. ' , ' ';■.-. "The salute iva« firH vitli live shells —we had no blanks. T r^m"tiiv'"r traini"<? the ■irmis on o sandbaclt S^OOvd? up rvr, Tvh"vn a ii'.imbrv of crocodiliia w-pi-o- i-iri'.-Vin-—hiy' firat-sJiell scored i, a direct hit." . ;Y