DONKOLA.

Evening Star, Issue 10187, 14 December 1896, Page 4

DONKOLA.

TIT-BITS FROM SPECIAL CORRK- | SI'ONDKNTS. SOME LOCAL COLOR. (From Ont Special Correspondent, j London, October 30. On the whole the Dongola expedition has been singularly devoid of 'incident or interest, and in the correspondents' letters now coming to hand one has to wade through columns of dry rot to find an occasional entertaining morsel. Such tit-bits us there are will, 1 think, be found in the. following excerpts : A l'.ni»Tl.!>S AKMV. The 'Daily o:,<phie' representative writes that in seme lvpimnits there was hardly a good pair of bows, and nearly every man had worn his underclothing to rags, and yet in this condition they finished the march to Dongola over rough", stony deserts, or by river hanky where every font of ground is strewn with the sharp thorns of mimosa trees. Many were barefooted, some had swathed their feet in tattered remnants of cotton drawers or shirts, and some had made themselves sandals from the raw hides of slaughtered e.i'ile. One way or another they managed in struggle on, and very few had' fallen >■■>!> of the ranks with sore feet when we entered Dangola. A TALK OF rU'i'K. In the midst of the commotion of one of the fights Surg—n-captaiu Hill-Smith sat quietly on his horses extracting a bullet from the hand of an Egyptian stall' officer, who aLo auek to his'saddle during this operation and while the wound was being dressed. One hardly knows whether to admire most the coolness of the surgeon or the pluck of the patient. A COMMANDER'S ('l'Ehll CNIKORM. The ' Dailv News' " social" has an interesting stray about Commander Colville. Despite a very pamful wound, he had remained in command of the squadron, and at Donne!:', led the landing party in pyjamas and. slippers, ami with a revolver in his hand. The same correspondent tells an amusing story of his experience in transporting camels acre?? the Nile. " Worthy of note is a dUcoverv I made in shipping on a dervish gavasca c'.ever'y annexed tor the purpose by my servants. Il is that it yen can force a camel's fete Ug-i ovir the side of a boat the re 1 :', of him is Cum! to follow, The ar.imal, indeed, is s > imolV.-rnitiy constructed that if it is ri--e< ■■■.- '.'y lo swim him across a stream Lis it,ll: must I>.' 1 -toyed by a couple of jr.lli.ed skins, otherwise lie turns turtle and UI'OWI.S." Till". >ToKY OK A SOrHANLSi'. The ' S'.:''i.hiid\s' correspondent found two or ti-.rcc- Hack dervishes lying a mile or so -r.xtcy fjoti) ti.o'r camp, one of them with his wfte ami child. '' He laughed as he saw n.e, and erected me politely, saying howglad he wa; to see the army. If kx I asked, why did he and his fellows stay with Wad BisVu.l a : He replied that they were slaves, and in ivar of their live j. I inquired if i hey were not ether petted, am! made much of, since that it lv* log--nd in lvqvpt. On the contra:v. he s.-.-cre that they were treated worse than dog*. ' Leek at mv clothes ; look at my wife : look at my child. Do wo stem as if wc had been spoilt by kindness': Wo have barrdy enough rags between the three to make a shift for the b.iiiy. And chains, and beatings, and staiVine; ! At lea-:t with you we shall have enough to eat ard drink, and pjrhaps even tobacco nrrain.' Then he went ou to say tia', since Il.'fir, the dervishes had begun to fe ! uneasy, being especially impressed with th? long range of our guns. They never believed, either, that we could cross the river without building a bridge, and when they heard that the whole force was on this side thr-y began to make reluctant preparations for ti'ght. 'Now,' sail he, 'all the Emir? and big men have gone over the hills, bur all of us who could manage it have sopped down to the river, with the intention of corniest in to you.'' And this proved later ou to be perfectly conec 1 ", as tliis morning the courtyard of the Mudirieh presented the curio-mi sight of hundreds of the ones dreaded dervishes stripping off their jVMh* to undergo mcoical examination prior to being enrollu ■■{ under the colors of the Khejivtv'