ACTIVE SERVICE.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18367, 28 April 1925, Page 8

ACTIVE SERVICE.

THE SOUDAN CAMPAII

ANECDOTES OF KITC]

AND BEATTY.

\IPBCIiL TO "THB m^-)

AUCKLAND. April *r- 'j§ As an officer of the Army the Governor-Genera!, Sfrffl Charles Fcrgusson. saw mtte j, Earl Kitchener throughout tie Afc*. $ dan Campaign of 1596-99. v X talk on the campaign to members «C|W-# Auckland Officers' Club, he told s«Z fi? amusing anecdotes of the great «!&« and one of Karl Bentty. u ho n few* Jv known as commander of a x»{e ■ u L'sg boat. * ™s| That the Soudan Campaigs beta* Sr possible, said Sir Charles. largely to Kitchener's economies, ]K*A several years beforehand h* eoaii «S M very little money from Lord he saved up all he could and aSsff tured in the Citadel of Cairo the stores the expedition would wmSasT; Once, said .Sir Charles. 3 feßsS3Pl| transport eorps was formed 2000 stnS'lf Someone went to Kitchener au<| him about uniforms for these £S*SB "What do they usually wear!" aSg/ll Kitchener. The offieerVeplied of them were eonteut with a Ui»ylS-.S "Very well."' said Kitchener, eouplc of thousand sacks and give one each." A hole was cot is *3sle bottom of the sack for the maa'» and two holes in the corners rW jfifly arms, so there you had 2000 feCdeßSt. with a loincloth and a sack proud as Punch they were, too. was Kitcheuer's way. jßaSffil Kitchener never "gave anvn»»- I|P|P slightest praise, holding that the work was no more than a soldierU«l He found it so, said Sir Charlea, nK§fi ho was called upon to form ttoljfHifp Soudaneso Battalion front 150Q ~WmS Dervishes. In four months, in ttaaßfil of summer with the thermometer wwllll degrees and one British n.e.o. t*J§g§||'' him, he literally "sweated blood" fHilll, it. Kitchener inspected the and at the close asked how mnrir the men did a day. He -*fft*nff ffrrff' they did eight Itours besides tadHßlii room instruction in the heat of tholraiji "Urn," said Kitchener, good inoon at night." HHf

Kitchener undoubtedly was the MHra possible commander for such a* own dition, but lie hail certain fanfo"laHl could not work through a staff. JhII chief stuff officer, Sir Leslie used to write beautiful orders, tatpKll were always disregarded Kitchener would send out otacjaf|M||| self countermanding them. visited Assiout and had into tho room of the romn|H|lp officer. a man named Old field. AmHr few moments Oldtield, who was «IH|H heard howls of rage and Bundle had discovered on the baskets, one containing all Kitei*HJPl orders and one all his own. basket was labelled "Business" vmm the other "Bosh." Oldfield never fif§|l

Speaking of the Nile, Sir Charles km a good deal to say about Earl Bealf|| who was then a young captain eonaraftl ing a gunboat with 200 men. abeufl "I had a_ good deal to d,o wtta him,"! he remarked. " Beatty was a deligitfol person for that sort of work, beeuae if there was a 'scrap' yon might tc«R» he would bo in it." ' • -» To show the sort of work that fell it him and Beatty, Sir Charles auntnwd that the Dervishes were very ib»d;«* raiding villages along the river_ ati killing or mutilating the inbafaalam With two hundred swords and pahalgg spears the wounds were truly £n|H| One' villager came aboard the gt>MM holding up his head, with one han3|H| each Bide of the face. All the fledijH the back of his neck had been MriM from the skull to the shoulders, St someone had made matters worse Jg dressing the huge wound with Nile M Beatty and he cleaned the wound JH dressed it with an antiseptie wMetjßj pened to be carbolic tooth paste. !ffj9 Beatty held the man's head WB _»|*JH sewed up the wound with an ordiaw noedle and cotton. j|B "Three weeks later," said W Charles, "tho man walked oa boantjM fectly well. I am stating a fact. TMM would have been nothing ww»»g-»gj| Beatty had only held his head atrjpgj It had a slight'list to starboard. IWH time the gunboat called after tk*t» came on board and called BeattyJH father and mother and so <mJbfjgJ ho had save his life, but I that 1 had done most of the UUT|JH