GALLANT FIGHT TO THE DEATH

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 248, 14 July 1919, Page 6

GALLANT FIGHT TO THE DEATH

-:,- STORY OF DEIRDT MURDERS BIGHT BRITISH AGAINST FRENZIED HORDE ■ '•- '- '(''Times" 'Correspondent,) New information now available makes it possible to reconstruct the outrage as the result of which tight British soldiers were murdered by an infuriated mob of Egyptian felliheen. ~ For two or three days before the affair the fellaheen in the area where the murder;occurred had been very excited. Demonstrations, which were at fire purely -political,' but were gradually becoming more hostile to the British, had been held, whilst there was considerable coming' and. going between the various stations, people travelling quite freely. _ ■ There appears to hare been some hint' at Assiut of the possibility of trouble farther north, for although a large party, including the victims, left Luxor by express, the latter stopped at Assiut. There some remained, but the murdered men; probably disregarding the warning ns but another idle rumour, continued on the ordinary train, being joined by Pope Bey and his native officer. "■ Hostile crowds assembled at various stations. After Assiut it appears that British soldiers who were travelling second class were taken by the officers into the first class; For precaution's sake all doors and windows were shut, and' the conductor was put into the second class carriage with instructions to say that there was no one' in the first cla.w.

•By this timo, however, the train was full of natives, who new full well the ■true state of things. At the next station more excited crowds of fellaheen'awaited ffie train and joined those already on it, and by the time that Deirut was reached it was' packed with a mob of shouting natives evon the roofs being crowded. At Deirut another infuriated crowd swarmed on the platform. They had vndoubtedly been advised by telenbone, for ho sooner had the train pulled into the station that the mob started batterine the doors and windows of the first class carriage. Notwithstanding the efforts of the native officials 'travelling on the train to divert their attention, the mob forced a way. Host' of them were arnied with knives : and fosses (hoes), many carried stones and nabuts (heavy sticks). Quick-■ ly all the doors and windows were broken in. The attack began, and the eisht British, who were quite unarmed, defended themselves as best tiliey could with fists, kit-bags, cushions, etc. Cowardly Police. Whilst the attack was in progress a local police officer appeared on the scene with a. few unarmed police. Ho been warned in hour before the train' was due by tho stationmaster that there might be trouble, but had not turned .up until 20 mtnutes after its arrival, and he appears to have made no effort to intervene. •After a while Pope Bey managed to get oiut of the train on to the opposite line, but was not allowed to escape, and was last seen orawling under the train to, escape the concentrated attack. Hr 3 body'was eventually found in the brake ran.' '

The Deirut stationmaster made his way with great, difficulty to the engine and Wed to get the driver to restart, but t'io brake had been, interfered -with, and "ie eleotric staff Tiad been taken away. However, after much altercation and delay, the defect,was romedied and the train was allowed to proceed, Iho crowd which had travelled down from the prehaving been reinforced at Deirur. Tnere is reason to believe that two British bad been killed by the time the train left Deirut, aad their bodies cast m the van along with that of Pope ~ey, who, it is said, was still alive when , he was thrown into the van, and who was done to death by the men travelling foil.

Fighting., went on all the while the tram was in motion, an 3 at Deir Mawas, incredible as it may seem, the remaining five British were etill holding the mob at bay. .There another infuriated crowd awaited the passage of the train, and, .having, joeon duly noti'ed of what had already occurred, proceeded to stono the British. Two descended and fought a jvay to tlfe engine, where they tried to assist the driver to get -the train going again. Their efforts were in vain, however, ana "the man fled for .his life when Jpart ,of ..the crowd started to attack the engine. The two were overpowered and their TTeaas Bartered in.'

A little later the three remaining men tilso left the' carriage and succeeded in reaching the engine. They were immediately attacked by the mob, and after resisting desperately with whatever they cquld,lay,.their hands on they were likewise . overpowered, dragged to the platform, battered with nabuts and fasses, and jumped.on until their bodies were be. yjmd "recognition. , _; Every conceivable brutality was com. mitted; on'them. It is stated that on& had his'leg cut off, and some assailants in their frenzy drank his blood. An. other was hung up, whilst those lying on the ground were spat on' and had filth thrown on tnem. And 'all the while tho crowd watched,, screaming its delight. The bodies were then plundered, stripped, and thrown into the van with the rest, and thus ended this terrible unequal battle in the train.

After an delay, tho orowd hav. ing satisfied themselves that no mors "Lugleze". ,were in the train, allowed it to proceed north. At various interven. ing stations the platforms were crowdeo. with'ah excited mob eager to view the bodies, on which further indignities were> perpetrated. At Mellawi one of' tho oodies was dragged on to tho platform and left behind (it was subsequently.buried there). This is why onlv seven bodies were'found on arrival at Minia. ■' Egyptian' Soldiers Abet Rioters. The most disgraceful part of the whole proceedings' was the behaviour of the 'police at. the different stations, who, in spite of warnings, took no precautions to afford protection, and of other passengers in the traip, who included some Egyptian Army officers and about 60 timeexpired Egyptian soldiers, returning to Cairo from the Sudan, who, far from intervening, actually encouraged the excesses, leaning out of the carriages and 1 cheering.

The hostility of the'people of Upper Egypt to the British, which is illustrated not only by this attack on the train, but also by the decision to kill all .the English at Minia and by the search for ■'Ingleze" at Beni Suef and the general, attack at Assiut, had been skilfully worked up by special agents, who' had excited the people by all manner of inflammatory- accounts of what had occurred at Cairo, whence tho inspiration undoubtedly came.

The.manner in which progressively the crowds'at various points went from comparatively pacific demonstrations to hostile acts, culminating in this exhibition of savagery, leaves no doubt whatever that the whole, thing was organised by agents whd went up and down the lino edging on the people to greater excesses. ' While it lasted the struggle on the train against overwhelming odds must have been a prolonged agony for the hapless victims, who are computed to have resisted for over two houis. One can picture in imagination v the desperation with which this gallant band defended themselves without arms of any description against tho furious onslaught of the mob, maddened by lust of blood and armed with murderous weapons, the hope that sprang up in their breasts when they saw the police arrive at Deirut and Deir Mawas, their despair when they found that they rendered no assistance, the desperate rush to tho engino with the faint hope of being able to g'et the train moving, and thus escape the .fury of the mob, finally the awful struggle under the blows of "fass" and "nabut." and tho final trampling to death under the feet of the mob—a terrible and tragic conclusion to a happy holiday trip, for they wero all, except Pope Bey, returning from leave in Upper Egypt; hence the reason for their being unarmed;