AN EMIR'S LITTLE ERROR

Gisborne Times, Volume VI, Issue 289, 13 December 1901, Page 3

AN EMIR'S LITTLE ERROR

BRITAIN’S BLACK SOLDIERS. London, Oct. 14. j Until lie Wet ceases from troubling and Botha is at rest the general pub- j lie can scarcely be expected to keep track, of little expeditions in West Africa. And there is this in mitigation of the public's apparent lack of interrst in them—we rareiy hear anythin? about them till they are over .and done with. That was the case with the ; recent expedition in Northern Nigeria. One line morning about a month ago, ; the British public were curtly informed that the town of Yola had been . captured by our troops and its Emir ■ driven into banishment. “ Where is Yola, and what did the Emir do ?” the B.R. asked. The answer is now supplied by Reuter. The Emir’s chief offence was slave-raiding, and the immediate occasion of his punishment was his refusal to receive a letter from our authorities—a most ill-judg-ed proceeding on the part of any African potentate within reach of our river steamers. That was the lesson which the Eimt »■ uni his ; COst v awl..thC 1 d«o •oijjgjjt I "'in the expediti mi winn the troops 1 had to ill tile- -biough the narrow; streets of the city entiladed on noth sides. But the splendid courage of the Hussars (the men Sir .James Wilcocks so warmly praised in the Ashanti expedition) once more saved the situation, and showed the black soldier led by the right sort of British officer is a “ daisy to scrap,” and can ho relied on in the tightest corner. Reuter’s correspondent gives the tollowing interesting details The Emir Zuberu. of Yola, one ol the most powerful of the Fulani rulers ol the Sokoto Empire, who has hith-er-to governed the large province of Adamawa, having ill-treated traders, raided large tracts ol country for slaves, and disregarded repeated warnings from the Government of Northern Nigeria, and finally sent hack a letter fnmi the Acting High Commissioner unopened, it was decided to send an expedition to bring him to his senses, by peaceful means, if possible, other- , wise et vj armis. His capital, V ola, a large town of some 30,000 inhabitants. is situated on the river Benue, at a point some 500 miles east of its junction with the Niger at Lokojo. Dining the months of August and September steamers of very light draugnt are able to reach there. On August 20 a force embarked at Lokoia, and afterwards picked up detachments at Ibi and other stations tn route. These were th- troops of tt.>. West African Frontier Frontier force, under the command of Colonel Morland. Commandant in Northern Nigeria, with Major McClintock as staff officer, and the expedition consisted ol 12 officers, seven European non-com-n tssioned officers, C«'c> doci--.rs I.JW native rank and file, with two 7a-mil-limetre guns and four Maxims. Gomg night and day, the force reached 5 ola on September 2, and a landing was effected within half a mile of the loan on open ground. The Benue at litgh water here forms a lake. The troops all landed, a letter was sent m to the Emir, who refused, however, to te

A messenger wa- amtm scat ■vi'ii ihr- letter. but U win ’Corned unopened \v:th a verbal messuae to ilie eneei that the troops must re-cm-li.uk St unco or they would be aUaekfd. 'i'be men were formed up it: three sides of n .square, the rear covered i.y

the lake. I.iira numbers of horse and loot t'<>! leered on tlii- open mound to the mm ,uul right. A liotil 1 p in., niter a deni oi demoiiMnitioti, these ADVA N( ED TO 'ITiK ATTACK, hut the around being quite open they were eanilv repulsed with heavy !ia\ i. lew daring fanatics uei ; use within n ratals of the square before they were .hot. down The nuns fired ease, and Ihe miantrv steady volleys from the knee, while the .Maxims did considerable execution, which soon made Die eneinv letire into the town. Ihe I• 1 111 ir’ Ztiheru was known to posse--. iwo rilled field guns with ainlntnill in:i. aiven to him bv Lieutenant Mi/.on ui IMIli mud it. was partly on this account that till.- French ollicer came in to collissnii with the Nicer Compai,\ which r." tilted in tin' seizure oi the French so-called trailing steamer Served Mahimine. As the Knur s palace could he sighted from I lie top of a tree about half a mile distant, inside the town, the direction was taken, and a shell i i rust over it- Tins elicited iwo shots in reply, which, though illdirected, showed plainly that these guns were in action near his palace. 'Phe town is not walled, tint tint Kmir’s palace and those oi the various chiefs are situated in large compounds surrounded bv thick walls some dipt, high. The streets are all narrow and winding, and an approach was only pos-ible on a narrow front. 'Phe troops were formed up in colums of fours, and the town was entered about half-past two p.m. Little opposition was met with until the neighborhood of the Kmir’s palace was reached, the walls of which and the mosmie • nposite were strongly held by i iflemen and bowmen. '1 he two rifled joins, which were mounted in front ol the palace, and hidden by a bend in the road, were tired at HD yards range, taking oil a man’s leg and dangerouslv wounding several others. A heavy rifle and arrow lire was also poured into the advancing troops. Colonel Norland was struck in the body by an arrow from the mosque, and main casualties occurred ir a few minutes. 'Pile llausa Company in advance, however, behaved splendidly, and after a momentary hesitation, as most; of the leading men were down, rushed forward. Major McCiintock, who displayed the greatest, gallantry throughout also dashed to the front, and with Captain Hose led a charge on the guns, which were captured just in time U. save their being lin'd again Ca,.tain 1 laker, who handled his men splendidly. look possession of the mosque, aid ".Sergeant-Major Daniels, with a Maxim gun, also did good work, la of in i .run detachment being Mounded Til ATTACK ON Tills EMIR’S PALACE. The two 75-millimetre guns under Lieut. Hcnvev, R.A., were got up and directed on the Emir’s palace, iron) which a hot lire was still maintained, but as this slackened, Colonel Norland ordered a company of the main bodv to rush the gate, the only entrance. Captain. Mayne led this assault, which was successful, the enemy giving way ill confusion and retreating through a iiule they had made in the. rear wall of the compound, which was of great extent covering several acres, and containing many stronglybuilt houses. The Emir, it was afterwards learnt, had escaped on horseback by this passage some minutes before the gate was finally rushed. IDs bodyguard, reinforced by some deserters from Fatarclla, son. of Raheli, were the defenders of the palace, and j hey fought in the most determined manner until the 75-iuillimctie guns were brought up. The captures comprised the two French rifled 9-poundei with their limbers, .105 fused shells, tome (>0 French rifes. over 1500 cartridges and about one ton of gunpowder'. The 9-pounders, which arc ol brass are marked with the Impel ial crown end the leHer “N and aie i dated iSOO and 180 t. Thp casual jcs were Colonel Morlmid and Major Me Olintock slightly wounded, eight very severely, and 2-5 slightly—lt casualties in all. . , , The enemy’s total loss amounted to about 150 k.,ied and wounded. The Emir’s pnhi'.e Was burnt, hilt sliiet. orders were given not to Vouch the remainder of the town. The Emir, with a mounted, c-rort, (led to the southeast; but elTcclive puisuil at so late an hour of the day was out of the question, and the force returned at. dusk to the camp outside the town, near the landing-place. Next morning the Emir’s palace was blown up with the captured gunpowder, and negotiations were opened up with the Emir Zuberu’s brother, Bobo Anradtt. The Arabs and Beninese, who had deserted Fatarclla after his defeat by the French, and had fought so well for Zttbeiu, sent in their arms and surrendered a day or two later. Mr William Wallace, C.1M.1t., the Acting I-ligh Commissioner, arrived a; Yola 'in his launch' on the evening of September ,'i, and at once took up the thread of the negotiations. SLAVE RAIDING TO CEASE. All the slave raiding in this large province will now cease, and it is ur, derstood that Government will not interfere for the present with domestic slaverv the evil effects of such a policy being still felt iu the provinces oi Nupe and Ilorin. It upset the intern. 1 economy of tre whole country, and the male slaves instead of working on their masters (arms became rogues and vagabonds, and the females something worse. '1 n t British Government made a more here none too soon, or otherwise the French or Germans would have taken advantage, of their conti med apathy avd claimed probably further concessions of territory. The North m frontier n Nigeria still remains to he eiiectivc»y icupipd by the Bril'sh. Wtar ;