DYING IN THE DESERT.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 673, 30 May 1914, Page 6

DYING IN THE DESERT.

A thrilling story of the bravery of the Arab?, our s 1 lies in Egypt, is told by Captain Earl Percy, of the Grenadier Guards, in the Army Review. which is the official organ of the Imperial General Staff. Earl Percy, writing o£ the Egyptian Army Camel Corps, tells of a disaster that occurred to one of its companies in the desert west of Dongola. "A column which was to supply them with provisions," he explains, "having failed to arrive at the appointed time, the Egyptian officer in charge of the detachment decided that the risk of remaining there was too great, and Eet out to march to Dongola. The party lost its way in the terrible . 3andstorms. The women and children were discovered by the belated convoy and rescued in the last stage of exhaustion, but of the men who had scattered in the hope of finding water 20 perished, including one officer. "The incident revealed the extraordinary courage and endurance of which the Arabs are capable. Many of thsm refused to kill their camels, though the only hope of prolonging their lives lay in the course always taken in such circumstances of open*' I ing the camel's stomach and drinking the water inside it. The animals, they said, were the property of the Government, and they were responsible for them. "The most remarkable feat Was that of a sergeant who eventually reached water alone, the small party who accompanied him having laid uown to die. Having refreshed himself and his camel, he returned to his unconscious comrades and revived them by pouring water in to their ears, their tongues having by that time swollen to such an extent that they could swallow nothing. The inquiry, subsequently showed the marvellous fortitude and calmness which these men display under the most trying circumSta UNDERGROUND FIGHTING. Earl Percy also writes of weird underground fighting, where savage tribesmen had hidden themselves,with their cattle and other belongings in a burrow that he described as a ' vast rabbit warien." This district, he explains, is the home of the Baggara, or cattle owing tribes, the remnants of those fierce warriors who formed the main fighting strength of the Dervishes. At Southen Kordofan is the country of the Nubas, remnants of the original negro inhabitants of the country, who have been driven into the isolated rocky hills, rising 2000 or 3000 feet above the swampa and forests. "In these mountains fastnesses," Earl Percy continues, "honeycombed with caves, this strange race builds its villages, grows ita corn, and tends its herds of sheep, cattls, and goats. Generally speaking, they are peaceable enough, but some of the clans have an evil reputation for raiding the neighbouring Arabs, murdering isolated parties that may happen to stray too near, or carrying off their women. "Most of the fighting done by the camel corps has been against these tribesmen, but its details, however, thrilling, are hardly of interest to the student of military science. "The tribesmen invariably retire, with the greater part of their personal property and- live stock, to the bowels of the earth, whence they maintain a hot fire on any troops who may happen to come within range of their Sniders or Remingtons. TORCHLIGHT ASSAULTS. "The unsatisfactory nature of this fighting may be understood if the reader can imagine himself walking over a vast rabbit warren composed of enormous boulders, piled to a height of some 1000 or 2000 feet, and covering several square miles in area, with an invisible enemy beneath him whose whereabouts it is impossible to ascertain. "Officers naturally hesitate to enI gage in underground warfare in laby- ; rinths, where whole battalions might be swallowed up and w-iere all the advantage lay with the enemy. Latterly, however, the problem has been tackled in a systematic manner by the camel corps, and in recent expeditions extensive cave clearing operations have been carried out. "Parties preceded by torch bearers have explored these recesß?9 with great success, and though some loss has been sustained, the Nubas now know tnat their immunity is gone, and that the arm of tha Government is abln to reach them."