IN THE SOUDAN.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 61, 19 October 1907, Page 3

IN THE SOUDAN.

*EW ZEALAXDEK'S EXPERIENCE. Among the visitors to Christchurch at present is an ex-Cliristchurch boy, Dr 0. L. Nedwlli. ])r. Nedwill, who is on four months' furlough, holds the position ol' medical inspector in the Soudan Administration, and is senior medical ollieer of t lie railways in that country. His district covers an area of about 250 square miles, with headquarters at Atbara, the scene of a famous conllict with the dervishes. 'flic remnant of the dervishes who were captured are ■■mined at Atbava. The group, "which numbers about 100, includes the sons, wives and iamiiies of the prisoners. Pew of them are compulsory detained, most of them remaining in order to bo near those who are still regarded as prison-

"The dervishes," said Dr Xedwill to a Press interviewer, "are perfectly happy, and many of their sons are apprenticed in the railway workshops at Atbara. The women have lately shown a desire to ue instructed in nursing, and they frequently come to me for that purpose. Of course they only practice among their own people and will have nothing to do with ihe other natives. Among the dervishes who are still kept as prisoners is the late Kalifa's old judge, the man ivlio used to inllict the most barbarous cruelties on those unfortunates who were brought before him. One may frequently come across some of ihe Kalifa's ollieers, and they are very willing to talk about the olden days. They are, however, very reticent about the methods they had of treating their prisoners. 1 asked one of them whether British prisoners of the Kalifa would have allowed the easy time_ he was enjoying. lie smiled enigmatically, cast liis eyes towards heaven, and answered devoutly, 'Allah wished it so.' Fatalism is a charaeteritsic of the native of the Soudan. If a native is very ill the others consider that it is absurd to waste medicine on him. 'He must be going to die, so why not let him die?' describes the attitude they adopt. "Women are little better than slaves A visitor to the Soudan who was out for some elephant shooting was asked to take a Soudanese with him. The native explained that this would lessen the danger, as he could send two women on ahead and they would scream when the elephant chased or killed them. 'Do the women often get killed?' the horrified sportsman inquired. 'Oh, yes, but they are only old women,' was the placid response. "The famous Austro-Egyptian, Slatin Pasha, whose pxploints of a few years ano thrilled the world, is to be seen every day at Khartoum. He is inspec-tor-General of the Soudan Egyptian army, and is an invaluable official, as he has a wonderful knowldege of Arabic customs and language. Sltain Pasha carries very few marks of his thrilling experiences. lie looks wonderfully well, and is a great favorite with everyone in Khartoum."