A Confederate Soldier in Egypt: Appendix III

When asked yesterday for his opinion on the present condition of affairs in Egypt, and the probability of any truth in the stories circulated about the massacre of the British army, Gen. W. W. Loring, of this city, said: “ I have not the least confidence in the reports. I think that they were started by a few people for speculative purposes. On the strength of this morning's news I should say that Lord Wolseley has abandoned the plan to try and reach Khartoum this Spring, and that instead of concentrating his troops at Korti he will drop down the Nile, possibly as far as Cairo, in order to make another attempt in the Fall by way of Suakin. It was a great mistake that he did not begin there in the first place. Had he done so, he would in all probability have been in Khartoum by the middle of November. It is my belief that a narrow gauge railroad could be built for him in England which his troops could put down on the road to Berber almost as rapidly as they could march.

“ If Lord Wolseley does intend to remove his camp further down the river and postpone operations until Fall,” continued Gen. Loring, “ he must assuredly do so before April. The Nile is sinking rapidly. Even at Cairo there is only 6 feet of water in May to 26 feet in October. Up where Wolseley is the water subsides much quicker, and if he doesn't move before long he will find himself fast there. It would be a terrible ordeal for the English soldiers to remain at Korti or thereabouts all Summer. The extreme heat and never-ceasing glare of the sun would kill many of them. But another source of danger to them is the Khamsin, a sultry wind which frequently arises during the Spring and Summer, usually lasting two or three days at a time. The air is so thick with a fine dust that blows in from the desert that it is often impossible for a man to see 10 steps ahead of him. This dreadful dust gets into a man's eyes and his lungs, making him thoroughly miserable. It almost stifles Europeans.”

“ What do you think about the rumors of Gen. Buller's danger?”

“ I think that they are exaggerated and that Gen. Buller will be able to join Lord Wolseley before long. He may have to fight his way, but his English pluck will undoubtedly carry him through.”

“Do you think that the British Government is concealing the true situation of affairs so far as possible by editing reports from Egypt and suppressing the worst features of them?”

“ No. I do not. Judging from my long experience in Egypt—and I saw considerable hard fighting there—I think that Lord Wolseley's dispatches and the information based on them given out by the British Government represent very closely the actual condition of affairs.”