Bridgeton Pioneer

THE FALL OF MAHDISM.
End of Misrule In Sudan In Sight at Last.

WILL ATTACK OMDURMAN.
British Are Advancing Against the Dervish Stronghold and "Chinese" Gordon's Death Will at Last Be Avenged.

Wady Hamed, Lower Egypt, Aug. 27 -The Anglo-Egyptian expedition is now well on the way to El Hajir, 40 miles north of Omdurman. The advance guard is probably there by this time. It is now probable that the attack on the khalifa's forces at Omdurman will be made before Sept. 4, as El Hajir is only two days' march from the dervish stronghold.

Gordon's Death Recalled.

The approaching attack of the Anglo-Egyptian forces on the city of Omdurman, the headquarters of the Mahdi chief, known as the khalifa, recalls vividly the fall of Khartum and the death of Gordon, which are responsible for the present expedition under General Sir Herbert Kitchener. The Sudan, formerly belonging to Egypt, was taken by the Mahdi and his followers, ending with the fall of Khartum and death of Gordon, the governor general, in January, 1885. The Mahdi, a religious fanatic, had aroused the natives to a point of rebellion, and gradually the power of Egypt had been broken down. On the death of the Mahdi, Abdullah bin Sayd Mohammed, one of the Mahdi's khalifas, of whom there were three, proclaimed himself the Mahdi's successor and came into power. He has been a cunning, cruel, but shortsighted ruler.

Omdurman, his city, opposite ruined Khartum, on the Nile, was built by the Mahdi's followers after the fall of the older city.

Advance to the Front.

The expedition now advancing against Omdurman consists of about 25,000 troops, most of whom are Egyptians, the rest being tried British soldiers. This expedition was undertaken more than a year ago by the British and Egyptian governments, not only to regain the rich and vast domain of the Sudan, taken by the Mahdi, but also to punish the natives and possibly to avenge the heroic death of Gordon.

The advance of the expedition from Cairo along the Nile has been slow, but considering that a railroad has been constructed as the columns moved forward, the advance up to the present point, now only 40 miles from Omdurman, has been rapid, from a military point of view. The khalifa is supposed to have about 70,000 native troops, and it is said he is determined to make a desperate stand.