The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1868-07-15
-E LFrum Corry's West and sOuth.
The End of Theodorus. t

|
or some service once rendered to EQ- Il
,lishmen. How he lived was another 81
natter; his life seems to have been IL
o the last degree atrocious. ke was s.
by the Creator with 4 nature b
both mental and physical far above 5
the standard Of his c0untrymen.. lie Il
rose to power by bis proves and his t
He maintained hinseli on /
his barbarous throne by brutal excess
es of savogery, which makes civilized t
men in amy p.ft ot tie world shuaaar .
for hunan..>-
The 4E.u: a"ig.->E! Il ni= native
prisnuar-,--ov-l tGr,o hurdrcd men
.u,! women and yhii,;sen. many Of
then! with his own sword, is the most
revolving exhibition we have ever
read. 1t is vouched by Z correspond
ent of the New York Herald, who at
tended the Napier exhibition, md
was obtained from the English pris-
oners, who were spared. The spec
tacIe Of Magdala is but one Of hun
dred such sreaes which nave been
enacted in this very century by the
masters Of Africa from center TO CIR
cumferance. If such a country can
be conquered and made better by the
American negroes, we hope they will |
set about it, now that they have last |
chance. They can not possibly make |
Africa any worse, and we do not care
what they do with it. If it cannot be
improved, wa would be glad to hear
that the sea had swallowed it out Of
sight.
There was a man Of real heroism
among the victims at Magdala, who
was not daunted by all the terrors Of
the butchery. He was the most con-
spicuous victim. The name of this
brave Gala Chief was Ras IDgerta.
This prisoner, loaded with chains,
seeing his fate approach, did notcow
er like the rest, but he taunted pheo-
dorgs and defied him. It is a most
thrilling passage of the narrative.
All the rest is but relief to the hero
ism of that indomitable savage who
revived the fortItude and eloquence
| Ol lIlG NOEll AAlSIlGdIl LuuEIlll StARES4
ing torture from his enemies. All
he said and did attests the superiority
of the man to his executioner. How
much better for the fame of Theodu-
rus had it been, if he had spared the
/. prisoners, between whose violent
death and his own there was only the
: space of a few hours.
To his other bloody orgies, 1t does
| not appear that we have the testimo-
ny of witnesses, but this damnthg
scene is related by the English pris
h oners who were eye witnesses, prob
ably exposed to the same fate by any
l. incident which might at the iaomen
: have changed Theodorus' mind il
q their regard. We believe that th'
shining sun in all his daily rount
q saw no more beastly indulgence O
n the appetite for slaughter than that 0
q the master OF Magdala he who con
r sidered himself the peer of the crown
+. ed heads of Europe, and who hat
> made an offer of marriage to tn
Queen of England.
e Theodorus seems to have had Iittl
It talent for either war or diplomacy
i He had been shrewd enough to FORTH.
t. his stronghold, which was kind O
IS interior Gibraltar. He had his wal
o riors trained to the use of arms, ant
II drilled in q sort of rude military dis
S ciphne. He had procured some can
at non, and had learned to use them 10
S. the purpose Of fighting the natives
+ although they were no obstacle TO a
the British expedition. Yet wa
1t Theodorus on such hostile terms wit
er ali his neighbors that he was Giterall
n cooped up in Magdala. His attempt
q, ed retreat to the jungle was arreste
W by all the tribes of neighboring say
" ages, and he was driven back hom
a and into the tolls which held him fc
~ destruction. He should have bee
i diplOmatist enough to have divide
and used some of these tribes for sue
an emergency. In the next place, h
course toward the British eXpeditiO
on was shallow in the extreme. He hel
. some Englishmen prisoners, and ha
70 refused for several years to TeleaS
n, them. Their rescue was the only oI
as ject of the invasion by General N
pier. Theoderus refused to give thel
d, I'll after the expedition had lande
n up. nd was rapidly approach
IS in Africa, d. He could have e:
II ing his territory. : dilemma
,e I,tricated hfn4seIf from the ..a. af h
er any time by a-diplomatie use -.
,r advantages. He had only to threatel
l. to destroy the English prisoners
t about a dozen of them, and'that woult
1t have brought General Napier t.
d terms. He cared nothing for Theo
). dOrus. nor for chastising him. II,
n would have been content to humbI,
If him, by rescuihg the prisoners
o Theodorus acted in the manner mos
: unwise- He should have been ex
" pIicit: off you will retire as vol
If came, will deliver you the prisoner
II. at the coast INTO your hands; if not
d they shall be slain, and I will defend
1t myself as L cam" That had beer
y CONCLUSIVE; neither Napier's iudg
meat, nor public opinion at home
would haye justified any refusal O
such a proposition. But Theodoru
r seems to have acted like a wild ant
y Lhoughtless boy more than a well
s balanced man. He gave up thepris
y oners first, and relied for his owl
; safety upon the forbearance of the in
~ vaders. It was, of course all in vain
n The very opportunity which Genera
: Napier wanted, was furnished by hi
q antagonist. At no risk to the humane
"a object of his expedition, he, coulC
u march on MagdRla, and kill or cap
- ture Theoderus, and thus make .
striking page of history for British
- arms, and enjoy-the honors and re
i wards which are always bestowed BY
= the oligarehy upon the successful