Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1882-01-08
"AU REVOIRAME
And 0'DOnOEan, the Correspondent OF the
London Daily News, was as Good
as His Promise.
He Went TO Merry but SkobeIeff Did Not
Get Tbere-Journalistic Ro-
nance and Adventure.
Cincinnati Commercial.

Cincinnati Commercial.
The history of the adventures OF Mr..
O'DOuOvan, the correspondent of the Lon
don DAILY Ne1rs recently arrested at Constan-
tinople and sentenced TO imprisonment for
six months, but Immediately pardoued, for
speaking disparsgingly of the sultan, is as
interesting - a romance. When the Rus
slams under General Skobeleff started on
their expedition against the Turkomans at
Geek Iepe, ODonovan applied for permits
sion 10 accompany them, but was refused.
Upon receiving General Skobeleff's final an
swer, the determined correspondent tele-
graphed his thanks for the courteous wording
OF the refusal, aud finished his message with
the significant words, "Au reuOir, General, a
Merv- Till We meet again, General, at
Merv-" ODonovan then started upon his
journey. He reached the northwestern bound
airy OF Persia, and succeeded in safely cross
ing the frontier, riding one hundred and
twenty miles in twenty -four hours. Luck, in
addition to his native shrewdness, favored
him, and he
REACHED MERv IN SAFETY
though prisoner and suspected of being a
Russian. As best he could he informed his
captors of his English nationality, and his wit
and manners so pleased the Turkomans that
he was kept in a sort of honorable confine-
ment until his statement could be confirmed.
Satisfactory information concerning him was
at last received from Teheran, and he was
| released. OD0novan's wonderful stores of
information, and his statements concerning
the almost boundless extent of the English
| empire, caused the Turkomans to look upon
| him as man of much Importance, and he
was called upon TO settle long-standing
| dispute as 10 the chief executive power
| There are two proper holders of that power
| the sheik of the Eastern Turkomans and the
| shaIE Of the Wastarl TnrEauoanS
that some time since it was necessary for the
highest dignitary or
| DIGNITARIEs OF THE TURRoMANs
to undertake a perilous mission to Teheran
1t was considered probable that whoever
went would lose his head, and to avoid this
risk the two chieftains conferred the honor
| upon the eldest of their class. Much to their
surprise he returned alive, and was allowed
TO retain his dignity until the arrival of
ODonovan, whose abundance of wealth, it is
supposed, induced the Eastern and Western
chiefs to determine to reassert their claims,
lest be whom they had elevated to the high
est position should monopolize the gifts of
the illustrious foreigner. A great council
was held, the old chief deposed, the two re-
stored to their original positions, and ODon-
ovan elected Ichtiar Bahadoor Khan of the
Tekke Turkomans, and Joined the other two
chiefs in forming triumvirate, ruling over
the district of Merv, with a population of
half a million souls. ODonovan was in
stalled in his honorable position with impos-
ing ceremonies, and given "palsce," for
that region, to live in. His
OFFICIAL DUTIES
while abiding in Merv consisted mainly in |
dispensing justice, chiefly in cases of MUIR |
der and robbery, they being the only crimes |
recognized. After six months ODonovan |
wearied of his life at Merv, and wishing to |
return to civilization expressed a desire to |
be sent ambassador plenipotentiary of |
the Iekke Turkomans to European courts. |
great council was held to consider the |
subject. ODonovan having arrived at Merv |
just at the moment the onward march of the
Russians had been arrested, and the Turko-
mans associatiug that event with his appear
ance, looked upon him as their deliverer and |
his presence as a sure protection against
their hereditary enemies. For this reason
they were unwilling to part with him, but
at last consented on the promise that he
would one day return to them. He replied:
81 will return when l am sent back TO you"
1t requires more than a surgical operation
to enable the Turkomans to see through a
joke, and
THE HUMoR OF o'DoNovAN's ANSWER
not being appreciated, he was permitted to
depart, and was accompanied TO the Persian
frontier by body of Turkoman troops. 1t
has been announced that upon his return
home the Land League propose to nominate
O'Donovan, who is an Irishman of scholarly
for seat in parliament. O'Don-
ovan is not the first case of enslavement of
and English subjects in Central
Asia. Some years ago Colonel Stoddart and
c :ptain Connolly were sent on missions to
Khiva, Khokand and Bokhara. Captain
Connolly ha satisfactorily completed his
business at Khiva and Khokand, when he
was requested by the ameer OF Bokhara TO
visit Bokhara to confer with Colonel Stod-
dart. Almost immediately upon his arrival
both he and Colonel Stoddart were thrust
into prison, and after about six months both
were murdered. Lieutenant Lovejoy, some
time later, on similar mission, was
MURDERED AT KHELAT
Perhaps the most singular case of the en-
.lavement of an Englishman was that of
Lieutenant Wyburd, of the Indian navy. In
1885, Wyburd, who was an ACCOMPLISHED |
inguist, and served as interpreter to the
commodore in the Persian gulf was sent by
he British envoy at the court of Persia on
an important mission to Khiva. The poor
nan seems to have been forgotten as an Of
icial agent, for it was not until ten years
liter that it was learned he had never {
cached Khiva at all, but that he had been
eized and sold into slavery by the ameer of q
8okhara. After aScertaining this fact Wy Z
'urPs sisters repeatedly urged the British q
government to recognize and claim their I
'rother as a British subject, and take steps /
o secure his release, but their efforts were
neffectual, their requests being met by the v
lnwarrantable assumption of his death. v
thirteen years after he had started on his L
mission it was ascertaiEed that Wyburd had b
ESCAPED FROM BoKHARA, +
ut was again in slavery in the khan y
ts of Khokand. In 1S49 the khan of
ihokand sent letter to Colonel George
a Wy DAINTY in charoa | n
t Peshawur, in which he said 81 have Il
eized a sakib at the foot of Huzrat n
ooltan, who came by the road of Talk Il
nd and Dush-i-Kazak. His name is Wy G
art, an Englishman, he says, and not d
russian, and that he has been travelling for p
lapy years. He has two Persians with him, CT
AIMED Mohammed and Hussein, who say
ley were formerly in Stoddart's service. and t.
ere sold at Bokhara and purchased by Wy o.
art. These men say their master is Eng il
sb. Now, have sent Allahdad to ascer- W
lin from you whether he is really English II
r not; that should he be SO i may treat him O
18th honor, but if Russian that L may pun Il
h him." W
THE AGENT OF THE KHAN
as treated with, and when he returned took ii
18th him letters for his master and Wyburd, | at
ut though Colonel Lawrence promised TO 81
nd trustworthy agents to Khokand with | f
Efficient funds TO liberate Wyburd, no reply ii
the letters to either the khan or the cap Ii
We were received. The case of Wyburd d:
,eaily interested Mr.. Disraeli, and in 1851 Ia
lat gentit man brought the case before the OF
ouse of Commons and presented petition
ON the sisters of the captive, in which they 10
Tered TO send out an officer 10 inquire after q,
eir brother if the government would invest =.
IN with proper authority. To this no "
answer was given, when NJ
ey appealed to the House to take az
cps to have the lieutenant formally :,
cognjzed as a British subject and ser ~
INT, and his restoration demanded. 1t +
as afterward stated by officials that every =.
ing had been tried ''short of assembling an a.
my" which they considered was scarcely
be justified on the score of saving one
imam life. Nothing more was afterward en-
me in the case, and the fate of Wyburd is \
this day unknown. The treatment accord u
ODonovan shows that the natives OF Cen "
al Asia have made some advancement. al
--= OF
THOMAS OF TIGRE. to