Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-07-07


din TO the day OF my death. we are lost
1 We are losJY we cried. The place is
takenv But no Que would teIi.us exactly
| what was the matter. We ran I'D to the top
OF the mosque. andtsaw that the town was
given up to massacre and blOodshed. We
ran to a house, barricaded the doors and
| windows, went upstairs, shut ourselves
into a room, and determined never to sur
render, but die like Greeks; for we,
mindful of our ancestors, fight TO the last.
Thus it was when our fathers were sur
rounded by Turks. We are brave nation
How we escaped l viii tell you.
'But listen, pray you. Have you not
asked me where Gordon Pasha was slain
You say everybody has said he was either
! killed on the courtyard steps of the palace
/ or outside going to the Austrian COnsuPs
house. They all hel II you choose to
I believe them YOU may; it matters not to
/ me. ] am respectable Greek merchant,
not an Arab. You want the trlGths | tell
/ il to you. True, did not see Gordon
slain, but everybody in Khartoum knows
where the event happened. An Arab
! rushed upstairs and shot him with gun
+ as be was reading the Bible. Another
/ Arab cut of his head and put il on
spear; and so went forth into the city,
/ carrying it and brandishing it on high.
/ The Copts in the palace in the room below
/ were slaughtered at the same time.
The Arabs came pouring in; they slew
/ every man they could find; no mercy was
shown to any one. There was no resist
auce. don't think a hundred shots were
! fired by Egyptians or blacks. Men ran
| in and shut themselves up in houses; but
! doors were burst open, and spearing,
/ cutting and slashing went on brayely IN
the streets, in the market square, in the
! baZare. 1t was q horrible scene-this
! baZar-afterward. | went through il.
! Gay curtains, crimson OlOred and or
! ange-striped, golden-edged satlns, silks
| and muslins lay smeared and splashed
! with blood; everything was upset and
! strewn about and trampled on. Every
/ where was the widest disorder
/ IOu know how narrow it was and
! how it winds. One corner was so full Of
/ cOrpses and dying that we could not get
/ by. l had my hands tied and fell sew
| eral times IN the road, slippery with
! blood. The havoc went on till O'Clock.
! Then Mah0met Achmet sent over word
/ from Omdurman that Allah had revealed
! to him that the slaughter must cease. We
| were told this. 1t was shouted about the
| streets, and those that were still hidden
were hidden to come forth OF ~ Greeks
/ only escaped. There were 10 Jews;
/ these were killed, l think. Gordon's
1 head L saw on spear, 1t WAS taken
! over to Omdurman and shown to
/ Mahomet Achmet. 1t was laid before
! him. A grim savage smile passed over
/ his face. He gazed long at the counte-
| nance of his late enemy. God be
/ praisedv he cried, can this be his? He
/ did not express anger al GOrdon's death
as you say has been repOrted-he made
| merry at his death when it was told him.
/ The head was then borne away, and men
/ plucked the hairs out Of his head and
| beard and spat IN his face. His body was
! cut up into little pieces. This was his
| end / omitted to say that Gordon wrote
/ to the MRhdi saying he might be Niceroy
| of KOrdOfsn. The Mahdi replied. 4 am
sent by God to be King of ALL and
| invited him to surrender. Gordon replied
| in insulting terms, saying he was a false
Mahdi, and that he fGordOn) would never
| surrender 10 HIM.
The COpt women were taken to place
called B0usi. They were allowed to 80 in
and out Of their houses as they pleased, and
one by one they sat claimed as brides.
! They went out 90 look Tor husbands, aud
when they found one suitable they were
/ allowed to leave as they liked. But the
/ Greek, aud all the women, IN fact, We're
! put in a room, aud the deTylshes and chief
! leaders picked from among them whom
| they would. This was at Omdurman. The
/ Greeks, including myself, were dressed
| in the Mahdrs uniform, and told that
/ from hencefOrth we We're Mussulmans,
but we were not circumcised. We We're
| liberated, and were given Peach, month
/ " allO vance. Now, when we heard that
/ our women were taken over to 0mdurman
aud divided among the deryishes, we pro-
ceeded there and craVed al interview
/ with the Nahdi. 1t was allowed. We
/ had TO take of our shoes, and when with
in the inner circle-abOut a quarter Of
square mile-We were made 10 crawl to-
4 ward him on our knees. Every one has To
/ approach him thus. We addressed him
thus: xiii us, we besoech thee; it is as
well. Your dervishes and great men
/ have carried off our wives, sisters and
! daughters, and lire is of no more
| value TO us. Stay u.s. Thereupon the
4 Mabdi took pity on our fOrlOrn condition
and ordered our women 10 be returned TO
| us. To each Que was his wife, sister or
/ relation returned. Those who had lost
their husbands were also returned to u-,
/ TO take care OF rs, and also Dr. Georgia
! Demetrio's daughter, whom y0u asked
after, and whose sister is married IN
/ Cairo. She was very pretty. Poor girl,
she was lovely. Yes, she was led of at
/ first as a slave; but we got her back, and
! the nuns, too. Two priests were killed.
I The nuns lived with us Greeks. Mile.
| DemetrlO is now married to a Greek. The
daughter OF poor Klein. the tailor, was
/ carried on as slave Wnen her lHlbef WAS
/ killed. Among the white women only the
/ Greeks and the nuns were recovered.
I There We're Egyptian-Tnrkish women
| carried of, but the Mahdi ordered that
| those whose husbands were sull alive
/ should be returned TO them. Why should
/ there be any doubt thrown on this sad
/ story? Is 1t not probable? Have YOU not
seen many white women ia hn&rtoum,
/ aud is it not probable that these Mussul-
mans would carry them of? could give
/ you the names Of many Of European ORR
| gin. Hal You not delayed three days
| these would bayC been saved. Alas! il Is
1 a sud story. The picture You showed me
/ (lrom an illustrated journal) has not the
slightest resemblance to Mahomet Ach-
met. IL must have been drawn from
fancy. ! Will give you a better tO-mUr-
row. | am weary Of recOunting a story
/ over which tears of blood might be she'd"
The Russian Naval BarlSis.
Fran f5g Jay5tyo8 fy0Ia