Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-07-05

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Driiahtesth szahdl 81 she ssshssfshe Brass
soldiers nsss-Teribss sssrs 81 Greek
Merchant.
The military correspondent Of the
London Daily Mems at Dongola has re-
ceiyed from Rosti Penago, q Greek
merchant Of Khsrtoum, narrative OF
the fall Of that city and Of Gordon's
death, which differs from any yet given
TO the world. OF this Greek the cor
respondent says: Another voice
from Khartoum Is heard--a Greek who
was made to wear the Mahdi's uniform,
and in this costume walked down to
Berber, no man forbidding him. He
then resolved to escape altogether, and
then his troubles commenced. He had
no money, but begged his way from
village TO village. Sometimes he was
hunted and had to hide away; at others
he was made to work as a captured
slave b5D men who knew him to be a
Greek. At length, after a period OF
twenty-eight days from Berber, he
reached Aboudom, where, suspected at
first as a spy, he was made prisoner.
He was then sent down by Colonel
Butler to General Butler, and arrived
at DoDgola last Saturday. His very
disjointed story will give you in his
own words, translated for me by the
Greek interpreter of the transport de-
partment. 1t will be observed that he
emphatically declares that Gordon was
killed in and not outside the palace"
The story Of Penago is in part as fol-
lows: " The only reason the Mahdi's
power is on the wane is because the
people see that he, or rather his der
wishes, spoil and plumber and carry off
the women of the tribes. lie will have
difficulty in getting the tribes TO follow
him again, but if he can he will, in
spite Of what you say, enter Egypt.
The dervishes are perpetually preach
ing that he 1.-THE Mahdil must ultimately
reach Morocco, Mecca, and Stamboul,
but that the time has not arrived.
The tenetss of the Mahdi's religion
Gre very strict. If married
man is guilty of sexual immortality
he is put up to his waist in the
sand and stoned to death. IL he
steals his hand is cut off. Singing and
lascivious dancing, such as used to be
in Khartoum, are put stop to. Every
man must pray five times day. Cor
don only went about the town on Fri
day. Stewart used to live in the old
house in the square that General Hicks
lived in when he first arrived. No one
lived in it when left, nor did any one
live in the palace. The stencil is too
great. There are dead bodies in it;
none were cleared away. Gordon's
Coptic clerks were killed and left there.
A fearful stencil Of putrid corpses
pervades the whole atmosphere of
Khartoum. The house you dwelt in
with other officers, over the post
office, where are the drawings on the
walls--your dining-salocn-that now
presents horrible sight. 1t is strewn
with corpses. For, you remember,
there was a guard there over stores.
The guard ran from the gate after
closing it up to your dining-room. They
were all massacred there. That poor
old man, the Italian postmaster, was
slain below. Had we, the Europeans,
supposed that this treachery was going
to take place we should have formed
ourselves into corps for self-defence.
AS it was, we had all agreed, and Cor
don consented. to hold out five days
more, and then to jump into the steamer
Montniah and run the gauntlet down
the river. 1t was kept ready for this
purpose.
"Do you know that Gordon used to
send Off hundreds of letters, but these
were always taken to the Mahdi?
People used to come to him volunteer
ing 10 take letters, and Gordon, believ-
ing in them, would give them good
backsheesh. Stewart used generally to
be at battery he erected close by the
kiosk where the band played. The
rebels, knowing Gordon lived in the
palace, used TO fire at it all day
long, and Stewart would reply to them.
Gordon had sand-bags piled up on the
roof, and from this he was watching
day and night for the arrival of the
English. think he never slept. By
night he used to send up rockets. You
ask me about the shops and magazines
on the promenade over the Blue Nile.
Gordon had all these cleared out for
the English who never arrived. We
were starving. Gordon had some bis
cult and flour, believe, in tie palace.
Some Europeans ate grass, and cut
down palms to extract the pith from
them. The Egyptians and blacks ate
anything they could get hold of-cam-
els, donkeys Il have known a donkey's
tail to sell for sS), dogs, cats, rats.
We were entirely surrounded for three
months.
1.-The English could have come up
with great ease. If one Englishman
had shown, the whole population would
have cheered up out of its despond-
ency. Natives outside, who were starv-
ing, too, would have joined us, and |
believe the Mahdi's forces would have
melted away. Perhaps you would
have had one fight more. AS for Ber-
Der, that was weak 4; you could have
taken it easily. don't think there
were more than 1000 men there when
Khartoum was taken.
The steamers arrived at Halfay.
saw them about one mile and half
from Khartoum. They turned back
directly but l say this if they had
come on then every man would have
been destroyed. The soldiers pointed
them out to me jeeringly. There are
your English = they cried. But | must