Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1885-02-16
followers to be used as slaves.


said to have an abundance of guns,
small arms and ammunition.
The following will be of interest
relative to the matter: II was in
May, 1881, that Mahomet Ashmet
of Dongola announced himself as the
Mahdi DIRECTED of Cod" whose
divine mission was to reform Islam,
establish universal equality, law, re-
ligicn and community of goods. He
is of a religious fraternity, which has
its headquarters at Bagded and ram
ifications throughout all Islam. Kor-
dofan and the western Soudan flock
ed to his standard an Egyptian
force under the English commander,
Hicks Pacha, was utterly annihilated
at FL Obeid, and the Mahdi, with his
victorious troops, threatened Khar-
toum. The Egyptian garrison there
and other garrisons along the route
to the Red Sea were beleaguered.
Eight thousand troops were between
Khartour. and Assouan, six thousand
in Khartoum and twenty thousand to
the south of that town. The ques-
ton that confronted the British and
Egyptian governments was: Are
these men to be abandoned to the
fate which befell Hicks army? The
Egyptian government was helpless,
and the British desired to entirely
abandon the Soudan, but saw no
convenient way for retiring the
threatened garrisons. When affairs
had reached this tangle, General
Gordon arrived in London, and in
January of last year, in a newspaper
interview, declared that the policy Of
evacuation meant massacre. The
English journals Immediately began
to demand that Chinese Gordon
should be sent to Khartoum, with
full powers to treat with the Mahdi
and avert the disaster. On January
1S, 1884, he left London for Egypt,
with full power to take what measures
| he saw fit for the retirement of the
troops and the restoration of the ma
tive government. On January "A he
arrived at Cairo. Gordon's route
was up the Nile Valley by train to
Assiout, by steamer to Wady Halfa,
and thence to Korosko. A four days
ride on a dromedary would then car
ry him to Abu Hamar. On FEBRUARY
IA he arrived at Berber. and four
DAYS later at Khartoum. He had
been in the service of the Khedive,
as governor-general of the Soudan.
from February, 1874, to the end OF
1879. He was enthusiastically re-
ceived by the people, who rejoiced
over his proclamation remitting hall
their taxes, promising not to inter
fere with the slave trade, and recog
nizing the Mahdi as sultan of Korfo
dan. But in March it was rumore(
FL Mahdi, with three hundred thou
sand men, would sweep over the DIES
ert and drive the infidel and Turl
from Egypt. Gordon himself, OIL
March, Z, said "There is nothin!
, further to be hoped for in the way o
quieting than has already been &C
complished, and there is a certaint
that as time advances the emissarie
of Mahdi will succeed in raisin
: tribes between this and Berber." 0
March 10, Gordon, with three thou
: sand men, attacked the rebels q
Halfiyeh, and was defeated throug
the treachery Of two Pachas, whoI
he afterwards shot. Since May h
has been shut up in Khartoum b
the Mahdi's troops. He had mad
frequent successful attacks upo
them, and has been able to send OF
casional messages about his cond
ton. The last word received fro
him was after the recent battle ne;
= Gubat, when Nusri Pacha arrived @
a steamer from Khartonm with di
patches dated December 20, Stain
y he was safe and could hold out fl
} years. Lord Wolseley's expedite
for the relief of Gordon was organ
lied in September, 1884.
~ Since the above was put into tYl
e the brave General Earl has been killt
+ in battle and it begins to loo
J. very squally fol- the English.