Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-02-07

? are natural, and not the result OF In
dustry or cultivation. The inhabitantl
. Of that vast country are VIGOROUSLY In
. dolent, and some one has said that bees
are the only industrial creatures in tina,
0 whole country. A great part Of Tho
] city lies low, 80 that ct high water II Il
!. flooded, which renders il unhealthy
q but IL is believed that some day RENE.
: dy for that evil will be provided.
: The gardens around the city are
: extensive. and contain long rows Of date
) palms, many Of which are half q century
: old, and have become very valuable.
, The view of the city from the opposite
side Of the river is very fine. The city
is 1900 miles from Cairo. The climate
is severe. From June till October the
thermometer ranges from 95 to 100 de-
grees in the shade, and is about so de-
grees In winter during the daytime.
GENERAL GoRDoN's CAREER.
Charles G. Gordon is the youngest
son Of the late Lieutenant General
Henry William Gordon, Of the Royal
Artillery, whose father, also an officer
of the British army, fought with Wolfe
on the Plains of Abraham. Charles
Gordon was born in 1880, and on the
mothers side was descended from
Samuel Enderby, the famous merchant
and explorer, two Of whose ships
were chartered to carry the tea to
Boston which was seized and de-
stroyed by the revolutionists. Cor
don was educated at Taunton and
the Royal Military Academy at
Woolwich. On leaving the acad-
envy he was assigned to duty as an Off
Ger of engineers, and subsequently, in
the autumn of 1854, transferred to the
Crimea. He was slightly wounded in
The trenches before Sebastapol, but not
incapacitated for duty. His energy
and activity attracted the notice Of his
superiors, and he was specially men,
toned as an officer who had done gal |
liant service, and decorated with the
legion Of honor. After helping to lay
down the new frontiers Of Russia, Tur- |
key, and Roumania, Gordon in 1860 |
went to China, and was present at
the sacking and burning of the
Summer Palace at Pekin by the
allies. In May, 1862, he was given
command of the engineer corps in an
expedition against the TAPPING rebels,
in the neighborhood of Shanghai. lie
stormed and took Singpoo and drove
the insurgents from their other strong
holds. In March, 1868, he was APP
pointed to the command of the Chinese
army operating against the TAPPING
rebels. Tie rebellion was strikingly
similar to that of the Mahdi, in the fact
that its leader was self-styled pro
phet, who claimed 70 be inspired and
who managed his forces with consum-
mate ability. General Gordon took
command Of the Chinese Empe-
ror's eyer-victoriuus army " at
Sung Kiang on the 25th of March.
lie spent some time in recognizing and
It on the English model,
and succeeded, with the aid of num-
Der of English officers, in raising it to !.
high degree Of efficiency. His cam T,
paigns against the rebels were prose !
cuted with great energy and daring, and =
finally resulted in the complete success y
of the imperialist troops. In most of !
The battles Gordon found it necessary
10 be constantly in front, and often to y
cad in person. He always went UNI II
rmed, using only cane TO direct his .
roopS, and was only wounded twice. =
'eing shot through the leg in u
desperate assault on Kintang. The II
'hinese Government offered Gordon p
nrge pecuniary rewards for his SER ~
ices. which he refused. and made :, =,
i'm mandarin Of the highest !
ank. His brilliant exploits in Chi !"
a won him the sobriquct Chi GO
csc" Gordon, which has ever since Va
lung to him. From 1865 to 1871 w
ordon, as commanding royal engineer " "
Gravesend, was engaged in the con- :.
ruction of the Thames defences. In 81
S74 be took service with the Khedivc vi
Egypt, and succeeded Sir General ~.
aker as governor Of the tribes in Upper ie'
gypt. At the head of a small party III
proceeded to Khartoum, where he ~ -,
sued proclamation aimed at the slave w
AIDE. Aftertwo years ofexcitingadve al
res in the SOudan Gordon returned to III,
lgland. In February, 1877. he re- WI
rned to Egypt and was appointed an a.,
D 1ernor-General of the Soudan, with la ID
view of suppressing slavery. In liz
ay he reached Khartoum, and was ne ne
stalled i'll the Pasha's palace. In the ~ ~.
&C of enormous obstacles he succeed "a, ,al
in breaking the power of the slave ,IoDf
aders and i'll firmly establishing the ~
Iedive's authority in the Soudan. In ',o
e summer of 1879 he executed diff TN
ult mission to Abyssinia, after which Ga =,
again returned to England and was ali
pointed Secretary of the Viceroy all
India, Il position he resigned soon any an.
er his arrival at Bombay. Short III
afterward lin 1880 he visited "n
INA and counselled that country not Tan
go TO war with Russia. He also OF
ew up scheme, which was adopted. De
the reorganization Of the Chinese 'he
my. Gordon returned to London in aw
; winter of 1881, and in March. 1882. iai
IS made a major-general in the British no
NY. After rendering important SER am
&C to the Government in South Africa iey
rdon went to Jerusalem, where he VII
NAMED some time engaged in study eve
research, returning to Europe final
at the invitation of the King of the
lgians, to take charge of an expedi-
n to the Congo. lie reached London
nuary !, 1884, but, as above stated, ~. ~.
Immediately for the Soudan. yer
w uASSACEr nv rUr WIN 81,
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