Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1892-01-27
ARABI PASHA,
Egypt's Napoleon, a Prisoner
on the Island of CeylOn.
Interviewed by a United Press
Correspondent.

lhe Exile IalkS oil the ram GUS Cam pa1gn
on the Nile-General Gordon's Death
lilies at the Door of the Foolish Brit
ish Cabinet THE Fall of Khartoum.
Great Britain Criticised.
COLOMBO, Ceylon, Jan. 27.--The CORE
spondent of the United Press who has
been in China during the progress of the
rebellion there, has arrived here on his
return journey. The correspondent has
had an interview with Ahmed Arab,
otherwise known as Arab Pasha, the
Egyptian leader who caused SO much
trouble to the British in 1881 and 1882,
and who is now in exile here. Arab
looks much older than he would be ex-
pected to look after the lapse of only ten
years from the time when he figured
prominently before the world; in fact,
he may be said to have aged twenty
years in the ten years he has passed in
banishment upon this island.
Though the distinguished exile can
not leave Ceylon, this Egyptian can not
be said to be uncomfortable upon his
St. Helena. He is well housed, well fed,
well dressed and well attended upon; he
has all reasonable luxuries at his dis
posal and wanders almost when all
where he pleases. But he is prisoner
That Famous Campaign.
AS a somewhat coincidence this inter-
view between the travelling correspond
ence and the exile of Egypt took place
on the anniversary of the death of Gen
eral Gordon and the fall of Khartoum.
Naturally, therefore, one of the first
subjects touched upon by the exiled
pasha and his visitor was the stirring
events which surrounded the famous
campaign IN the Nile and the death of
poor "Chirese" Gordon, the gallant
English general, who so faithfully and
stubbornly held up the flag of England
in the Soudan, and who finally sue
cumbed, a martyr to the red tape of the
British government officers and vic
tim to the jealousies of English party
politics.
We recalled the fact that in Novem-
ber, 1883, an Egyptian army of 10000
men, under an English general known
as Hicks Pasha, was annihilated by the
forces of the Mahdi. We also referred
to the fact that second Egyptian army,
that of Baker Pasha, was also complete
ly defeated at Tokar in February 1884.
1t was on the 18th of that month as
many will remember, that brave General
Gordon, ,safter perilous ride across the
desert, managed to reach Khartoum, the
capital of the Soudan, which town he
had undertaken to save from the Mahdi.
On March and 13 the rebel tribes
under Osman Digna, the mahdi's lieu
tenant, were defeated at El-Teb and
I.
then followed the Wolseley expedition
of 1000 men 70 rescue General Gordon,
who was shut up in Khartoum, and gal
lantly defending it against the forces of
the mahdi.
General Wolseley, it will be recalled,
selected the Nile route for this expedi-
ton in preference to the shorter, but
more dangerous, desert route from
Suakim to Berber and, consequently,
the ascent of the river was SO slow and
tedious that it was not until the begin
ming of 1885 that he was able to concen-
trate his troops at Kort, between the
third and fourth cataract.
A detachment Of 500 men was sent
from there to cut off an enormous bend
of the river, md to open communication
with Khartoum, while the main body
continued the wearisome ascent of the |
river.
The advance body referred to was un-
der the command of General Stewart, |
who led his men across the Bayuda des- |
ert, gaining several victories over large |
bodies of the Mahdi's forces while so do |
ing. Stewart, however, was mortally |
wounded at a point near Metemmeh, |
and the British did not reach the Nile, |
at Gubat, just above the place where
the last ba! lie was fought, until the
evening of Jan. 10.
On Jan. ID a small body of men, un-
der Sir Charles Wilson, started for
ia two steamboats,, which
General Gordon had sent to meet him.
Sir Charles Wilson reached Khartoum
on Jan. %, but, alas, only to find that it
had fallen, through treachery, on Jan.
26, two days previously, and that Gen
eral Gordon was either dead or pris-
oner in the hands of the Mahdi. Subse-
luent events seem to have proved, be-
yond doubt. that General Gordon was
killed at the fall of Khartoum on Jan.
96, 1885.
The correspondent talked over these
matters with Arab, who said that EN-
Dloying General Gordon as soldier
was a mistake, and that a priest only
should have been sent to the Mahdi.
Great Britain Responsible.
General Gordon's death, according to
Arabi, to use his own words, "lies at
he door of the foolish British cabinet"
The Egyptian exile added: THE voices
If your wise men have been like the
praying of wild asses in their dealings
With Egypt"