The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-06-18
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New York. June lI.-Ehe Herald says:
In the lo-Es;yptian difficulties whleii
have convulsed the Old World for over a
decade two pairs Of dumb lips have sue
cesslvely pleaded cor ana cb;ained an
thorltative hearing from The world.
General "Chluose" Gsrdjn, the straag-
est and noblest mixture OF Paladin and
Don Qulxoie that this century has
known, was be.ravcd - his death on
January 2Sth. lSS5 when the ioices OF vi
Mdndi stormed the city Of khartouA,
where the nri'!sn gov-rr ment had eft
Gordon t. perish. ii head was cut m.
That CORY heal, or Its astral iepresen-
tatlve, was shaken In tho face OF Glad
stone by the opposition, which accused
him OF Indirect responsibility for the ds-
sassination. Il ae,pad 10 turn Gladstone
out OF office and 10 install his SUCCESSOR,
Lord Salisbury. Gladstone's adherents
cried out tardily for vengeance from the
ministry which had attained Office I'M
der the pla that vengeance was due. A.
last, in 1895 conservative ministry sent
Kitchener into the Soudan. and the prom
!sed vengeance was brilliantly achieved.
History repeated itself In a singular
fashion FL Mahdi. the reputed murderer
Of Gordon, had died Of smallpox on June
%. 1855, just about five months after
Gordon's assassination. A small party OF
the British captors of Khartoum. led by
one Major Gordon, a relative OF the de-
parted general, marcned to the tomb OF
the Mahdi, dLsinterred the body and
struck of it's head, which was sent to
Cairo for dispatch TO England. But ;hs
act OF vandalism raised such a n1r-or
STRICKEN protest Ymong the opposition IN
England that the actual wherea bJu.s OF
the head are unknown. II is known, how
ever, that the body and the tomb watch
held It were destroyed. That knowledge
and the further knowledge that the heal
T.; still eNtant somewhere have created a
Ievuls:On CT feeling which must tell in "a
vor Ufs the conC"eTed Mahdists IN ire
Soudan.
The country known as the Soudan is
an extensive region. many times larger
than Egypt itself. In 1852 1t was a prov
ince Of Egypt, with it's capital at Khar-
toum. It had not been conquered all at
once. however. Little by little. piece by
dives dominions Not until the triumph
Of Kitchener's expedition can il be said
: to have been thoroughly subdued or fully
occupied. The Egyptian government at
Cairo oppressed it with public taxes, the
Egyptian officials in Khartoum and else
where oppressed it for private gain. Dis
content was rampant. The very name
Egyptian grew to be stencil in the
hostrils Of the inhabitants.
But who were those inhabitants2
They were a number of ignorant and
fanatic negro and Arabian tribes, mutu-
ally discordant and inharmonious In
spite of the all pervasive discomfort, there
had never appeared leader there until
aIohammed Achmet proclaimed himself
lei Mahdi
Ell Mahdi. e may be explained, means
the "annOinted one" 1t was the roue
under which the Mohammedans Of the
plains have long looked forward to the
successor Of the Great Prophet, who is to
be their Teacher and saviour.
lie rallied these discordant elements
around his banner. II ecut to pieces a
detachment of the Egyptian army armed
with the best Remington rifles. He made
named Gebul Gedir. and invited new re-
Inducements from the disinfected.
Meanwhile the rebellion of Arab Pacha
against Tewfik. the IIhedive of Egypt.
had broken out. Years before Great Bril-
tain had entered into a solemn pledge TO
maintain the Khedive on the throne.
Gladstone now announced that this pledge
would be kept An English army and an
English feet backed up this announce
ment. Arab was defeated. Tewfk was
escorted back to the palace whence he
had fed. and the actual occupation Of
Egypt by the British was now commenc-
ed. though a pretty fiction was still
maintained at the foreign office that Eng
land had really nothing to do with Egyp-
tian affairs, save to perform the police
mans part and keep order in the streets
OF Cairo.
During the Egyptian civil strife the
Soudan had been almost forgotten. But
once that was over Egypt and her police
men awoke 10 find that this enormous
province had well nigh slipped away from
their grasp. Victory after victory had
crowned the Mahdrs arms. The police
man urged that it would be just as we'll
the strength OF Egypt had been crippled.
5hc Soudan itself was far away and al
most inaccessible. But the government at
Cairo could not make up It's mind to let
~ witAout Il struggle. What il finally did
was TO place Hicks Pacha. an English Of
iiccr in command IF a motley army and
send him against the Mahdi. He got no
further than kISh-cil. where he fell fight
Ina. his army annihilated.
The news ran through the Soudan with
tHat marvellous CELEBRITY peculiar TO east
cTn communities. The whole country
was allIme kharioum and other towns
Earrisoned by Egyptian troops were be-
leagucred ny the rapidly Increasing forces
% the Mahdi. Egypt appealed to Grca;
Britain. But Great Br!taiu's ministry
under Gladstone was in almost as tight a
place as the garrison in Khartoum.
France watched every movement; in
Egypt with angry suspicion. Worse still,
The Liberals were divided among them
selves. A strong minority I'm the house Of
comm. rs resented the continued occupa-
ron Of Egypt. and would have gone over
In the position Ii active opera lions had
al This lime been extended 10 the Soudan
So nh Gladstone cabinet heSitated and
tempor!z,G. The Egyptian government
id nothing. The Mahdi did much. HIS
Of the heleaguerod garrisonS grew daily
more critical
Then in sudden panic England ordered