The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1907-12-03

welcome laboratory This Is DR. VII
liam Beam, formerly Of Pennsylvania
He is now making a study o. the va
rious grains Of the Sudan as well a. Of
its minerals and precious stones. from
the standpoint OF the development OF
it, resources. He tells me that the
sudan viii some day export grain 10
Arabia and the other countries about.
and hat il will in the future be known
as 4 land Of corn. wheat and cotton
He tells me that one Of the prlnci-
pal money crops of this part OF the
world IS gum arabic. We know this
gum chiefly in connection with muci-
lage, but IL IS also widely used In the
arts 1t il employed for making va
ter colors and certain kinds OF inks
and also in dyeing and finishing silks
and other fabrics. Some OF the better
grades are used in confectionery and
the pearly teeth Of many an American
belle has risen and fallen in the chew
irg OF this emulation OF the tree OF the
Sudan The gum comes from the
acacia tree and is said to be u 10 a
microbe which feeds upon the sap ana
causes the gum 10 exude on the bark In
the form of tears. When the bark Is
cut or partially stripped the gum oozes
out. It * collected by the native wo-
men and packed up and shipped 10
Omdurman for sale and export. Dur
ing my visit to the markets Or that
city ] saw great piles or gum whlcn
rad been brought in there to be sent
down the Nile or over the railroad TO
the Red Sea. There were hundreds of
tons of il lying about in the open. and
| was told that within a few weeks 1T
would all be on its way to Europe or
the United States.
The story of Chinese Gordon.
Just back of the palace in krartum
and not far from the college named
after him. is a bronze statue of Gen.
Charles George Gordon. In II the
great hero is represented sitting upon
a camel. which stands on a high ped
eStal OF stone. The general has m rely
a stick in his hand. and he is looking
boldly and fearlessly out in the direc-
ton of the desert | have been told
that he seldom carried more than a
stick and that although his whole life
was full of danger, he never showed
fear.
In talking about this the other night
with the sirdar, or COMMANDMENTS
chief OF the Egyptian army, he told
me an incident illustrative Of Gen.
Gordon's bravery. We were standing
on the portico which extends out from
the second story of the palace, form
ing TT porte cachere, when his excel
lencv said:
1T vas just about here that Gen.
Gordon had his residence. 1t was a
rough building with windows looking
out over the Nile and with the front
windows in plain view of the little
island of Tut, which we are o look
ing at over there. During he war with
the mahdi, the enemy has a camp
on that island, ana they frequently
shot across the river at the palace.
Gen. Gordon kept a diary, and it was
his custom of an evening to sit in his
room back of where we now stand and
write. The Dervisl.es saw his light
and shot at it again and again. When
the natives at khartum heard of this
they became much alarmed. They
feared that Gordon would be killed,
and as he was their only hope they
sent in a remOnstrance begging him
to either do his writing at the back of
the house or to hide his light by a
screen.
In reply General Gordon invited the
delegation to come to the front of his
palace for his answe When they
appeared they found every front Win
dow blazing, and saw General Gordon
go from window to window and stand
at each for a m making himself,
as the delegation thought, a fine
mark for the dervishes. After hat he
came out and standing in the full of
the light, said:
Gentlemen, there is an old story
told of how the Lord made mankind.
When He did His work He had before
him w SISoA pIINN - l. LIS INV
of these was composed Of the clay of
which man is made. and the other of
the fear which often makes him less
than a man. AS the Lord worked, He
took up a handful of clay and shaped
it into a human form and then
sprinkled it over with a handfu from
the pile of fear; and so He went Oh
making man after man, until at last
He took uD the stuff of which He
made me. There was plenty of clay
and of it He produced the body which
you see before you. He then looked
about for fear. with which to sprinkle
the mass. but at that moment the pile
of fear had all been used up and
there was none to put into me. The
result is [ do not know what fear is
General Gordon's bravery" ON
tinued the Sirdar, was far beyond
He fought here until the last and
troops and entered his palace, he
sternly demanded of them where their
master was They replied by plung-
ing their spears into his body; and as
he fell, they dragged him down the
steps and there. cut off his head to
be sent to the mahdi. His body was
left to the mercy of the fanatics, and
they rushed forward by the thousands
to dip their swords and spears in his
blood. They fairly cut the body to
pieces, and the blood, which had
stained the steps and walls of the pal
ace. remained there until the khalifa
decided to make that place a dwelling
for his harem and had it washed
away