The Wenatchee daily world. [volume] (Wenatchee, Wash.) 1905-1971, 1910-09-06


Africa, where Thomas H. Atkinson
was a member of the famous Gordon
relief party, to fruit growing on the
Columbia river in the county of Che
Ian. Little did Mr.. Atkinson dream
while striving for glory in the crack
Scotch regiment, the first of which
had ever gone from the Canadian
territory to fight the battles in At
RIGA, that quarter Of a century later
he would be settled down to the
prosaic life of growing fruit and in
cidentally be a candidate for the
legislature from Chelan county.
Life Sketch.
Who is he anyway? This ques-
ton has been asked by some who
have not met, and do not know T..
H. Atkinson, candidate for the honor
of representing the Fifty-Sixth dis
trict in the state legislature. He was
born of Scotch-Irish parentage and
grew up in the home of Methodist
minister in western Ontario. His
scholastic life was spent in Hamilton
and later at Cobring, then seat of
Victoria university. While lad Mr..
Atkinson, because of his fathers
death, found it necessary to shift for
himself and at II years of age began
work in the Phoenix hat and fur
store in Toronto. When Gilbert &
Sullivan's comic operas were in vogue
Mr.. Atkinson sang in the leading
play houses of Canada with the New
York Comic Opera company.
A leading New York artist at this
time wished to assume the response
bility of putting the lad through a
thorough musical training, but OBJ
jections on the part of his mother
and friends prevented. Mr.. Atkin-
son was identified with the leading
musical organizations of Toronto and
received great praise for his rendi-
ton of solo parts in the Creation, :"
Redemption" Mendelssohn's Hymn
of Praise" and 1.-THE Messiah"
While in Winnipeg in 1884 Mr.. At
kinson was one of the first to volun-
teer for the Gordon relief expedition,
then being equipped. Having been
accepted, he was hurried with few
others to Africa, where he was final
ly attached to the "Old Black
Watch" or Forty-SecOnd Highland
ers, the crack regiment of the Brit
ish service, and destined to the relief
of Khartoum, where General Gordon
was imprisoned by the Turks. Dur
ing this expedition Mr.. Atkinson
came in close touch with Lord Woles-
ley, Lord Charles Beresford, Lord
Kitchener, General WaucouD, Col.
Fred Barnaby, and many others who
were then most noted in the service.
It was not an infrequent thing for
Mr.. Atkinson to be called upon by
the general and his staff, sitting in
the glow of the evening, to give a lit
tie cheer to the hard and arduous
life by singing ballads and sketches
from the popular operas of the day.
Notwithstanding the failure of the
expedition and the massacre OF Cor
don, on return to London Mr. .Atkin-
son and his companions were treated
with great consideration. They were
commanded to appear before Queen
Victoria for the purpose of receiving
certain decorations. Unfortunately
the day before this interesting Occa-
sion was to take place Colonel Ken
nedy and Mr.. Atkinson's companion
were stricken with smallpox, the re-
suit of which was the queens decora-
ton as we'll as that Of the khedive
of Egypt was delivered by proxy
through one of the secretaries. When
leaving his English friends, General
Waucoub, who later was cut to pie
ces leading the Highland brigade in
South Africa, gave Mr.. Atkinson a
watch and chain, saying Whenever
you look into the face of this watch
remember that Of your old Highland
chief"
Upon returning to Canada Mr.. At
kinson became land agent for the