The Story of the Siege of Khartoum.

Thames Star, Volume XVI, Issue 5119, 13 June 1885, Page 1

The Story of the Siege of Khartoum.

BY AN EGYPTIAN WHO WENT THEODGH IT.

A long and very interesting account of the siege of Khartoum, taken down from the lips of one of Hicks Pasba's soldiers, who is now at Korti, has been published by the Daily If ews. The narrator is described as a man with a bronzed, hatchetshaped visage. He was clothed in Egyptian uniform, and his countenance wore a peculiarly weary and careworn expres- | sion :— GOBDON'S ABBIYAI.. " We had a grand illumination the night Gordon arrived. If all Christians were like him there would become Nazarah ; but you do not follow the teachings of your own prophet as we Mussulmans do. Gordon told us he had come io safe us. The officials and Creeks illuminated.their houses, and every Soudanese, however poor, lit his lamp ; but soon bad tidings came day by day of the approach of the cursed Arabs. Soon we saw them, first in small bodies at a distance, and then in large ones. They had been hovering around us for a long time before the Pasha arrived. I^ow Gordon set every man to work ; he throw up a long parapet with a deep trench from the Bahr-el-Abiad to the Bahr el-Azr<-k, end he built round towers on it and made one iron gate. He did not turn out Arabs from dwelling in Khartoum ; there were none there, though we had many traitors. They were known to the Pasha, but he said ' Let them alone ; at' the end they shall bo punished.* Among these wore the principal baker. Gordon used to say to all who wanted to leave. ' Stay, my friends; the English are coming.' That handsome girl of sixteen, the doctor's daughter, remained ; so did the German tailor, Herr Klein, and his wife and pretty daughter." THE TBEACHEBT OP THE PASHAS. ". Soon after Gordon's arrival, Sheik Wad-abou Gurgy made three forts opposite Khartoum, and on the Bahr el Azrek, for the time he was not at hand when we wero to be beleaguered. In these he placed three cannon, for his designs were evil—he was rebellious. These forts were near the gardens of. Boussi, and now he piled up outside great pyramids of dhoora, three times higher than the forts them* selves. When these things were related to Gordon in the early morn (for these piles weie made at night) he despatched three steamers. These fired first ball, then shell, to knock down wails, and they' succeeded. Mahomet AH Pasha, commanding ships, ran ashore, and landed troops, while shrapnel was covered to command their advance. The black soldiers then stormed the fort, while the Basbi- Bnzonks took the ontor. circle.. Many Arabs were killed, and the dhoora captured and ammunition. After the anniversary of the birth of Mahommed, Wad, Sheik, El Obeid came opposite to Khartoum to the other side of Bahr el-Azrek, and encamped on this isle. Gordon Pasha sent for the troops under Hassein Abraham and Mahomet Abru Said, who had been mnde pashas by Gordon Pasha. Directly we landed we formed a four-deep square. Kven so we marched boldly from shore. One gun is at an angle of the square. They charged as furiously; but, ha ! how they scampered. Shattered was that great band of rebels. Out.now what

1 have to.relate fills my heart with grief. The traitor Abraham takes off his tarbasb, puts it in hfg breast, from which he takes a dervish's cap, putting it on his head. Next to this what does he do ? He gallops up to the bugler, and tells him to sound . the ' kUB-rah' (' retreat'); this in military Turkish signifies defeat. The brare boy refused, and said,' Pasha, we are not defeated, and I will not sound as you order. Then.he cleaves the brave boy's head with his scimitar, and smites others who would not turn. .Now, when our enemies see things come to pass they gain heart, return, and attack us again. Wo become disorganised—why nofc ? We fly back to the outworks and huts we had left, close to' the cemetery. But we did not let the traitorous pasha escape. We circle round his horse and. compel him to retire with us; much does he struggle, beg, and pro-. test; he had endeavored to escape; but escape for him was not. We brought him back,-bound hand and foot.' " HOW THE TKAITOBS WEBE HEWN TO PIKCE3 "Now all these things," continued my informant, "and how the traitorous pasha had been the cause of our disgrace, Gordon Pasha had spied from the top of his house. He was much grieved; and when the wicked Pashas, who were Doth gnilty, were brought bound, as I said, hand and foot before him, he spoke never a word 'Away with, them!' He was reading Holy Writ at the time. They were tried by court-martial, and sentenced to death. Seven days afterwards they were executed in the inner yard, near the large square of the prison. They were hewn in pieces by a halbert. I saw the execution, so it is of no use your saying ' they were shot.' I tell* yon, according to Turkish military law, s military traitor is always sentenced to be cut to pieces. The two were bound up against the wall by chains and rings. Two soldiers armed with sharp hatchets approached them from out of the sides of a square we had formed. The prisoners' crime was read out, and their sentence. A hundred soldiers were present, some senior officers, but not Gordon Pasha. The senior Bey cried out,*' Executioners, perform sentence on the traitors !' Immediately these advanced close, and lopped off | first their arms above the elbows, then the j legs-above the knees; then cut their bodies in twain; then decapitated them. They died not till they were cut asunder; then their heads fell on their breasts, and they expired with a hideous yell. Surely their fate was deserved. I cannot say whether Gordon Pasba knew of this manner of execution. I tell you this is the Turkish mode of punishing military traitors, and it is a just punishment." ;

KHABTOTTM BEIEAGTTBED. " We were besieged thrice, and tbrice we defeated the enemy. We killed many when tre attacked Omdurman, an<i more came on like' swarms of flies. Having killed some, their numbers were forthwith trebled. " I forgot to say how Omdurman was iaken from us. It was thus—Hicks Pasha built a big trench round it—well, perhaps it was there when you came. Gordon built an inner one; or perhaps it was the reverse. At any rate, there were two rings. The rebels crept in between the two, and were thus protected. Then they cut off the little garrison's water. Thus was Omdurman taken. 11 Gordon lived alone with his servant in his palace. Power Bey lived in the Geneßi (church of the Roman Catholic mission), to guard the ammunition which was kept in the cloisters. He superintended the making of powder. Colonel Stewart used to superintend the taking out of the powder and its distribution ; and wbs also engaged iv looking out. Such was our daily occupation in that oity, whose kismet was already written. " Yes; they used to fish, as in your time, with hooks and nets, and catch those great fish with heads like oata and long whiskers —the kabaross." LIFE IN THE BEIrEAGUEBED CITY. "We had still tobacco and shoes, for there, were ihoemakers in the city. We strolled when off duty through the bazaar as usual. Some would gamble with dominoes; some drink merissa, and the young men would dress to please their girls—with curie under arm and cigarette in mouth. Bargains would be struck, and houses sold, as if the end was not. lam told it has been so with great cities in time of sieeo. It was so, a Jew told me, with his city in Syria. Do not blame me when I dwell on this ; I am a different man. Have I not lost a wife—l had only one—and children? With the young girls, too, there was plaiting of hair and annoiutiDg with butter, and ornamenting necks, ankles, and arms with gold chains and shells. They would sit in'the bazaar selling onions and eggs and melons and butter and sweetmeats up to the day 1 left, and would laugh and joke with their admirers, and courtship would go on, like butterflies, heedless. We went to mosque, too, crowds of us, and the ' aikkah ' was said (in remembrance). We prayed for departed spirits — that they may be in luxury. Why not ? Gordon's paper notes went round like cash. They were looked upon as money. They were mostly onerpiastre rotes ; the others for fire and ten piastres (a real or guinea) up to 500 piastres. All mine are gone. I spent them in the desert, where I would buy water, a cup for ten piastres. The schools went on aa usual, Mohammedan ; also at the Gcnesi, till the priests (Italian) left."

WHITE WOMEN IN KHAETOUM. , "The little German tailor, Klein, remained till the last; twenty-five years had he resided in Khartoum. His wife and four daughters remained too. They did not go with Stewart I am sure. There were several white women there when I left—daughters of Europeaus by Abyssinian wives, whom they had bought. There were two or three ladies at the Austrian Consul's. I think all these had so many family ties that tbey would not leave ; besides, Gordon always said, ' The English are coming.' Ido not think your comingwould have altered matters, for this I tell you advisedly—the will of God saya it." . . >■ . TBAITOBS IN THE CAMP.

11 There were traitors in our midst; they met and took counsel together against Gordon Pasha. He waa warned, bnt said, , 'Suffer it to be so.' Tbe^ plan was to deliver over the city whenever the English drew near. The number »f traitors in- . creased daily 'as they go 1, hopeless. Another thing, and this decided many. After the battle of Abu Klca the" rebels Trent down and collected all the helmets they could find. They showed these to us, waviDg them outside the trenches and saying,' Thus and thus hare we eaten up the Feringhees' Thus even faithful men were sorely temptedfaDd becamn sick at heart. At nieht the enemy used to be at the south end, at speaking distance, and ,we used to revile each other. We were Mlied the cursed rebels who speak eril

of the fathers and mothers to the third and fourth generation. We would c«ll them 'sons of dogs,' and shcut 'Aliah bou rou Gehenna, ye rebellious ones ; malediction on your fathers; depart 16 Gehenna' ; and they would muke answer, 'Ye are slaves of tbe infidels; yo, too, are infidels, as you do not believe in our book.. We will pat you up and wipo you from tbe face of the earth of Allah.' Thus and thus did we call out to each other during the long night. The English stayed too long at Matemmeh ; perhaps had they gone on at once tbe gates would not have been opened, but still I tell you treachery was planned long before. The rebels came over at night, or at any rate before dawn, when Tenza and another opened the gate."

THE liST EIVEB TBIP. "The last river trip was mado by Tujerar Mahaba. He had on board two Krupp guns. He started at 7 a.m.; at 10 he met a nuggar full of rebels. They had a gun. They fired at each other for an hour. At last the rebel boat sank. He was still under a heavy fire till he reached Shembat. At Bou the rebels bad one Krupp, four : guns higher up, and one mitrailleuse or Norde'n* feldt. He ran aground. Here he is; he will tell you the story." A tall, stout black here entered my tent arid Uissed my band, He wore naval uniform—three stripes on arm and Gordon's medal. "Ha !" I said, referring to these, "you at least have kept yours." The others had been selling their lead medals given by- Gordon in camp. I deprecated this much-; but the reply I invariably met with was—" If I don't buy it some one else will." " I," said the captain (he-was the chief of all the boats) "would not part with mine for £1,000." He continued : "The last words Gordon said were, ' Bring the English when you come back, if only three or four.' But I was never to see him more. I have left my wife and children at Khartoum. He has told you I sank the rebel vessel. Well, I was fired at from all directions.' I rammed her. I had 150 soldiers on board; she had plenty. Down they all went. It was a glorious sight. None escaped. On passing Rezaree, I was fired at by 150 rebel riflemen, but continued my voyage till I got to Gebel el - Sheikh -.el.- Taeb (the good Sheikh), The shots fell ehorc. On tbe river, near Mashed-el Hamak (donkey's pasture)—six hours from Khartoum—l went Upon a rock; then three mountain guns opened fire on me. Three hours afterwards three steamers came, the Boudain, Telehoweath, - Tepagny, and Sophia. Troops were landed, and we killed many Arabs t I used to be captain of Hicks Pasha's ships, nnd flew the Pasha's flags. Many times I've taken you down to Omdurman, and I saw you up at Kowa, bufc you were on shore. General Hicks was very kind, but I was a small Eeiss then. If Gordon had lived I should have become as high as this tree —pooh ! I have left a thousand of Gordon's notes at Khartoum with my family, and all my clothes. . ■

"Latterly the chief men of the town were traitors; all were concerned in opening the gates. They were afraid of starving. All the white and all the black women are now made slaves. My poor wife, I shall never see her again. When I say white, I mean also those whose mothers were Abyssinian and fathers European, and there were some Turkish ladies who wore the achmet, wives of officers; all will now be slaves. I have finished. I must leave you."

My interriew for the time was now'over, and the two gallant men took their departure, seeming depressed and sorrowful. These men had a genuine lore for Gordon ; you could feel this in every word when they referred to him. "-Ah !" they would ejaculate, '"No one like him on this earth."