THE LAST DAYS OF GORDON.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VII, Issue 1980, 2 May 1885, Page 2

THE LAST DAYS OF GORDON.

• The special correspondent of .fhe Daily Telegraph at Abu Kru sends the.following despatch dated 12th February. Gerenal Gordon's trusty messenger George, a well-known Khartoum Greek merchant, who for months past has boen entrusted with all letters parsing from.,or to the besieged, and who. has been If ' on board one of the steamers sent 1 JmK states that nearly all the Natives' stoiSff -. agree that General Gordon, 011 learning that lie was betrayed, made a rush for the magazine in the Catholic mission buildinp, ■Finding that the enemy we'retactually: in possession of that building ; by'' the .treachery of Faragh, -General Gordon, returned to Government hoUse',"and.was killed on trying tore-enter it. Some say he was shot; others say he was stabbed. The Mahdi's people were admitted to Khartoum at ten o'clock on the night of J&l----ary2Gth. George adds that the reWs massacred all t.Tio white people, men, women and children, throwing the bodies into the Nile, many of which corpses he and others saw while with Sir Charles Wilson's party. The familiesJif.. iill the men on General Gordon's steamers were also murdered. General Gordon clearly anticipated his fate, foif. lie wrote a number of farewell letters'-during the month of January. These were sent off in a mail bag 011 board the steamer, and given to George, who handed them over to Sir Charles Wilson on January 21, Among the letters were bne for his sister, and others for his brother, for Captain Brocklehurst, Lord Wolseley, and Sir Charles Wilson. There were also five complete monthly diaries of the siege of Khartoum, narrating all the events fclftf * had taken place since Colonel Stewart left him. In his letter to Sir Charles Wilson, General Gordon wrote tlmt ho hoped, by God's will, the English would arrive in time to save him and others, but feared they would arrive too late; that he knew he was betrayed, but, to prevent it. His information wajPhaf, Khartoum was to be surrondoroa on January 19 to the Mahdi. He could got away if he wished to run, but refused to go, and would remain to the last. . As he would not permit himself to bu taken prisoner, there was nothing left but death. Khasrn El Mous, the commandant with tho steamers hero, who has proved so loyal throughout, states that'ovon had the English got to Khartoum a' month earlier they would have boen too late to save Gordon, for two traitors had committed thoinsolves, and would never/have awaited our arrival, as they feared that Geneial Gordon would punish them. The people of Khartoum had despaired of ever seeing English soldiers, and tried to make the best terms they could. After the battle of Abu Klea, the Mahdi, lip doubt, promised much. fc),