2004-09
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/31/2004
GORDON, Charles (1833-1885) General Gordon of Khartoum, known as‘Chinese Gordon’. During the Taiping rebellion in China, which had destroyed six hundred cities, Gordon took command of the "Ever Victorious Army" and crushed with effectiveness the formidable rebellion in 1864. He worked in Egypt opening up vast portions of the Nile and, in 1877, was appointed governor of the Sudan. He fought the common practice where the Islamic people captured and enslaved the Black people. Eventually Gordon returned to England, but in 1884 returned to confront the Mahdi, an Islamic fundamentalist calling himself the "expected one," who was allied with the slave raiders. Falling in love with the Sudanese people, Gordon determined to save them from slavery by the Mahdi. With Gordon holding Khartoum for month after month, surrounded by the Mahdi's numberless hordes, Britian's prime minister tried to force him home by denying him relief. Gordon replied, "I am in honor bound to the people." Finally the prime minister caved and sent an army to raise the seige; but when help arrived, they found the city fallen and Gordon murdered two days before. Autograph Letter Signed, “C.G. Gordon” 8p. octavo, September 10, 1875, Mrozie, addressed to Colonel Nugent Director of Fortifications W. Office London, with great content and a small sketch it reads in part: “...I have been much delayed by the hostility of the natives, they have attacked us several times & been repulsed, but unfortunate party of nine with their young Frenchmen servant consisting of 43, got surrounded and in spite of this [several difficult to read words] were all unarmed but 4. They evidently were [?] into pursuit & getting seperated being bad shots, got all killed. It forced me into a night retreat which was not an agreeable night. I can assure you however I now have plenty of troops and have punished one of my [?] foes & am in process of doing ditto to one of the two others, it is no use trying to subdue them by day, you must march into them at night and surprise their cattle. ...It is with respect to my Nyantgani troops that I ask, for I fear there is not the least doubt but that they eat portions of their slain foes. The Chinese used to do ditto on both sides, but not as a rule, they would eat the heart of a particularly brave man they killed and a Corpl. R.E. named Hughes who was with us a Captain, had that honor faced him with six other officers, who with 420 men were amassed in a panic at Waifso. The natives bury the bodies for fear of annoyance from the spirits that hang the head on a pole over thier huts [illustrated]...The native is brave and crafty. He has learnt taht not one ball in one thousand strikes it hit & he comes up creeping till he & his friends can run in and then the spear meets the unfixed bayonet...Now I am not a very bad shot & yet three times did I miss my friends at tlast two soldiers rushed on them & they ran. One was killed with seven rounds in him so perhaps I did him him. He winged one arrow at me...The other day when we visited the hostile tribe on this side, the natives on East bank turned out in hundreds watched the fight & returned. They have 38 Remingtons of mine!!!! but will be puzzled with them. The 4 soldiers who scalped say that the Remingtons were thrown in the River by the runaways but I do not think it...” More. Fine.
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