A STRANGE STORY FROM KHARTOUM.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XVIII, Issue 1168, 5 August 1885, Page 4

A STRANGE STORY FROM KHARTOUM.

The special cocrespondent of the Sheffield "Daily Telegraph" at Cairo gives the following remarkable story : — A Coptic merchant, who was one of the few men who managed to escape from Khartoum after the massacre, has arrived here, after a long and painful journey, and has made a most astounding statement to the authorities. He asserts in the most positive manner, partly from information supplied to him on the spot by credible eye-witnesses, that shortly after the massacre which followed the entry of the rebels, and before the terrible confusion resulting therefrom had subsided, the Mahdi, hearing that Gordon had been slain, ordered his head to be brought before him. The rebels at once produced the head of Herr Hansal, the Austrian Consul, which was at first accepted as the head of the gallant Gordon. But as it lay on the ground It was rcognised by one of the rebels, who knew Hansel well, and the hue and cry for Gordon was at once raised. The city was scoured by parties of the rebels, and every European corpse was examined, but without result. Indeed, no trace could be found either of Gordon or of Abougatgas, a rich merchant long resident in Khartoum, or of Gordon's , two cavasses. Neither were any documents found, and the most diligent search failed to bring to light any of the clothing usually worn by Gordon. The narrator, therefore, believes that there is a slight chance that Gordon may have made good his escape, and that he has fled south, in the direction of Sennaar. I have seen the .Coptic merchant referred to,, and can testify that he is a smart, honest-looking man, whom one would be inclined to trust.

It is curious to find, in the heart of this region of volcanic rocks, in 'an arctic cold, the fossil remains of a flora totally distinct from that now living there, and one which implies the existence of an early period of a very temperate climate at the least. Fossilised wood, leaves, flowers, and fruits have been found at various parts of the volcanic region of North Greenland, in more than a dozen places, and have been referred to various periods — those which have been assigned to the Tertiary period alone amounting to about 137 species. From a little shelf on a rock, about 400 feet long, and out of strata amounting to scarcely more than 3 feet in thickness, I obtained no less than 75 species, including oaks, poplars; chestnuts, planes, saquoias, magnolia, and many others.— "Good Words."