EVENTS OF 1885

Khartoum is Captured and Gordon Killed-Various Conflicts with the Arabs-Wolseley Assumes Command-Failure of Canadian Government to Assure Indian Land Titles in Saskatchewan Valley Causes Indian Rebellion-Riel and Dumont, Its Leaders, Win Minor Successes They are Beaten at Batoche-Riel is Hanged for Treason -Reforms are Granted the Indians-Canadian Pacific Railway is Completed-Russians Storm Afghan Fortress of Penjdeh-Afghan Frontier Dispute is Referred to Arbiters-French General De Lisle Beats Chinese and Occupies Langson-French Blow Up Two Chinese Warships at Sheipoo-Chinese Retake Langson-Courcy Repulses Annamese at Hue-France Annexes Cambodia and Ofok, and Occupies Porto-Novo-Ferry's Ministry is Overthrown on Chinese Policy-China Acknowledges Equal Rights of Japan in Korea-Japan Establishes Ministerial Government-Other European Innovations-Deaths of Victor Hugo, Ex-President Grant, and General McClellan-Germany Acquires Territory in West AfricaInternational Conference at Berlin Assigns British and French Spheres of Influence in Africa-Congo Basin is Put in Charge of International Commission-Irish Parliamentarians Join with Opposition on Question of Irish Coercion and Defeat Gladstone's Ministry Salisbury Becomes Prime Minister Roumelians Offer Throne to Prince Alexander of Bulgaria-His Acceptance Causes War with Servia-Alexander Defeats Servians at Slivnitza and Invades Servia-Austria Stops Him by Threat of War-Powers Decree Armistice-British Subdue Insurgent Burmese King Thebaw.

T

HE beginning of 1885 found the garrison of Khar

toum reduced to the last straits by famine, desertion, and treachery. On January 26 the treachery of one of the Pashas opened the city gates to the Mahdi's troops. Gordon was taken captive. When Sir C. Wilson, who was ascending the Nile to relieve Gordon, arrived he found the city in possession of the enemy, and retired. On the day of Wilson's appearance before Khartoum, General Gordon was put to death.

Charles George Gordon, or "Chinese Gordon," as he was called, was born in 1833 at Woolwich, England. He entered the Royal Engineers in 1852, and served in the Crimea in 1854-56. As already recounted in these pages Gordon crushed the Taiping Rebellion in China by means of specially trained corps of Chinese. On his return to England with

WOLSELEY'S SOUDAN CAMPAIGN

1885

the rank of colonel, he became chief engineer at Gravesend, where his military talent and philanthropy were conspicuous. From 1874 to 1879 he was Governor of the Soudan under the Khedive.

The Egyptian campaign was by no means brought to an end. On January 10 General Earle's column, advancing by way of the Nile from Carbi to Berber, attacked the fortified canal position at Dalka and carried it. General Earle himself fell in the fight. In March General Sir G. Graham moved from Suakim toward Hassham, and soon met the Arabs in force. A hot engagement took place on the 20th, with the Arabs as aggressors. The troops under General Sir John McNeil were surprised, and the Arabs effected an entry into the zarida or earthworks established by the Egyptian troops at Suakim. A fierce struggle ensued and the

Arabs were forced to retire. The losses were severe on both sides. Two-thirds of the camels and mules were killed and maimed. In May Lord Wolseley, who had been recalled from the Upper Nile, arrived at Suakim and assumed command. On July 30 the garrison of Kassala, unable to hold out longer, made an amicable arrangement with the hostile tribes and surrendered the town after a heroic resistance of more than a year. Late in the year the Arabs on the Upper Nile attacked the English garrisons at Kossab and elsewhere. Reenforcements were ordered from England, and General Stephenson started for Wady Halfa.

The failure of the Canadian Government to secure to the Indians and half-breeds of the Northwest their ownership of the lands in the Saskatchewan Valley had aroused resentment. As the dissatisfaction grew, the half-breeds, known as Métis, turned to their old rebel leader, Riel, who dwelt in exile in Montana. He came in response to their call. Riel made common cause with such redoubtable Indian chieftains as Crowfoot of the Blackfeet tribe, Pound Maker of the

1885

SASKATCHEWAN REBELLION

Crees, and Big Bear of the Ojibways. A report that Great Britain was on the verge of war with Russia prompted Riel to decisive action. On March 18 he assumed mastery at Batoche and appointed Gabriel Dumont, a famous buffalo hunter, his second in command. Dumont forthwith made a raid on the Canadian Government stores at Dutch Lake. A detachment of mounted police from Carleton, who tried to intercept Dumont, were outstripped, and another stronger detachment was beaten off with serious loss. The grim news from Dutch Lake aroused all Canada. Within three days troops were despatched from Quebec, Montreal, Toronto, and Ontario. The new Canadian Pacific Railway, then approaching completion, could not carry them fast enough to the front. Before they arrived, the rebellion had spread up the entire Saskatchewan Valley. The town of Battleford was threatened by the Crees. A chieftain named Traveling Spirit tricked the white settlers of Troy Lake into disarming, and then let his braves butcher them. Francis Dickens, a son of the great novelist, in vain tried to hold Fort Pitt against the assaults of Big Bear's men. By this time the soldiers were arriving and advanced in three columns. Behind strong intrenchments at Fish Creek, Riel's sharpshooters under Dumont held back the soldiers for two days. Another Canadian column under Colonel Otter made matters worse, by an unwarranted attack on the hitherto peaceful Crees, controlled by Pound Maker. Entering the Cree Reservation, they fell into an ambush at Cut Knife Hill, and had to retire in confusion. One week after this affair, on May 9, was fought the famous three days' battle at Batoche's Ferry, at which Captain Howard, the American commander of a Gatling gun squad, carried off the honors. At last Batoche was stormed. Dumont escaped to Montana, but Riel was taken and his followers dispersed. The rebellious Indian tribes succumbed. Riel was tried for treason at Regina and

BATTLE OF SHEIPOO

1885

was shot, together with eight Indians concerned in the Troy Lake massacre. Riel's execution evoked such a storm in the Canadian Parliament that the Macdonald Government tottered and nearly fell. The just grievances of the half-breeds and Indians at last obtained recognition.

The rebellion hastened the completion of the great Canadian Pacific Railway across the continent. The railroad had been laid simultaneously from the St. Lawrence and from the Pacific. In November the two sections were brought together at Craigellachie, in the Rocky Mountains.

The Russian movement on the Afghan frontier had resulted in the storming of Penjdeh, on March 30. On that occasion the Russians under General Komarov attacked the Afghans, and drove them from their position with a loss of 500 men, all their ammunition and provisions, and two standards. The Russian Government in May agreed to the English proposals, to refer the points in dispute on the Afghan frontier to arbitration.

In China the fortunes of the French fluctuated throughout the first half of the year. On February 13 Langson, one of the two principal fortresses of Tonquin, was occupied by the French General, Briére de Lisle, who had previously routed the Chinese in a hotly contested battle near the town. On the night of February 14 to 15 occurred the affair of Sheipoo. Two Chinese war vessels, the cruiser "Yu-Yen" and despatch boat "Chen Kiang," having been cut off by the French, were attacked by torpedo boats under cover of darkness. One was blown up, while the other was sunk by shots fired wildly from her own consort during the confusion. This was the last striking event of the war on water. The French troops under General Négrier, who had advanced against the Chinese forces intrenched at Bangbo, were forced on March 24, after seven hours of fighting, to retire with a loss of 200. On the 28th they suffered another repulse and

1885 KOREAN TREATY BETWEEN CHINA AND JAPAN

were forced to evacuate Langson. General Négrier was severely wounded, and 1,200 of his men were placed hors de combat. In July the Annamese attacked the French garrison at Hue, but were repulsed by General de Courcy with great loss. The French fianlly took possession of the citadel. The kingdom of Cambodia, which had been a protectorate since 1863, was annexed to Cochin-China. The port of Ofok, at the entrance to the Red Sea, was annexed to the French possessions, and on the west coast of Africa Porto-Novo was occupied.

Nevertheless, Ferry's Ministry, after two years of office, was overthrown by a vote of the Chamber, condemning the Government policy pursued in China.

Li Hung Chang was appointed Chinese Plenipotentiary to negotiate with Count Ito. At that time China had a much stronger position in Korea than Japan, but this advantage was lost by an agreement which tied the hands of China. In a compact signed at Tien-tsin, on April 18, China acknowledged that Japan's right to control was equal to her own. It was provided, first, that both the countries should recall their troops from Korea; secondly, that no more officers should be sent by either country to drill Korean soldiers; and, thirdly, that neither country should send forces to Korea in the future without previously informing the other party to the convention.

Late in the year, the Japanese triple government of Ministers, Privy Council, and Premiership was superseded by a modern Cabinet of Ministers, presided over by a MinisterPresident. Ito and Inouye assumed charge. The old government board was reorganized so radically that many thousand office-holders were discharged. By this time a modern postal department had been established, which handled nearly 1,000,000 letters and packages a year. The Japan Mail Shipping Company ran a large fleet of passenger steamers