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West. Europe

France
Lot Symbol CatNo. Lot Description CV or Estimate
8   imageThe Marchand Archive A very rare selection of 14 letters and two postcards from the Marchand expedition archive detailing life during this period, below is a selection of the letters content (written in French) translated into English. The Marchand Mission was an expedition undertaken by French emissary Jean-Baptiste Marchand (1863-1934) and 150 men with designs to counter British expansionism in northeastern Africa. Starting from Libreville (in present-day Gabon) in 1897, the Marchand expedition spent 14 arduous months crossing largely uncharted regions of north central Africa. They finally reached the fort of Fashoda on the upper Nile on July 10, 1898 and hoisted the French flag. On September 18, a flotilla of British gunboats led by Horatio Kitchener arrived at Fashoda; Kitchener had just defeated Mahdi forces at The Battle of Omdurman, and was in the process of reconquering the Sudan in the name of the Egyptian Khedive. The confrontation of the French and British was cordial but both sides insisted on their right to Fashoda. News of the encounter was relayed to Paris and London and each side accused the other of expansionism and aggression. A stalemate (the Fashoda Incident) continued until November 3 when French Foreign Minister Théophile Delcassé, fearing the possibility of war, withdrew Marchand and his troops and ceded the Sudan to the British. A selection of the letters transcribed Bahr-el-Ghazal, 30km downstream from the confluence of the Arab Aboard the Faidherbe, 5th November 1898 My dear Largeau! My poor Largeau! What a stand-up we gave you at la mecha, what an annoying stand up. But I think of your worries, of your possible lack of supplies and am sending you a whaleboat with all my wood cutters - which breaks my heart as you can imagine! The Faidherbe has been stopped for six days in the sedd, I am going back to Fachoda, where I must be on the 10th of November, to take orders from the commanding officer Marchand at Khartoum, if need be. In two words I explain you the phantasmagorical dramatic turn of events which completely changed on the high Nile, during our painful journey to Fort Desain. We had left at the time the imminent arrival of another [friend Denriche] to Fachoda. [Tired]! It was not [Denriches] but indeed sirdar Kitchener, with 2.000 men, of which a battalion of highlanders, five big gunboats having on board up to 10 canons. Omderman was taken on September 2nd after a bloody and stupid battle which [Denriches] came to deliver in the plain, instead of staying behind the formidable fortifications of Omderman. My letter, moved, of October 13th to Doctor [ Cureau] that [ Fassinet] must have brought you, as well as my open note of today, to the same, had to teach you what takes place in Ghazal. Judge my bewilderment when I collect, 13 oct, an Egyptian detached flag on Khadija, then the next day a second in Bahr-el-Arab, with papers saying that these detached flags were raised for the officers of the Abon-Klea, one at Mecha, the other one on the lake Ambady!!!! Then I find Sedd in the channel of papyri, 800m of suites and I cross it only at the price of superhuman efforts of my 17 men. 18 [Chilonk] told me that there are two Turkish boats on the Nile, which wait for me to break [(sic)] the boat of the French people! New emotion…. But your good cannon is fixed at the front of the Faidherbe, protected by kegs and sheet steels; the boiler is hardened, I may let come … On the 18th's evening I find a big Anglo-Egyptian camp in the confluence of Sobat, where these softened of Abyssinian could have been able to settle down 10 times more easily than us at Fachoda! This camp fires two cannon shots at me as a warning; but I take off silently. (It was to give me an order of Kitchener forbidding the war troops and ammunitions transportation on the Nile, as Marchand taught me later. Finally, the 19th at Fachoda, having crossed, peacefully, an Anglo-Eg. Gunboat upstream. There so much news: the army announced by [Chillonk] was other one than a flying column organized by the sirdar Kitchener, after the fall of Omderman, 2 sept. The Caliph was able to run away, with 130 partisans, in the mountains of [Dar Nouba]. A Few days after the taking of Khartoum, arrive from the top Mahdiste vapour with quantity of wounded persons on board; Anglo-Egyptians seize it and find the hull riddled with bullets which appear to be French. Aoh! Mahdistes prisoners say that they all almost died there, under the fire of the whites of Fachoda. So, from September 11th, a paragraph of "P? journal", tells in France that the Marchand mission put to flight two Mahdistes vapours at Fachoda, on 25th august. Suspect it! "Lord Khartoum ", the sirdar gathers then a warlike device which became important, and sets off the 11th for Fachoda with 2.000 men. He arrives the 19th adding by letter "any whites" who occupy Fachoda, are to let the flag of the [khidiye] float again at the top of the [mondineh]. Marchand refuses saying that he would make kill up to the last one of his men before letting in Anglo-Egyptians to the French post, that he is here in order of the French government, etc. Then Kitchener establishes a camp at 1km north of ours, with 6 guns held up at our citadel. Then he goes to establish a camp similar at the entry of Sobat, on the hillock of the left bank, at 500m of the Nile. He envies the Abon Klea in Ghazal, the sultan in Bahr-el-Ghazal, and returns, with his battalion of highlanders, towards Khartoum, and maybe towards Cairo where he is going to rest on his laurels with his inseparable Wingate. There are two big battles, at first that of [Atbana], then that of Omderman. The English people exult; it adorned that without our presence at Fachoda their gunboats went back up the Nile with English flags, and not Egyptian. At Fachoda, we bombard English of baskets of vegetables of the garden of Landeroin, and we receive in reply cases of Wingate, from which you receive a copy. Relation not too bad. By October 8th arrives an English gunboat with this telegram: " Marchand was named commander(major) on October 1st. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Delcassé, asks for the sending to Cairo of a French officer to have information on what was made on the Nile for the mission ". Germain being on the right bank of the Nile, with Fouque, searching for these untraceable Abyssinians, it is Baratier who straightaway leaves carrying to Cairo Marchand's reports. A few days after Marchand notices that he forgot to send the treaty signed by Mek, and the other important pieces, he plots to go himself to Cairo, and when I arrive on 19th oct. he tells me to stay at his disposal in case the English people would refuse him the passage on their twice-weekly mail between Fachoda and Khartoum. Thus the Faidherbe stays in Fachoda and cannot come to get you for now. Terrifying news arriving from France: after the elections we have a radical cabinet, president Brisson, Lockroy to the navy, Bourgeois in the public works, Fouillat in colonies, Delcassé in the Foreign Affairs, Cavaignac has the war, etc. But Cavaignac resigned at the end of September, after the suicide of Lieutenant-colonel Henry, and was replaced by […] [zurlinden]. […] all this because of a false [assistant] also resigned, we do not know why, for Lieutenant-colonel Henry. This famous secret room of the Dreyfus, Esterhazy, Zola trials was only a […]. (Conveniently, Zola ran away to Belgium). The ministry is a supporter to revise the Dreyfus trial; this one doubtless returned to France. This affair is absolutely insane, and leads to a colossal upheaval. War council judges were they misled by […]? It is said that Esterhazy is the author of the slip etc. Anyway general chaos, shames on shames in France … In the first days of October we say that Paris had to be occupied militarily by 45.000 men under the orders of Zurlinden. On the other hand, mayhem in China; it adorned that a French-Russian body occupies Beijing. In the middle of this waste, Marchand did well to leave for Cairo, where he will support the French interests on the Nile, and can cry out hard so that we send to us other men, if the government does not want to evacuate. He left on 25th oct. for Khartoum, (by English boat) where from the railroad succeeds now. As a matter of fact the mission made all that she was able to, and, whatever happens, we have nothing to be blamed of. The fight of 25 august is enormous luck, which prevented Kitchener from taking towards us a too cutting attitude. We think of returning by French Abyssinia! At Fachoda we are now 12 days away from Cairo, [at revolution]. On my part I promise you to make all the possible so that we do not leave you out of order in Mecha. I plan to return soon with 40 men, and to make cross the sedd to the Faidherbe. I come down again in deplorable conditions; bled of 6 men and of a whaler since October 13th, I re-bleed of 8 men and the other whaler, which leaves me with the mechanics and the drivers only. But there is big national interest, in the fact that Mecha is occupied at the moment by French troops. At your place, to be more on to be found, by Oubangui otherwise by Fouque, this is what I would write to [Cureau]: "I ask you for [Instanmently] for reasons of health, and to join the Mission Congo-Nil which can receive the order to leave Fachoda for Abyssinia from one week to the next; to be replaced in Mecha by a non-commissioned officer, with 6 to 10 infantrymen. It is all that it is necessary to guard the French flag there, and tell the Anglo-Egyptians of our occupation of Denkas territories. The country is rich, the natives are quiet and very favourable to our establishment in this point; with red pearls and some [mellanda] of iron we get fresh supplies infinitely …" Fort Desain can perfectly remove a non-commissioned officer with 6 to 10 infantrymen and send them to Mecha! Then I recommend you to begin to come down here in whaler. I ask you [instanmently], on my part, to send back to me immediately, with [ Tahi Duap], the indispensable man of the Faidherbe, […] the men of bane in the absence of whom I worry personally and my [yakoma] wood cutters. They have the current with them to come down, and are not in danger (with 1 month of ration at first). Goodbye, Good luck, and see you soon I hope, your devoted, Signed: DYE. You're on the board, if not already promoted captain. Alfred Dreyfus was suspected of revealing secrets of the French army to the Germans and this affair was worsened by the fact that he was Jewish. The Dreyfus affair is very important because it divided France into two clans the Dreyfusards and the antiDreyfusards. Esterhazywas in fact the man guilty of this treason. Zola is a French novelist of the time who decided to defend Dreyfus by publishing the book "J'accuse" meaning "I accuse". My dear Largeau, 60 carriers intended for the provisioning of the post of Rapids were yesterday morning sent by fort Honniger. They're taking 52 loads of flour (approximately 1000kg) and 7 boxes pearls, plus a load bottles wine and skins. The wine is intended for the staff of the post arsenal, skins in the mountains of the [etienne], 7 boxes pearls will be deposited at a store of the post arsenal. So you have 52 carriers loaded with supplies and 8 carriers you will load with supplies from the arsenal poste reserve. The 60 carriers must go to the Rapids with you. Besides I made by sultan [Camboura] the order to gather 40 carriers of villages around the post arsenal, who will be loaded with supplies of the reserve and will join the 60 others. Total 100 carriers of supplies whom you will lead to Rapids. Your personal luggage in addition. [Kuni] understood prescriptions forming desiderata. You will arrange, according to the number of carriers whom you will have and the quantity of supplies that the reserve of the post arsenal can supply. The important would be to be able to lead 100 loads of supplies to the Rapids, because these foods are intended for the occupation of Koutchouk ali. I remind you the prescription concerning Dorouma who will have his carbine if he can supply within 48 hours of your passage in his domain 5 - 600 [satenis] to the Rapids. So approximately 2500 [satenis] gathered in the Rapids with which will be made the occupation of Koutchouk ali. You will follow as I told you, with your 100 carriers and your 29 infantrymen plus the [basniguus] which accompany them, on route [ Kuvyalé] - Kama - Go - Dorouma-Hibbé - Rapids. You will make the topographic report. You will find instructions by arriving at Rapids where you will stay probably only just the time to wait for the supplies from the chief Dorouma. You should just put yourselves by arriving at the disposal of Mr the Lieutenant Mangin. I authorize by the same mail staff sergeant of the post arsenal to deliver to you for each of your 29 infantrymen a small piece of materials of colours taken in the more or less damaged bundles of batiste. This piece intended to make a small mosquito net has every man. I shall send orders in time so that the same distribution is made for the infantrymen of the detachment Mangin. The men need to have thread and the needles to sew their mosquito net. I count that you can leave the post arsenal with your convoy in the evening of the 11th to go sleep in Kama, or at the latest the 12th. The sooner the better. Warn the chief Kama who will make warn Go and Dorouma. Each owes you a day of prepared food. This food will be paid to the chief Kama by a voucher of you that he will touch at the post arsenal, to the chief Dorouma by a voucher of you whom he will touch at the post of Rapids. For Go or the intermediate villages (cultures) you will pay directly. I believe that you have pearls. If ou do not have any left make a voucher for [Chuikinh] when you leave. You are authorized to say on my behalf to Kama that if I am satisfied by his processes, I shall myself give him a carbine and cartridges as I already have for some of his brothers. Attached is a small schedule with information for the road [Kuvyalé] - Rapids. I wish you, with expensive friendships, good health, safe journey, good success. You will find later orders relative to the exploration of the pond [Wava]. Signed: Marchand. P.S.: I attached no importance to the word "fortune" that you used on your letter of the 5th. You think me one thousand times more susceptible than I am in reality. The truth is that the monstrous accusation of one of my companions with regard to my actions and to their true motives surprised me in full peace of mind and seriously affected me. I was hundred thousand leagues to plan that the same supposition could be never made on me, and in spite of me my character was a little modified. I feel it . Now I am afraid and consider often obliged to assert the absolute purity of my motives. I recognize that it is stupid but frankly what would you do in my place? I am a little disorientated. It will glide. I am used to taking all the responsibilities. (Image) (imagea) (imageb) (imagec) (imaged)

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 Est. $30,000-50,000

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