During the winter it grew extremely cold, high up in the mountains. He
relates that eggs were frozen as hard as if they had been boiled. At
another time they are caught in a terrific dust storm, which he thus
describes:
"The sky was as dark as night; huge columns of dust came sweeping down,
and it blew a regular hurricane, the blue sky appearing now and then
through the breaks. The quantity of dust was indescribable. A canal,
about fifty miles long and eighteen feet wide, and seven deep, was
completely filled up."
From these more or less peaceful incidents, Gordon was presently called
to more exciting events. The great Tai-ping rebellion had been raging
for some months. It was the work of a Chinese schoolmaster, who said
that Heaven had sent him to rescue China. He chose for title "The
Heavenly King," and with some thousands of fanatical followers, overran
a large part of the interior. His seat of government was in Nanking.
In his first clashes with the small British army, in 1862, his troops
had the better of the argument. They spoke with open contempt of the
foreigners, and all English, whether soldiers or missionaries, were in
imminent danger. Things came to such a pass that an American, named
Ward, obtained permission to organize a band of volunteers for mutual
protection.
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