Ninety seven days of camel riding. I need the physical exertion and am not afraid of these vast deserts. I have thirty camels and four elephants are on their way from Cairo.
-General Gordon, Diary, May 18, 1877
General Gordon imagined himself to be another Nazarene as the clock ticked down to his final hours in Khartoum- his favorite reading was The Imitation of Christ- yet at heart he was a Carthaginian fighting in foreign territory, outnumbered and against long odds. But I doubt he had ever ridden an elephant into battle- unlike Hannibal upon one-tusked Surus facing the Roman cavalry- and if he had he’d have quickly remounted to a camel for its smoother seat, faster pace, and greater ease to hobble and to herd.