The Press.
London, England, 1854-10-21 00:00:00

RELICS OF THE FIGHT.

Almost as soon as the men got up on the hills
after action, they spread over it, opening the knap-
sacks which were lying in thousands all over the
field, many of the enemy having lightened them-
selves in order to run the better. While the soldiers
were still excited, they commenced breaking all tho
enemies' firelocks and rifles which lay on the ground.
Many of them were loaded. The concussion set
many of them off,•and the result was that balls were
singing through the air in all directions on the night
of the 20th, and during the two following days ; in
fact, dropping shot never ceased for forty hours. The
Russian musket is a good weapon to look at, but
must be rather a bad one to use. The barrel, which
is longer than ours and is kept polished, is of iron,
and is secured to the stock by brass straps like the
French. The lock is tolerably good. The stock is
of the old narrow Oriental pattern, and the wood of
which it is made—white-grained and something like
sycamore—breaks easily. From the form of the heel
of the stock, the " kick " of the musket must be
sharp with a good charge. The cartridges are beau-
tifully made and finished, the balls being strongly
gummed in at the end; but the powder is coarse and
unglazed, and looks like millet-seed; it is, however,
clean in the hand and burns very smartly. The
rifles were a better description of arm : they were
two-grooved, and projected a large conical ball with
two raised grooves in it. The ball is flat at the base,
and has neither hollow cup nor pin ; its weight must
exceed that of our Minie ball. The bayonets were
soft, and bent easily. Some wooden bayonets were
left on the ground, and one officer is in possession
of a " wooden pistol," found on the road subse•
quently. Some good swords belonging to officers
were picked up, and very effective weapons, probably
belonging to drummers or bandsmen, exactly like
the old Roman sword, very sharp and heavy, were
also left on the field. Some six or seven drums were
left behind, but nearly all of them were broken—
several by the shot which killed their owners. No
ensign, eagle, standard, or colour of any kind, was
displayed by the enemy or found on the field. Our
regiments marched with their colours as a matter of
course, and the enemy made the latter a special mark
for the rifles. Thus it was so many ensigns, lieu
tenants, and sergeants fell. The 33rd Regiment lost
no less than twenty sergeants, killed and wounded,
nearly all of them round the colours. The Queen's
colour was struck in fourteen, the regimental colour
in eleven, places.
DEATH OF DR. MACKENZIE.
Dr. Mackenzie, one of the best operators in Edinburgh,
who came out for the purpose of studying gun-shot wounds,
was with the Highlanders at Alma, foremost in the field.
So unremitting was his attentions to the Highlanders, to
which, though a civilian, by a general order of Lord Raglan
acknowledging his services, he had been attached, that
after the battle the brigade, with one voice, asked permis-
sion to give him three cheers as he came up the hill.
There are few gentleman who stood so high in their profes-
sion as Dr. Makenzie who would have given np a lucrative
practice for the purpose of devoting their services unpaid
to the relief of their countrymen during an arduous cam-
paign. Unhappily the disease which has laid so many
brave men low proved fatal in his case also, and Dr.
Mackenzie died of cholera at Belbeck after a few hours'
illness. His loss was more sincerely lamented than that
of any man who fell at Alma.

THE HIGHLAND FEATHER.

Sir Colin Campbell would not let his Highlanders fire a
single shot until they had arrived within thirty feet of the
enemy. Then their mnrder3us discharges carried all he-
fore tlem. By not firing the bonnie Scots were enabled
to advance with such rapidity that the enemy's cannon had
hardly time to get their range before they were out of it
again. Consequently, their loss was but slight compared
with that of some other brigades. Lord Raglan was so
pleased at this proof of Sir Colin's experience and general-
ship that he rode up on the field of battle, and, shaking him
warmly by the hand, asked him what he could do for him?
Sir Colin acknowledged the thanks, and asked his lord-
ship's permission to wear the Highland feather bonnet for
the reat of the campaign' instead of the general's cocked

, SATURDAY,

hat. Of course the permission was instantly given, and
Sir Colin appeared the next morning in the bonnet of
waving plume, to thelintense delight of the Highlanders,
who went into ecstasies of cheers whenever he came
among them.

LIFE ON THE MARCH.
I sleep under an araba, at the warm side of a bush, or
near a bivouac fire, wake with cold at five, get a little break•
fast, march till twelve, partake of a meal that is called by
courtesy a dinner, then march till dark. if I am not too
fatigued on arriving at the halting•place for the night, I
wait till my servant has searched for wood, made a fire,
searched for water, and made some tea. With that light
but unsatisfactory supper I wind up a miserable day, sleep
on the ground as before, and recommence marching again
on the following morning. These hardships, with intense
heat by day, bitter cold dews by night, incessant fatigue,
and bad living, are some of the difficulties we have all had
to contend against during this campaign in the Crimea.
Never has there been known a campaign in which the
forces, without any exception, have suffered more. Since
the day we landed, the 14th of September, all, except the
generals of division, have slept in the open air, and except
the generals of division (and I am not even sure of some
of them) not a man has had his clothes off since he set
foot on the Crimea. We have only washed at the three
rivers we passed, Alma, Tchatka, and Balbek, elsewhere
we have not had enough water to drink, much less to wash
with. Owing to the scarcity of the latter necessary, some
of our horses have died ; and what was as bad, where there
was no water there was no wood, and of course we had to
do without bivouac fires, or even fires to cook our victuals.
Yet, in spite of these privations, privations which it is easy
to speak of, but terrible to bear, not a man of our troops
has murmured. Satisfied with their victory, and with the
prospect of inflicting a tremendous blow upon the enemy
at Sebastopol, they bear all cheerfully, and even laugh off
the dreadful sickness which infects their ranks. But we
are likely to have one or two days' resthere while the
siege guns are landing, which will do them all the good in
the world.