The Express.
London, England, 1867-05-14 00:00:00

(rzos oos srscisi. oosssorossm.)

READQPARTERS OF THE INBUROENT FORM,
NEAR HERACLEUM, APRIL 21
The battle of yesterday was • sufficient proof
that, beyond the walls of their sea-coast fortresses,
the Turks hare little hold upon Crete. They may
protest; to believe the insurrection at an end,
but they have to fight their way like foreign
' invaders when they would visit the pacified dia-
-1 tricts. Only yesterday they made one of these
visits, with what result I will presently relate.
Let me first, however, speak of the excellent system
• of defence by villages and districts, which enables
the Cretan patriots to struggle against superior
numbers and superior discipline.
It is out of the question to keep a strong force
in every mountain-pass, and still more opposed to
Cretan tactics to fortify the passes. " Local self-
defence," though it has not a promising sound for
military ears, is what they trust to in Crete.
There are active and daring captains of districts.
who serve in some sort as brigadier-generals, with
village captains of the same stamp, acting under
their orders. All ages, from boyhood to the white-
haired grandsires, follow these village captains
when there is need of a large muster, whilst the
shepherds, who are often mere children, keep con-
stant watch upon the mountain sides. NVhen it
becomes known that the Turks intend to sally
forth against a particular district, the captain of
this district summons to his aid a few frontier
villages, and sends men to watch every approach.
Perhaps there is a change of plan at head-
quarters, and no Turks appear upon the
some, but, supposing that they come, there
is immediately a skirmish between their light
troops and the defenders of the pass. Help is
' called for. Other districts send detachments, and
any corps of the small Cretan army within a day's
march hurries to the spot to support the villagers.
It is thus that local self-defence is managed in
I Crete. The provisional government of the island
could never have resisted Mustapha Pacha without
I the villagers. Much as has been done by volun-
teer bands, and greatly as the insurrection has been
helped by friends at a distance, it is the Cretan
people themselves who have maintained the
struggle. It is the free spirit of these rugged
mountains which has scorned to yield for fear of
death and torture, of houses burned and property
destroyed. I am witnessing enough, and more than
enough, every day in Crete to make me ashamed of
Englishmen who can talk complacently about the
Ire-establishment of Turkish rale.
And now for a brief account of yesterday's battle.
On April 18 we marched down to the plain of
Heracleum (Candia) with a strong body of Cretans
and Greek volunteers, under the chiefs Petro-
poulaki and Korskas. It had been rumoured that
the Pacha of Heracleum would soon attemp:. to
enter the districts between that city and Rethymno,
so it was resolved straightway to draw him into
action, and to have this matter settled before we
should be called elsewhere. Our chiefs had
taken post on the last range of rocks
overlooking the plain, and had waited some
time in hopes of an attack, but no attack was
made. Therefore we descended to the plain, left
the defile by which we had come temptingly open,
and occupied a village named Krusonas, at the
entrance of another defile a little further south.
The Turks fired some cannon shot from the village
of Agios Meron in our front, and as night drew on
there was a slight skirmish before Krusonas. But
next morning all was quiet. The beautiful view
across the plain of Heracleum towards the moun-
tains of eastern Crete was lit up by glowing sun-
shine, whilst a pleasant breeze fluttered our stan-
dards and made the white cross upon a blue ground
stream out bravely for Turks and other misbelievers
to behold. It was a fair scene, that which spread
out before us. Yet it had its darker side, and the
insurgents looked sternly to their weapons as
homeless families came toiling up from the plain
to seek safety among the gray rocks and yellow
gorse. We were in presence of a cruel enemy,
whose lighttroops make war like Red Indians, and
these families did well to seek the rocks and gorse
hushes.
During the earlier part of the day reports were
brought to our chiefs that a Turkish detachment
had appeared in the defile, left open to tempt
them. We accordingly marched westward
through the defile behind Krusonas, to a central
position among the mountains. Here we halted
until a breathless messenger came running to
summon our aid. The Turks had advanced in force.
There was a sharp contest now going on between
their van guard and the corps of Koroneos, who
had already joined the villagers in the defile. Not
, a moment should be lost, for, if quick enough, we
I could take the enemy in flank. This was what our
Ichiefs had been manreuvring to do, and they re-
sumed their march with all the eagerness of men
!forty years younger. The aged soldiers also
gained vigour with the occasion. Petropoulaki
cheered forward his well-tried volunteers ;
Korakaa urged on his hardy Cretans ; and
Iwe scrambled over almost impassable paths with
marvellous rapidity. We dived into one
ravine, and climbed out of another ; slipped
over rocks, and trampled through prickly
bushes, until the troops had fairly distanced their
commanders. Now some little shepherd boy high
up above us cried in a shrill voice, " This way,
patriots!" or "Turn to the right, patriots!" or
some such practical direction. Then it was a
refugee family which cried out to us from the
rooks, with all their might, saying " God bless
the Christian arms." We could presently hear a
sharp fusillade, crackling and echoing in the defile
of Monsoros. Faster ran the men, with a warlike
murmur rather than a distinct cheer passing from
end to end of the column. Petropoulaki's son
Leonidas was, as usual, among the very first, and,
with a strong body of volunteers, he had thrown
himself upon the enemy's flank just as our main
force reached the edge of the valley. A few stray
bullets had come singing over the rocks far in rear,
but now, all at once, we entered upon the scene of
action, and our men took up the fire in loose
skirmishing fashion. The head of our column had
delivered a volley to let friends and foes know that
we had arrived. But thenceforward we had inde-
pendent firing.
I cannot easily describe the field of battle, nor
can I give you any clear notion of the movements
on either side. Whilst we could see Herscleum on
the seashore, seemingly at our very feet, and could
distinguish mountain tops at an immense distance,
there was great difficulty in making out the
combatants, who were engaged close before us.