The Grand Haven news. [volume] (Grand Haven, Mich.) 1858-18??, 1859-06-29
THE WAR AS SEEN BY AN AMERICAN

IIOul III huuciiSou az hiCoStuuIlh, UOul
which we take the following:
Finding that the Emperor was not
coming to Turin, made up my mind to
return to this place. In passing along
the route, one of those scenes that make
an indelible impression occurred at one of
the stopping places between Turin and
Alessandria, called Asti. There were
collected number Of women whose hus-
bands were killed by the Austrians in
some of the skirmishes that have already
taken place. The train in which was
contained regiment of French soldiers,
with their officers. Arrived at Asst, men
and officers got out 10 stretch their limbs.
AS soon as the women saw the French
they rushed towards them, throwing
themselves at their feet, crying out, "kill
them, kill them-avenge our husbands
kill the Austrians." Frantic with ha-
tired and desire of revenge, these women
were terrible to behold; their eyes glared,
and the convulsively clutched the Off
ers, shrieking, I" kill them, kill them r'-
/ cannot find words to describe to you
the terrible reality of this painful scene.
The officers, moved and excited, could
only shake the hands Of the weeping wo-
men, promising them that their time w'od
come, and that the Austrians would pay
dearly for the blood they had spilled and
the desolation and misery they had bro't
upon an unoffending people. As for the
soldiers, they were most profoundly i'm
pressed, and one old fellow, slapping his
musket most energetically, said 10 a wo-
man near him, that was weeping bitterly:
"Don't cry, Sapristi, they shall soon make
acquaintance with this bHou, and then
gare la lessons" He walked of, rubbing
his eyes and cursing and swearing in the
most terrible manner. He was moved
and knew of no other method of sooth-
ing his feelings. The King of Sardinia,
whose headquarters are at Occimiano,
has twice visited the Emperor here, stay
ing but an hour or so.
1t is amusing TO see how the Pied
montese troops observe the French corps
d'elite, and how they copy after them !;
but the imitation is but feeble attempt,
and although the Piedmontese may be
very good soldiers, they will never have
the careless nonchalance and martial look
Of the Zouaves or Chasseurs de VIM
cennes. often amuse myself passing
through the encampments rs the soldiers
are at their meals. IT'S time when dis
cipline is somewhat relaxed, and you see
the men gathered around the fires wait
Ting for the assurance that tout est pret.
The announcement once made they are
seated in circles of a dozen, having in the
center large pot of soup, after which
they eat the beef which is dealt out to
them each day by rations. l have no.
ticed that the Zouaves manage TO have a
fowl or two boiling in the pot. They
have obtained this accession to the meal
either by what is termed hooking it or
else the Zouzon, who is always gallant
has induced the farm maiden who adores
him, to make present to himself and
comrades. One thing is certain, where
other troops would starve the Zouaves
find abundance of provisions. The din
ner over, the spokesman of the party tells
some interesting tale Of what some form
er Zouave did in Africa. He is listened
to in solemn silence, only being interrupt
ed from time TO time with some such re-
mark as, C'eSt bien ca. VOLTA COM
nent le Zouzon arrange les afaires,' and
so on until the quick rattle of the drum
announces that the time has come for du.
ty to be attended to. Gay and careless,
these troops are, above all, active and
brave; they are ready to undertake at any
moment any desperate move, and theil
reputation throughout Europe has be-
come so generally known that it is an ad
ditional force gained for them.
The new rihed cannon, that are here
in great numbers, l have seen tried al
different times; they carry great dis
tance almost fabulous, and with certain
ty of aim that is also remarkable. Thes,
cannon will no doubt play great role il
the coming war. l say coming, for as ye
the deadly strife has not begun. Th'
Austrians do not seem at all anxious Il
meet the French, and when they take W
a position, they abandon it the mor1en
they find the French advancing upol
them. Still, this cannot go on long, anC
meeting must take place sooner or later
The Austrian troops have received NJ
pay for many months, and have beel
grumbling for long time. They hat
each other, and are constantly quarrelin.
among themselves. The Austrian army
composed of SO many different nationali
ties, cannot be as firmly united as th
t armies Of Piedmont and France. 4
check or defeat suffered by the Frencl
t would be momentary one, for in to-
. days two hundred thousand troops can al
r rive in Piedmont; while, on the contrary
Q should the Austrians be defeated, the
, could not again get an army together
a They were five months getting tho pres
{ ent one on war footing in time of peace
it would take them a year TO do so i
time of war, even if they could do so q
oil NTH M ,oonav oud no crad,f ~