The mountain Democrat., 1863-11-07
THE GIPsY,s PROPHECY.
An Austrian officer. Baron Won w

! y, a
few years at A. He took delight in
speaking Of the various extraordinary
events which occurred in the coSe Of
his campaigns. The following story is
given in the words in which the baron
himself related it, '.-
In the spring Of the year 1888, I set
out from Miclos. Var, in Transylvania, for
the purpose of conducting some recruits
to my regiment, then stationed in the
: neighborhood Of Olsowa. In a village
near the army lived Gipsy woman, who
followed the trade of sutler. My new
= soldiers, who were very supeTsiitiONs,
asked her to tell them their fortunes
ridiculed them, and, laughing heartily,
presented my hand to the fortune-t teller.
THE twentieth Of August!' said she to
me, with significant look, and without
adding syllable. wished for an expla-
nation, but she repeated the same words;
and as l was going away, she again cried
out TO me, in the same tone-'The twen-
tietb Of August 1t may easily be con-
ceiyed that this date was impressed upon
my memory.
We reached the army, the fatigueS and
dangers of which We shared. 1t is gene
rally known that in this war the Turks
took no prisoners, Their officers set the
price Of ducat upon each head brought
to the camp. The JaniSsaries and Spahs
neglected no opportunity Of earning this
reward. This arrangement proved par
ticularly fatal to our advanced posts.-
Scarcely q night passed but the Turks
came in superior numbers in quest of
heads. The excursions were conducted
with such secreSy and dispatch that they
were seldom unsuccessful, and often at
dHybrcak the camp was found guarded
only by hcadless trunks. The Prince OF
Coburg determined to send every night
strong pickcts of cavalry beyond the line
Of videtteS, to protect them. The pick.
cts were composed Of from one hundred
to two hundred men; but the Turkish
General, enraged at seeing his people dis
turbed at their trade, dispatched still
stronger detachments against our picketS,
which procured them a much larger prof
it. The service Of the pickcts thus be-
came SO dangerous that when a person
was sent uron it he arranged his affairs
before he set out.
month Of August Some actions had not
changed the position Of the army. About
week before the twentieth, the Gipsy
woman, of whom had often purchased
provisions, made her appearance. She
entered my tent, and entreatcd me to
leave her legacy in case should perish
OH the day she had predicted; and offered
TO engage, in case should survive it, to
make me present Of basket o! Tokay
wine. This wine is very rare in the ar
my. | thought the woman silly. In
my profession speedy death was by no
means improbable; but had 10 reason
for expecting to die precisely on the Goth
Of August. agreed to her proposition;
| wagcrcd two horses and fifty ducats
against the old woman's Tokay wine. and
the auditor Of the regiment, not without
smiling, committed our agreement to
writing
The Goth Of August arrived. There
was no appearance of hostility. 1t was
the turn Of our regiment to furnish pick
ct for the night; but two of my comrades
were to precc1e the. The evening came,
and as the hu>Sars were about to depart,
the surgeon announced to the general
that the officer appointed to the picket
had fallen dangerously i'll. The officer
who was next in turn before me was or
dered to take his place. He hastily dress
ed himself, and prepared to join his men,
but his horse, good tempered and fine
animal, suddenly reared, and at length
threw his rider, who had his leg broken
by the fall. 1t was now my turn. set
out, but, confess, not in my usual good
spirits.
commanded eighty men, and was
Joined by one hundred and twenty be.
longing to another regiment, making in
all two hundred. Our stations were
about thousand PAGES in front of the
right wing, aud were supported by
marsh covered with very high reeds We
hai no sentinels in advance, and none of
US dismountcd. We had orders to keep
our Sabres drawn and carbineS loaded till
daybreak. All was quiet for an hour and
three-quarterS, when we heard noise
and shouts of 'Allah!' 'Allah!' and in
an instant all the horses of the front rank
we're overthrown, either by the sudden
fire or the shock of from seven to eight
hundred Turks. They lost as many on
their side, both by the impetuosity of
r. cir charge and the fire from our car
bines. They knew the ground perfectly
well we were surrounded and defeated.
They often fired at random. | received
many sabre wounds, as well from friends
as foes my horse was mortally wounded;
he fell on my right leg, and kept me down
upon the bloody sand. The flashes Of
pistols threw some light upon the carnage.
| looked up, and saw our party defend
themselves with the courage Of despair :;
but the Turks, intoxicated with opium,
made horrible massacre; there was soon
on the ground. The conquerors seized
the horses which were yet serviceable,
plundered the dead and wounded, and
then cut off their heads and put them in
to sacks, which they had brought ex-
pressly for the purpose. My situation
was not very enviable. In the Szelkler
corps we were pretty well acquainted
with the Turkish language: heard them
urge one another to finish before assist
ance arrived, and not to leave ducat be-
hind, adding there could not be fewer
than two hundred of US hence it is evil
dent they were well informed. While
they passed and repassed over melville
legs, arms and balls flew over my head in
all directions, my horse received another
wound, which caused him to make a con-
vulsive motion. My leg was disengaged,
and Immediately determined, if posi-
BILE, to conceal myself among the reeds of
the marsh. l had seen several of our
men taken in the attempt to do so; but
the fire had considerably siackened, and