The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1870-09-22

the expanded nostrils, the open lips display
ing the full length of the teeth. In some Q
the faces of these noble animals every hal
seemed to tell a tale of terror. The attitude
of the horses in death were as various ant
fascinating in their interest as those of tn
men. Oh for an artist to have made Il stud,
lof themi Here is a grand bay horse sho
through by an exploded shell, hisleft shoulder
crushed and q hole in his flank half as large
us the head of flour barrel Stricken dow
with his legs under him and his chin in tn,
dirt and there was in his
| STARING EYES AND STARTLING GRIN
the suggestion of a horrible Shrek Her,
was another, shot through the head and prom,
on his side In his struggle he had torn thu
clover sod with his feet, and the bloody frotl
blown from his nostrils, spoke of the desper
ate agony of his dying breath. A beautiful
young mare, in whose satin skin and hand
some limbs, and graceful head, tipped with
dainty ears, any horse fancier would have
detected the marks of gentle blood, had clasp
led her legs, as if they were human arms,
against her body which had been shot through
Many were on their backs, theirlegs extended
SO numerous We're they that, glancing ovel
the field horses legs could be seen sticking up
on all sides, making a display that would
p
hdeous.
GROUP FOR A PHOTOGRAPHER.
In the Gravelolte letter | referred to the
seven horses and forty men dead in group
There was chance for photographer. If
the photographers Of Europe had half the
enterprise they have in America, some of
them would have been on the spot, however
extreme the trouble of getting there. That
slaughtered heap contained soldiers of both
armies, and not a rag should have been
changed or shifted for the purpose of the
artist. 1t was in its dreadful picturesqueness
complete. The open caisson, the horses at
the wheels
DEATH sMITTEN AT THE SAME STROKE,
the red brooches of France and the blue coats
of Prussia piled together, caps and hemlcts,
knapsacks, swords and bayonets, muskets
and sabrcs, the hammers for cleaning can
non one OF them broken, chassepots, needle
guns literally lying across each other, the
ground pitted with shells, a dozen marks OF
them within q square rod, black holes where
they had burst, intentions where they had
bounced, deep acrisions where they struck
and lay exploded. | counted thirteen OF
these in cluster, and SO small was the
space you could have concealed half of them
'hNtSi ~ w .'soOA SONSl.
HEAPS OF CORPSES.
The little town of Vionville was heaped
with corpses. The garden walls were over
thrown, the houses shivered with shot, and
Que that had been fired in battle still burning
Every house had been Il slaughter house
Ihc Prussians had removed nearly all their
dead, but the French cOrpscs were SO thick
that one would think the battle had been fol
them, at that point, massacre. Extending
across the Paris road from Vionville south
ward was 4 line on which the French had
stood, their faces toward Paris How MANY
miles of corpses there were here, in row,
revealing the ground on which the French
had made their last stand on the second day,
do not know, but | certainly saw two miles
of them.
TIE AWFUL STRUGGLE.
Traces Of the ferocious energy with which
the French had sought to hurl back the over
bearing legions of Germany were still to be
seen in their dead faces A few had the
look of meekness and resignation, as if death
had not come before visions of peace, but the
many had fixed tierceness quite tiger-like,
it was remarkable that this wild animal as
pect was not noticeable among the fallen
Germans. Their attitude in death seldom
French, i'll very many instances, had received
their mortal hurts when every nerve ant
muscle was strained with the excitement
Of some furious endeavOr.
A SHATTERED VILLAGE.
The village of Gravelotte was filled with
the usual evidence of strite-broken walls,
shattered roofs, tramplcd gardens, wounded
men, bloody straw. A thunder storm came
and hoI Ia Of
ing the rafting peals of heavens artillery
with the fresh remembrance of the sound o.
the guns of the French and Germans.
must give the celestial artillery credit fol
superiority in sharpness of reports, but the
war guns have profound ugliness of sound
and continuity and presidency much moro
impressive than occasional thunder claps.
THUNDER STORM.
The rain fell heavily for few moments
wet enough to make the first inch of the dus
sticky, and to load down legweary pc
destrians with rapid accumulations of mu(
chapel of the village was hospital filled
with men too badly wounded for removal
The mangled French and Prussians were
huddlcd together on the straw, and the
weary surgeons We're still at work with them
Some whose wounds were dressed lay tucked
in their blankets, with an air of comfortable
ness. The others were suffering intensely,
their CLASSY stare, clinched teeth and heavy
breathing were evidence.
A PAINFUL SCENE.
A young Prussian, tall and gentlemanly
soldier, was near the door, lying on his face
and Il civilian, who seemed to have a special
interest in the case was, with trembling
fingers, removing his clothing to look at the
wound. lie found on the white, round body
OF the young man, near the spine, Il bright
red spot, and looking no further, burst into
tears.
THE WORK OF BURYING.
One of our English friends dismountcd tc
give me a rest in riding, which was a mos
acceptable courtesy and we presently passed &
field where large burial party were at work
They had dug Il trench about seven feet in
width, wasting Il very few inches, and two
or three feet in depth (liberal measurement, J
and had gathered the dead from the vicinity
While some were digging, others were pick
ing up the dead. The way they do that is,
four men using shovcl-handles or muskets,
as may be convenient, us hand-spikes, put
them under the shoulders and knees of the
corpse, and carry it to the side of the grave
then each corpse is lifted by two men, one
at the head and the other at the heels, anC
placed in the trench, where, the face being
covered by some article of clothing (cap OF
coat usually the dirt is loosely shoveled on
vn1l nha I,:,