River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1876-11-30
A Ride Among the Dead and Wounded Ser
VANS.

The correspondent of the London
Standard who is with the Turkish staff,
gives description of the operations
against AlexinatZ. In describing the
field after one of the several engage
mentS he says:
Col. Mehmed and were the first and
until now the only ones, who havepen-
etrated begond the haystack on which
the Zeibeck keeps watch we expected
to be received by some shots. but in
stead of armed foes we found dead en-
emies. First we saw a eemetry half
hidden by old lime trees the graves Of
which had been opened. and skeletons
and purifying corpses lay strewn
about. No Turk had reached this
point, so this desOlation and robbing
had been the work of Servians, prob
ably of maruders. A hundred steps fur
Their on we came upon number of
Servian eorpses, most of them in that
early state of decomposition when the
body Swells TO an enormous size. Some
of them, however, could have only
been dead for short time, for their
bodies were still warm and unstiffeped.
We had not dreampt what havoc our
two batteries and the cavalry attack
had made ON Friday. The defeat of
the Servians must have been much
more severe than we imagined, as the
enemy had left his dead and wounded
behind, close 10 the rivers bank. The
poor wounded! what terrible agony
they must have endured, lying among
corpses, and deprived of all consola.
ton and help. How many groanS and
signs must have passed the quiyering
lips and been lost in the empty air.
Near an adjunct lay two photographs
which must have slipped from his d.
ing hand one represented the dead
man, but in the uniform of Russian
major or colonel, and the other young
woman with fair treSSeS, a prominent
nose and light-colored eyes. The pho.
tograps were taken in Moscow on the
back of the mans stood in pencil, Nj
coly Karroff. | knew not in what re-
lation the woman stood to the officer
but whether wife, sister or betrothed,
it is certain his last thoughts were of
her. Not far from him lay another
officer, his right hand pressed ON his
breast, where the splinter of shell
had struck him, and gresping piece
of paper. A strong Llan, he appeared
~ AASbN Oh hS tSlCA AOAAt3 WIN NNaAAis aiAo
face, which had the unmistakable Rus
sian type, being distorted with pain.
1t was with difficulty that the paper
was removed from his hand. 1t was
letter without any date, in cryilic
writing, and evidently from child's
hand. Col. Mehmed, who was once in
the Russian service (he is Circassian
from Daghestan, subjected by Russia
more than fifty years ago, and under
stands Russianl, translated the letter
into Turkish and then one of our cos
sacks, Pole, who had been brought
up in France gave me the contents in
French, as follows:
DEAREST FATHER-Be good enough, dearest
father, TO come back from the war. Since YOU
have been away mother weeps continually,
and she dreams every night that thou liest UNI
der tree Come tous, dear father for moth
er has become so pale, and is always crying.
am very good, so that she may not cry still
more, and when thou contest back will re-
main good, and never be naughty again. But
thou must come soon, father, and kiss mother
that she may become red again and also kiss
thy little Minka.
do not know whether it was the
letter, which the dying man probably
read again and again, but it is fact,
seemed to loose all courage, and even
on the defiant countenance OF the colo
mel lay a shadow.