, 1877-09-29
WARS HORRORS.
FEARFUL PICTURE OF RUSSIAN cRUELrIEs
AT EShI-SAGARA,

FEARFUL PICTURE OF RUSSIAN CRUELrIES
AT ESRi-SAGARA.
A Russian corporal, arrested as a spy by
| Turkish cutposts, was recently brought to
the head quarters of the Ottman army,
south Of the Balkans, and told horrible
story OF the sack of Eski-Sagara by him.
self and his friends. A Daily Telegraph
correspondent writes of the miscreant ;
- He did not tell the tale hastily, as though
he was shocked CT excited on the contrary
he held his head little on one side, looked
at the wall, and in the quietest possible
mar 'er, and Voice very soft and steady,
| spoke as follows We certainly did Kill
everybody we found on entering Eski-Sagara;
We were told, IN fact, to eXterminate the
Turks. and We did our best to carry out the
order. OF course did not see all that was
done; my attention was principally drawn
to one incident which took place in a farm
yard Our men took some twenty Turkish
women and children, placed Them in a barn,
illied the place with straw and hay, and
then
EUENT THEN 70 DEATH.
L was greatly interested in this, and watch
ed 1t for some time. OF course | took no
part III the business There was something
so cool about this recital that felt nv blood
standing still IN my veins. Had the man
been telling me of an eclipse of the moon
winch he had chanced to witness, or of some
interesting scientific experiment. he could
net have talked with less emotion. could
scarcely believe ny ears, and begged him to
repeat what he said. Again the awful mar
ratlve was given. And pray, said |. what
dld your comrades do wheG the women and
children cried for mercy?' They danced
Buigarians and Russians round the barn as
1T biazed, was the quiet, composed reply,
and still the reciter looked at the walls as
though the pattern of the paper were not al.
together unpleasant to him. To me it seemed
that, had been the witneSs of such a spec,
tacle, the pitiful
CRIES OF THOSE HELPLESS BAEES
and women would have haunted me forever.
They appeared to have struck no svmpathetic
chord IN this Russians heart He regarded
the incident as not altogether devoid of in,
terest; as something worth recOunting, in
fact, Just as he would have considered the
destruction of an empty and valueless build
mS, had no women and children been IL it.
Inc thought OF their torture and despair
never occurred to HIM. They were Turks,
and the order to eXterminatc Turks had been
given him-that sufiiced He told us how
he had been detained at Sistova. three davs
only; how he had gone BY forced marches
to the balkans; how they had passed through
the detl!eS without resistance, and how they
had expected to find Constantinople at their
feet when they got across, in the same quiet
and somewhat amused manner, as though he
regarded the whole business in the Egnt of
slight mistake, and as though the want of
geographical knowledge displayed by the
RUSSIAN soldiers, who thought StambOul was
Jnst close TO the passes, were about on 4 par
with their want of merciful pity for the
twenty wretehed victims In the farmyard. |
have heard the recitals of horrible deeds be-
fore : | once watched a fine old Montenecrin
gentleman as he rccountcd how he had
SLAIN THREE ENEMIES IN COLD BLOOD.
but Inever shuddered as did while list
enel TO the story of Nicholas Maxim His
voice was of the gentlest, but what tale of
horror it told 1t was an dolian harp play
ing the dance Of death-the softest of breezes
breathing blood and cruelty. "They danced
around the bern as it blazed, he said,
Bear III mind that he was by no means
forced to tell the terrible tale. He had been
captured by sturoy MosleIn, not far from
the scene of murder, as he Hmped along af-
ter his flying comrades, and he had vOlun-
teerel the story and pointed out the spot
without being questioned. One of the very
few Russians spared when the day of ven
geance came, he had no motive for implicat-
ing himself IN such fearful act | think,
despite the quiet smile, the man had not a
cruel heart: that he deplored, in fact, the
OF his countrymen to such meth
od of amusing themselves, and would much
rather have to recount something else. But
as the butchery hal occurred, and the Turks
had limited that they should Ike to know
what had become of their wives and chill
dren, he felt inclined to point TO the
ELACKESED RUINS AND cHARRED BONES
IN order 70 spare the survivors the pain
which springs from fruitless hope; as though
he had wished To say, 'tDo not waste time
in expecting that you will find your women
and babes again. They have really all been
burned witnessed the death of twenty of
them myself It was not at all an interest
ing spectacle, its only folly lying In this,
that there was no absolute need for the butch
cry; otherwise as a remembrance the sight
was not wholly unpleasant to me-" 1t was
clear that if he had not exerted himself to
help kill the poor people, he had not made
any great effort to save them The utter abb
sence of anything approaching what we are
accustomed to regard rs human feeling won
derfully amazed me- 1t was not SO much
that the Elan was hideously cruel as that he
did not appear to understand that the tender
limbs of babes and women ought not to be
burnt, ard that to seorch these helpless ones
to death was horrible crime.