The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1877-10-12
VOL. XIII. NO. Sc.
IN THE RUSSIAN CAMPS.
Horrible Scene-TurkIsh Soldiers Prefer
DeatH 10 TranspOrtRt iGII-Their Rag
Ked UnIfDrnF- aud Splendid Arms.

headquarters before plevna; is II possible,
still more wretched place Than toni
Htuden, Hadii Koi, and the other Villages
4ear by. When rain comes one feels
Atterly wretched, being obliged TO huddle
INTO habitation which the bugs di-pute
with him, and where the presence of the
sas1iy-initiated scorpion is quite probable
The roads fp~n Porsdim towards the old
battle=felg<Plevna--lt seems already a.
II the afsF occurreda a century ago--~are in
an indescribably bad condition retreat
I along them would be almost an impossi-
bility 10 that it seems as if the Russians
must 90 ahead in any case. Hundreds
7 OF dead still lie unburied on this terrible
I field, and, sad to relate, hut true, the
ownerless dogs that infest this country
( have eaten the corpse OF many 2 brave
( hero. This is oflc Of the most revolving
s5atures Of the present campaign. There
&C. q ehah2a for the Rllssiens 20
fcive Christisn burial to these un'OTtu-
mates they lay too near the entrench-
ments from which the TURKS can at any
/ time pour forth a murdeTous fire. The
+ stencil from the field, in this terrible
/ climate, is cimply intOlerable for human
beings; one is compelled to fly as rapidly
/ "a possible even the hOrses scream with
disgust when they are compelled 10 APP
/ prosch this CHASTITY array Of the results
! of violent death. Here and there lie
multilated bodies rotting in the sun and
rain. SucS Sspectacles sometimes move
I the Russian soldiers 70 terrible threats OF
/ vengeance, which their ofilcers will not
allow them to fulfill. The soldiers have
murmured q few times at the very kind
treatment accorded by the Russian
authorities 10 their prisoners. But ! am
inclined to think that it Furnishes the
Turk worse 10 send him way into the
north of Russia than it would to kill him
on the mo quarter" principle. He
would take the death at the hands Of his
enemy as a sure passport into Paradise
but he feels keenly the long journey
away from home, and especially from
Mussulman habits Foreign countries
have no charm for him he detests and
despises them 4 am, Of course, speaking
of the rank and file now ard home
sickness frequently drives the Turk 20
suicide. Gases Of this kind happened
repeatedly when ~uleim2n Pasha's army
was operating In herzegovina and in
Montenegro. I have seen great many
Turkish prisoners. and it must be ad-
mitted that they looked pretty thoroughly
punished. The other day, while crossing
.
and there only by friendly wells, rising
their long sweeps like skinny arms,
beckoning the traveller to approach and
be refreshed, / came upon six hundred
prisoners. escorted by about forty soldiers,
toiling along the wastes of this Oriental
desert. The procession was picturesque
enough. certainly, but it was full OF
misery. There were three officers in an
ox-cart-imagipe iOurneying across the
desert in an cx-cart---ThC served so well
to illustrate some types cOmmOd IN the
Turkish army that / will describe them
for YOU. One was the traditional ragged
captain. who has not been paid for two
or three wears and whose EurOpean-like
uniform is q mass of RAGS and patches.
. To see such scarecrow eiilcer equipped
with eloquent side arms--a beautiful
Damascus blade and an American rev0i-
YER not but provoke n smile But
the captains mien was a. proud as though
his pockets were loaded with gold, and
Wien he pulled his blue tattered coat
about him, and turned his bronze-colored
face toward the sky with grim dignity
be seemed TO be invoking the approba-
ton Of Allah for his patience and self
denial The second was an officer of
high rank.-evidentlv Of Asiatic birth,
and one of the old school Turks. who do
not believe that the infidel has any right
10 live, and who has proud memories
about the grandeur OF the Turkish empire
once on q time. He wore turbau,
cracefully folded around his head. but
pushed back from a broad and rather
impressive brow He looked neither to
the right nor the left as the procession
psssed his arms were folded on his
"a N~H 80 i
vacancy. He was made Of the stuff
which prompts the fanatical Turk 10
order the wholesale slaughter of Chris
tians, as at Eski and Jeni-Saghra, at
Lovca and Plevna, at PhiliipOpois and
Adianople. at Kazanlik and karabuuar.
His clothes were rich and his arms were
decorated with silver and gems. Why
the Russians allow these fellows to retain
/ their swords I have not yet been able to
( discover. tits certain that if the emperor
I had not made many express commands
concerning the exercise OF mercy and
courtesy towards the enemy, some OF
/ these superior Turkish officers would
have Jared very badly. The third
/ prisoner in the ox-cart was a thorough
/ tvpe of the commander of irregulars,
/ brigand, if there was one. a professional
/ murder, who would prefer TO cut throat
rather than TO spare q life, whose hatred
for the Russian was only an excuse for
I the exercise of his vi.iiauOus trade. This
man reminded me, while gazing at his
face. of a fox and a tiger. He had all
the slyness of the one and the caprlciOus
ferocitv az fblOOd thi!stiness of the other
written On his mean. low brow, in the
rapid glances os his small twinklmg eyes
and in his rapid, sinuOus movements
Such men when taken are nearly always
found armed with a small knife, whose
blade is shaped ike crescent Tue
gentle New England reader may place
perfect credence in the fact that this
knife is manufactured expressly for the
purpose of cutting thrOats. It's peculiar
shape renders it specially adaptable te
this amusement. In addition TO this
knife, the commander Of the irregulars
generally carries two long pistols, antique
In fashion. and firing ball about the size
of a marble, such as boys play with at
school; yataghau, with an ivory or bone
handle, and a blade on which some very
mysterious locking characters are traced
in the Turkish script small steel pin,
used for putting out the eyes of prisoners;
and an ugly looking gun, which, J am
happy tdOstate, is generally not very
dangerous. Some of these fiends, how
ever, are beginning to get possession OF
Winchester rifles, made in America, to
kill Christians With, and sold with the
knowledge that they will be used u shed
the blood OF harmeless women and chill
dren. (Humi it makes one pause and
! reflect, dosen't it?)-Ed;rdrd Kings letter
! 10 tte boston J0urHG.