Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1877-09-14

soul, TO the Russian cause, established thel
little local governments, levied upon Mosler
houses tor expenses, tried by drum-hea
court-martial such old tyrants as they coul
catch they organized "A police and an army
The revolt seemed SO pleasant "A thing tina
even in Philippopohs one week ago, the Bul
girians were ON the point of attempting
rising under the very eyes of the Pasha- Bu
there came change. Turkish troops arriv
ed aud swept over the country. The Rus
SLAMS assembled their scattered forces an,
deserted their Bulgarian allies. and tn,
wretched villagers fought to the death whei
they found they could not hee. At Esk
Saghra, the Russians established division
on July %. The people in wild delight threw
away their fez caps and donned their new
black sheepskin shakos, and gave themselve,
up to all manner of demonstrations of JOY
because Turkish rule was over for them
They established government here too
raised volunteers and equipped n local police
force. The rabhle pillaged houses and shop.
of the Moslems-f for the hour for reprisal,
had now arrived.
The Bulgarian Provisional Government al
Eski Saghra, as soon as constituted, hanged
| SIX Turks and shot four others, after trial by
courtmartial, for firing from their houses
upon the troops. Next day others were exc
cuted, and the next day. also, the formalities
| of trial being less in each case. until at last
Turks were taken ont of the city and killed
by any Bulgarian who chose to do SO. with.
ont form OF trial Ten Turks in one batch
We're so disposed OF, the eXecutioners hack.
ing them down with swords so dull that three
or four blows were needed in each case Al
the same time an order was issued prohibit
ing the sale of food to Turks. the object be-
ing to starve them into surrender of their
stock of secreted arms. AT last, however,
an order read in all the churches prohibited
| summary executions, and this stopped the
killing Of Turks, after perhaps hundred
| executions had taken place. The city WAS
then pretty quiet but on Tuesday, July 81,
the battle of Eski Saghra began, and by noon
the Turkish shells began to fall among the
| houses. As soon rs the shells began TO howl
through the streets there WAS II great move
ment in retreat of Bulgarians with their
families and goods. The Russians. however,
drove them back into the city at the point
of the hayonet again and again. not choosing
TO be encumbered in retreat by such II mass
Only forty minutes before the Turkish sklr-
inlshers entered the streets were the Rus
sian sentlnels removed, so that the Bulga-
flans could leave the town. Then ensued IA
fearful stampede OF the frightened crowd.
All the JOY and all the folly OF the previous
week made the collapse from hope TO terror
more complete. The mass of flying wagons
with men, women and children choked the
narrow pass which leads from Eski Saghra
north TO the kasanlik Valley. and then the
Turkish artillery increased the elevation Of
Its guns, and, tiiing over the town with dead
ly accuracy, dropped its shells into tine writh-
ing mass i'll the pass. The Bulgarian volun-
teers, who were fighting in line outside, had
orders TO defend the town, and never re-
celved any instructions TO desist SO they
fell back upon the town, fighting. and con-
tnued stubbornly TO fight i'll the streets, in
hlctlng serious loss on the Turkish advance,
receiving and asking no opportunity TO sur
render.
As the Turkish troops approached the city,
the Moslem inhabitants began 20 issue forth
from their hiding places. In fact. before the
troops had fairly entered the place, they
brought out axes and began to break in the
doors OF all Bulgarian houses. The Bulga-
rians had played their hand, and lost, and
the instant this was evident the Moslems haG
their turn. 1t took hardly ten minutes to
break in the doors of 500 houses. rush
was made for the residences of the richest
nabobs, which were cleared out before the
rabble undertook the systematic spoilation of
every house which followed. There was a
continuous and rapid fire of musketry going
on all over the city at the same time. The
Turks say that the Bulgarians fired from
houses and churches upon the troops There
are no Bulgarians left to give their side of
the story. All Bulgarian men seemed to be
killed at sight, as If by arrangement. Wo-
men and children were spared Us Il general
thing. But the hideous pillage, and the firing
and the shrieks and shouts continued all
night, and great districts of the city were
burning. as if all the other horrors were not
Z 40 Snl a..
ed all Moslems and Jews whom the Turks
protect rs if they were their own people-to
leave the place. since his contemplated ope-
ratlons did not include any such thing as the
defence of Eski Saghra- So the Turks load
Ell up their loot and their women and child
rem on wagons, and went to the nearest rail-
way station. followed by what seemed an end
less train of Bulgarian women and children
who bad lost all. These could see, in the
Turkish wagons, goods stolen from their
homes, but they might net dare ask fer them.
Eskl Saghra WAS left to the flames, and III its
streets and III the surrounding villages the
rattle OF rifles was constant for three or four
days. There seemed to be purpose to kill
every Bulgarian male over ten years of age.
The fair city. set on HILL used to look ont
over plain which tee med with busy peas
antry IN fertile fields. Now, from the scared
and bllstered hill, you look over the plain,
and its forty villages are blackened ash heaps,
foul from the hand OF death
The attempt to ameiorate the condition of
the Christians of this part of Turkey by war
Is not brilliant success, and the misman-
agement which armed these Bulcarians, and
encouraged them to desperate fighting
against their rulers, and then deserted them
IN their hour OF sore need was II terrible
crime. No one will ever know the exact loss
oi lie at Eskl Saghra. Seven thousand wo-
men and children of It's Christian population
are dependent ON charity in Adrlanuple to-
day. These people believe all of their male
relatives to have been killed. This, however,
is hardly so, since many Bulgarian men es-
capped with the Russians But the city Of
Eski Snghrn is lcntirely wiped out Of exist
euce.