The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1877-12-06
THE HORRORS OF BATTLE.


field has been painted in colors by the
special correspondent of the Daily
Telegraph-himself, also, an appalled,
eyewitness. Passing, at the Iimmi-
nent risk of his life, through the Rus
sian lines to Plevna. under the
guidance of six gallant and faithful
Clrcassians, he contrived to get within
that wonderfully constructed semi-cir-
Gle, or rather. horseshoe of Businesses.
the creation of which by Osman Pasha
is masterpiece of military engineer
ing. There, cOnverging from the
mortars of the assailants, has poured
into Turkish lines an iron storm of
shells to the number of 10000. Under
that binding teu d'e1fer the dauntless
ottoman defender has all this terrible
while been holding his ground, Osman
Pasha himself having, with admirable
forethought, established his head
quarters in SO central position, that
he has been all along enabled to take
in at one view the entire field Of Oper-
atoms. and Ito use his reserves always
with mastery effect. RecOunting the
deeds Of daring and slaughter done
there by wholesale all around that
impregnable stronghold of Plevan, the
special correspondent of the Daily
Telegraph describes with CHASTITY eff
feet the pitiless squandering of human
life 10y the assailants in attempting
the almost impossible achievement of
taking those trenches. ''in the immi-
nent and deadly BREACH at the mouth
of those rifled cannon, and at the mnz-
zles of those serted arms of precision.
"It was a splendid and thrilling, but
most terrible sight, he says, ''to see
the long lines (of the muscovites) top
ping the brow and breaking into the
critical impulse of the charge. AS the
Russians thus accelerated their pace
the Turks in the trenches opened upon
them a perfectly consuming fire from
their rifles, loading and discharging
with the most extraordinary and i'm.
passive GOODNESS, the effect which was
literally to wipe away line after line
Of those doomed Muscovite as they
successfully appeared upon the ridge
of the hill.
NO sight. think. was ever seer
before like this in warfare. 1t was
the fearful triumph of the breach-load
ing arm of precision. Each successive
Russian battalian, as it bravely crown
ed that fatal plateau, was mown dowl
by the deadly fire as ridges of wheat g
prone to the earth before reapers
Again and again it seemed that scarce
~ a single man stood up alive after tn,
thunder of one of these tempests o
bullets. The Turkish officers mean
time, with calmness worthy of tn
cool and sturdy stuff that they com
manded. directed their men to loa,
and fire Us steadily as possible. and t
hold the muzzles of their rifles low
down at the waistbelts of their foe
Nevertheless. he continues. .sthougl
the leading Russian files thus fade,
away from the front of the Turkisl
trenches, the same tactics of rein
forcements were being pursued; and
augmented by ever-fresh bodies O
men, another and another attack wa
delivered on the northern face. TIL
results were always exactly the same
| The devotion or desperation of tn
enemy could not carry him past tn
edge OF those clouds of smoke curtin,
}, in lighted wreaths from the trenches
, and the moment came here also whe
the Turks, with load of victor,
dashed their cover, and furiousl
. swept the remnants of their enem
r from the hill. scarcely numberin
now more than a few hundreds q
i, survivors. estimate, from some e,
perience of battle-felds, the dead an
wounded that lay around Pleyna aftt
J all this bloody work at between | .O(
and 1000. The Turks brought BAG
nine prisoners to the redoubts. VII
I. :. told us that there were battalion
!. among those of their side whic
: : charged first which had not a doze
! men saved alive
> Scenes like this were repeated aga
' and again, literally usque ad nausea,
during the actual period of carnag
But afterwards, as this terrible trut
full eyewitness writes. the sight
sights to which his thoughts recurr,
land to which, as he says, they mu
d ever recur with mingled admiral il