The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1877-09-26
BEFORE PLEVNA.
nspulse Of The Turkish Attack on The Russian
Positions at Pshsat
THE DEATH OF A BRAVE MAN
Scenes Along the Road To and On
the Battle Field.

At ssst, . battle before Plevns! Yesterday (Fri
dsy) the Turks to the number OF aoeoo attacked I'M
Russans bore, and the result was victory scored .,
The Nuscovitss. truthful and conscisnsious cor
respondent am bound admit that only arrived
here in time 10 see a very brief part ofth battle !o
whom IL commenced wss ~ the Grand Dukes head
quarters at Gorney Siuden. had been here wait'ne
for the expected battle long that at last got tree
Of waiting and knowing of the concentration o.
troops toward Tirnova and selvi judged It my duty
70 search for adventures and more interesting felds
Of cornict elsewhere for here in Poradin, shut Out
rom HE world. could learn little or nothing o.
what was going on elsewhere. True, we learned
something about the Shpka affair bat three days age
,he general impression here that the Turks had
rathcr the best OF 1t IN the end. That the
Russians would not attack tho Plevna position
Tor some lime to como WAS certain, and SO deter
mined to 90 TO the Grand Dukes headquarters In
order ascertain something Of what was taking place
In other parts OF Bulgaria SO left ON Thursday
morning carly, arriving at Gorney Studen about seven
On the evening Of the dav. Headquarters seemed
Ike paradise com pared with our old homo in Fora
din. We found gooc restaurants and excellent camp
ing grounds, and areenty wished we could have the
former attached TO train.
RrsTcuuK WANTS SURRENDER.
Early on Friday morning the entire camp was in q
BALE OIL geutio eN0tcueut, suo ucWo hau sPt cou
that par.iamenlaire IRON Rustchuk had been brouSh,
Into camp early morning with bound Dyes, and that
his MISSION negotiate for the giving up Of that
fortress the garrison were permitted to with
draw with all the honors OF You will probably
know long before this reaches what the results OF
these negotiations were. At about one o'clock the
parliamentare left In the way he came, with
bound eyes, and conducted by Russian on1cer back
toward Rustchuk.
'sPofNrs" FROM THE
Shortly after the excitement caused by this episode
had subsidized went toward the Grand Dukes head
quarters. intending to pay my respects to Colonel
Hasen.Kampf, the Officer who has charge of the cor.
respondents attached TO the army. Just as was
passing in the gateway saw the Grand Duke and his
son issuing theretrom, both on horseback. The son
kissed his father II in aectionate farewell and the
Grand Duke riding away, attended by o few men,
bers OF his STAFF when orderly rode up and banded
him telegram He opened the message and read it,
and turning round where With two other
pondents standing, said in excellent English -:
.Genilemen, do you knew that battle is going
before Pievna ?''
NO. Your Highness" was the response.
at Is near Poradn, - he replied and rode away.
for one stunned a, tho news, for had only left
Poradn on the previous day, when all the armies
seemed II they would remain asleep tor years TO
come.
NACTfoy.
For three endless weeks had seen the Same long
rows with their mouths pointed in the direc
ton Pcvna, tbreatepngly, but SILENT had watched
The Cossacks and CIrcassians and soldiers take the
horsos down water al carly morning and at dusk ;
bad listened 10 the bands oil music play from sunrise
almost sunset aud anced at last that this of
things would last forever. 1t might have lasted long,
,.lo
rs Is just their won't but they did choose, as it
happened, unfortunately for them. Imagine II you
can, the mental state of who had left
important position only twenty Hour hours hearing
that battle raging there at the very moment he
away, possessed of horses that had made forty
i've miles the day before, one riding horse lame,
other ready for tho grave, and three small Wal
Iachian horses SO tired as 10 be worthless For
tuna,cly Tor mo one OF my fellow corre-
spondents wagons broken down, and l
Immediately proposed TO put his two horses before
mine, put my driver Of the leaders as pos
,lion and his own driver-in-chiet tightening my
own wagon OF all superauous baggage add attaching
the riding horses behind, ready in hall an
hour TO start A Russian correspondent had IN the
meantime Joined party, ana also Mr. Vilies. the
irtst OF the Graphic, both horseback and shortly
before two O'Clock cavalcade dashed away, to the
great surprise Of the entire camp.
CHANGES DAY
Shortly before reaching Bulgareui we passed
snrongh the valley DOVE which rushed the Russian
stampede after the last battle o: Pievna and where
only the day before we had a regiment marching
heavily laden urder the burning, dreadful sun. We
had seen two soldiers TALL down, stricken by the heat
To-day two little wooden crosses marked their
last resting places. Beyond Bulgarcni ten miles
from PoradIn We met long trains OF OK wagons
filed with peasants-meu, women and chdren-necing
from their homes In the villages where the conflict
was going on. Some, VIC learned, from Pc lisa, ,
others from Zyulinca and others from Poradin.
They told the usual stories OF horrors and series,
which afterwaru found were greatly exaggerated.
EXAGGERATED TALES WOE.
We heard for instance that the village OF Pellsat had
been set on FIRE by the Turks. We found to- day that
only single house had been burned and shat only
few shells bad reached the place. Two young boy OF
Zyulinca told how they had been driving horse
round the thrcshns floor when the battle comu.enccd
whereupon they mad fed leaving the horses still gon
their perpetual rounds. One would have imagined
hearing these stories that the entire district bcor
Poradin had become in u few hours dreary desoa
ton. What imagined Tor US
Had We not two days before, in Poraain alone
many as a dozen threshlng floors occupied in thu
aud women wnnowing the results Of tbe
abundant harvest in that equally primitive
manner by casting the wheat high IL tho
and letting the wind do the work of sfting an
carrying on the chany And this picture OF peace.
which Dad nourished amid the surroundings OF war,
mad been rutblessly destroyed, ana were to nnd
only deserted villages snok NJ and ruined
aud dexlh mag as well cay at once, however That
found nothing Of all this and although the peasants
had many led villages stood just as they
we're before.
ARRIVAL AT PoRApx.
We arrived at poradn shortly after SIX, and after
riding out TO PeIisat time sue the Russian
cavalry returning from frutless pursuit he Turks.
we had made the distance --iorty.hyc niles over
steep, MOUNTAINOUS aud bad roads-n es, than six
hours, and though wo ic regret not having viewed
the battle, the excemen OF the Journey quite repaid
us personally for that loss We comlorted too,
in knowing, immcdiatey after arrival tue
battle he,d, that tho battle had simply
nossapce on large scalc--being ia TACT an attic upt