Dodge City times., 1877-09-01

height and cover to ever so little exten
the wounded lying on and behind it from
the Bashi-Bazouks, who too certainly
were prowling in the vicinity, and evel
coming nearer and nearer. An attempt
had, indeed, been made to get together
4 detachment of infantry for this pur-
pose, and bugler, at the General:
order, persistently sounded the assem-
bly,, bat the result was merely to gather
a handful of stragglers from half dozen
different regiments; and although but a
company was wanted, that trivial
strength could not be collected, so the
General, his staff, and his escort took up
for the time kind of informal forepost
duty, and there we waited till the pale,
calm moon rose and poured the sheen
of her white radiance over the battle
field. While it was yet dark there had
been no cessation of the firing, both ar
tillary and musketry, and now that heav-
en- was holding candle TO hell, the fire
waxcd warmer and brisker. Up from
out of it, with broken tramp, came a de-
tachment, silent, jaded, powder-grimed.
There could not have been 4 company
all told; a Lieutenant marched at its
head, and it was the remnant, so far as
could be gathered, the sole remnant, of
one of the finest regiments of the Thirty
second Division that had crossed the
ridge over which its debris was now list
lessly trailing itself, three fine battalions
strong.
POOR PROTECTION.
AT last the jingle of cavalry accoutre-
ments was heard, and a squadron of
Dragons rode on to the heights, and
extending in skirmishing order relieved
the headquarters staff. Ii was poor
screen to interpose between victorious
and remorseless army and mass of
wounded men; but nothing more was
G-yailable. The General had lost an
army, the fragments Of an army had lost
their General We turned the heads of
our jadea horses, and silent and depress-
ed rode down the slope across the valley
and up the slope beyond. Our pace was
a slow walk, fof there We're wounded
men everywhere, lmping along the mar
row path in front of us, PROSTATE ON the
grass by the side of it, or asleep in the
very dust. Occasionally we struck de-
tachments of infantry who had scram-
bled back out of the fight, and were "
ing on their arms in utter ignorance of
the best direction in which to march
Or it might be a battery of artillery,
halted in perplexing dubiety whether if
they went on they might march into the
bosom of the Turkish army. l believe
there existed some intention that we
should go for the night to a village call
ed Bogot. But we got confused as to
the road, and bewildered by the crack
ding spurts of musketrv fire that broke
out all around in the most uncomforta-
BILE fashion. so Were the Turks then
wholly round us, that we heard, and oc-
casionally felt, fire as it seemed to north,
10 south, 10 east, and to west? Once
such was the confusion that we were
fired upon by detachment of Russian
troops, halted in equal bewilderment
with ourselves, and expecting 80
AN ENEMY FROM ANY OR EVERY SIDE.
We made halt after halt, but there never
was rest for US. "A squirt of near, firing
would stir US, or a Cossack would ride
in with intelligence that the. Bashi-
Bazouks were, proving near by, and
through all this harassment there yet
fingered with the most sanguine of us
the idea that the battle would be resum-
ed'next morning, we affording an 'artil-
lery support TO the isupposedfresh troops
of kudener.' Where, L asked myself,
is our artillery tbitake orders for such a
purpose? We did not know where we
were ourselves, much hess where the |
army was, of which this CROPPING, for
lorn, detected band We're the Iheadquar-
tiers. vi akrudener's experiences or
whereabouts We knew simply nothing.
Ii was useless TO dispatch aides-de-eamp
or orderlies without being able to give |