New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1877-07-17

rHE BALKANS PASSED By THE AID or BOL"AhiA'
GUIDEs-NO RESISTANCE MADE BY THE TURKS
GEN. GoUREo AND THE BULGARIAN LEGION IN
THE ADVANCE.
LONDON. Monday, July 16' 1871
A telegram from ST. Petersburg says: " 1t Is OH
ciolv announced that the adyance-guard OF the hs-
sian army passed the Balkans on the evening OF the
18th inst. without firing shot Gen. Gourko, on the
afternoon of the 14th inst, surprised 800 Turkish SOL
dierS- who fled toward the village of kanorL Inc
Russians lost one killed and five wounded" hahati
Is fifteen miles northwest of Jeni Saghra' at tle
southern end Of a difficult and unfrequented road
known as the Twarditza Pass
A Reuter- telegram from Shumla. dated yesterday,
states that "a Russian column is marching upon the
Balkans by way of Demir-Kapu' This can hardly
be identical with the force reported at Jeni Saghr'
Concerning the latter Reuter- telegram dated Coh-
stantinople to-day. SAYS: Eighteen Russian bat
talions. led 10y Bulgarian guides have passed the
shipka defle. and arrived before Jeni Saglra Turk
h troops are beng concentrated to oppose Their ad-
vance,
This account may be wrong in matters Of detail,
for a correspondent Of The Nai'y Telegraph,
writing from Kasaulik. near the southern mouth
Of the SAipka dcfc, Us late as July Il,
said: ." send by way of Adranople the latest in
teliccnce from his important point. RaOut PaSha
is here Al the gateway Of the hills on the other
side of the Lesser Balkans CoSSacks have came close
up and some have even vcnturcd To make partial
"Reminiscences Of the passes The Turksarc prepar
mi, 10 hold every likely delc with the utmost rcso-
luton II would not Ice advisable 10 state the mum
her of troops RaoUf Pasha can already marshal for
the defense of the mountain passes, hut they are
numerous even now and Will Soon be heavily re-n-
forced. large portion of the Ottoman Imperial
Guard are here or near 81 hand Guns have been
placed IN all The commanding positions, or are beng
soplantcd while at Adrian0ple aud elsewhere the
work of fertilization goes forward with an
energy which win redeem whatever hardness may
have hitherto been shown" 1t seems hardly cred
lille from this report that eighteen batteries coming
through tine Shipka dcfilc emded Raouf PaSha, who
suether renartcd 10 have been defeated or to have
retreated. l. seems more probable that a force Of
CossackS have made their way across the mountains
BIZ a secret pass. aided by native guides. The Bal
kan Range ahound- in elevated plateaus, inhabited
By the Hcyducs bulgarian refugees, who have
held these natural fortresseS for generations
These Hcyducs are the only people who know the
Balkan, thoroughly and who are competent 70 point
ont every defe and pass through which troops are
able 70 march, Several Hcyduc chiefs, who were i'll
BeTadelast year. said there were passes utterly un-
known TO ;he Turks to any one else bat them
selves and their followers through which they could
lead infantry cavalry and mountain guns. These
Heyducs are in accord with the russians.
The first accounts said Russian force had crossed
the Heon Pass and was destitute of artillery
TIE INCEPTION OF TIE ENTERPRISE.
A letter from rmova. dated July II, has the fol-
lowing paragraph bearing on the subject: g As far
be ascertaned very few troops are in the Bal
kans have just seen young man from Helena
whom saw there last Summer who came here yes
terday and goes back tomorrow. He tells me there
no Turks in the vicinity vet this place is on the
direct road to Sliyena from which point Jambol on
the railway is soon reached. Gen. Gnrke has gone
forward in that direction to-day with cavalry and
artillery and the Bulgarian legion"
THE CAPTURE or RUsrcHUK ESSENTIAL.
The Times in its leading article says: " 1t would
no be surprisngif the main body of the army should
NOT atten,pt 10 cross the Balkans until Rustchuk be-
brought at least to the verge of submission With
that great fortress and the railway to Yana in their
hands. the invaders might venture to do much
which It would be worse than rash 10 attempt
now Or is 1t any answer to these calculations
that the COssacks have already penetrated
far into the country. Our Geographic intelligence
from Pera contains the surprising report that body
Of those swift hOrsemen have crossed the Balkans
and gone as farsouth rs the railway station between
Jamboli and Adranope: but such an expedition
can only have been made for the purpose of ascer-
tanning the practical difficulties Of crossing the Bal
kans, and the Cossacks may with draw as quickly as
they came 1t Will be impossible TO measure the
progressive power of the Russians until they have
Iald siege TO Rustchuk and fought great battle for
Possession of the line TO Varna"
TURKISH NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS..
A Therapia dispatch dated to-day says Official
kilograms direct from the Of action distinctly
contradict the private telegram announcing that the
Russians had crossed the Balkans, and that their adj
vance guard was between AdrianOpe and JambOli
The official kilograms declare that only few scouts
have crossed, and they easily driven back.
This statement indicates that the Turks playing
the same game of mystifcaton and eXaggeratiOn
here that they tried in Armenia early in June. Then
Their object was 10 find out whether IL possible
to force Great Britain 10 intervene by representing
that the Russians were masters of the EuphIates
Valley route TO india. Their efforts now probs-
bly, directed both to England and Austria, the
ace IN tins instance being that the road to Constan
hnople is IN the hands Of the Russians. IL Is GER
tam that no force Of Russians adequate for serious
operations has crossed the Balkans. 1t is equally
certain that the Turks would not let kilograms come
through if they did not want the impression created
uat they In a critical condition
INCIDENTS OF TIKI CAMPAIGN.
dispatch from C0nstanttnoph dated to-day