The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1877-09-06

LITTER PLEVNA.
Il Manned and MonrnftI Procession
Misunderstanding Scenes.

IF ever there was causeless human
Turkish Notifications before Plevna.
The whole country passed
through is so destitute of fuel that L
saw some Russian camps where the sol
diers were cooking over fires built with
| bundles of wheat from the adjacent
| fields. The Russians have been COM
PEELED in many instances to use this
newly gathered wheat for foraging their
horses. I saw no wells on my route,
and the only water was found where
natural springs had been walled up with
stone, and slab with pious Turkish
inscription placed over the stream
At 8 p. M, after leaving Sistova, I
was resting near one of these natural
fountains, when along line of ambulance
wagons, enshrouded in dense clouds of
dust, appeared over hill in the dis
tance. AS the head of the line reached
us and halted by the fountain, I learned
of the heavy battle fought the day be-
fore in front of the Turkish Notifications
around Plevna. The ambulance wagons
gradually gathered, until the large space
around the spring of cool water was COW
cred with these conveyances, filled
with human beings mangled in every
conceivable form, who gasped for
drop of water. Some could not
drink, as the attempts to swal-
low brought gushes of blood from
gaping wounds in the throat and chest,
which prevented them from cooling their
parched tongues covered with the hor-
rible dust which rose at the slightest
movement upon the roads. Weary with
this sorrowful scene, [ mounted my
horse and pushed on. A short distance
from the fountain [ encountered a second
ambulance train, loaded like its prede-
cessor. For two hours they continued
to pass me, and then came still longer
trains of country transport carts, loaded
with the less severe cases, intermixed
with an apparently endless stream of am
munition wagons, surplus baggage carts
and camp equipages, until finally the
road became completely blocked by the
indiscriminate mass of horses, carts,
wagons and mangled humanity, stream
ing toward Sistova. I was compelled to
lead my horse to q hillock by the road
side and wait for an opportunity to pass
on, as well as to allow my wagon to come
up. For more than an hour I stood
there watching the passage of this mot
ley caravan, and beheld the hundreds
of gallant fellows roll by in open spring
less carts, with a blazing sun pouring
down upon their blood-stained
forms, with choking clouds OF dust
parching their burning Threats, and set
Ting in masses upon their agonized
countenances, until they ceased to look
like human faces. While waiting for
the road to be cleared, we were often
asked if there were no troops coming to
the rescue, and many were the bitter
comments made on the folly of dashing
those brave fellows against the vastly
superior Moslem force, strongly in
tire nched on the height before Plevna.
One officer who was badly wounded had
led the extreme advance in the assault
on the Turkish intrenchments. He had
penetrated far into the Moslem lines, and
said if he had been properly supported
they could have carried the positions !;
but the column was not strong enough,
from want of troops or generalship, and
the Turks, finding this out, turned upon
them and drove them back with fearful
loss. "Not more than half of that col
umn came back, was the mournful close
of the wounded officers statement. I
learned here that the battle OF the previ-
GUS day had lasted from morning until
night, the Russian attack being made on
both wings of the Turkish line, under
the command of Gen. Krudener, who
led the right in person, while the Rus
sian left was commanded by Gen. Prince
Schakoffski. "We could not do any
thing with them; they we're too strong
for us, % was the universal remark of Off
GERS and soldiers, and their cruel wounds
told how wrathfully they had endeavored
to carry out the senseless orders to carry
Plevna by storm.
The above quotation really tells the
story of the battle. The immense num-
bers OF ammunition and transport wag-
, ons suggested momentarily Russian
retreat; but the absence of artillery re-
futed this idea, and saw that the am
munltlon wagons we're empty, and were
evidently going for supplies, while the
other wagons contained the tents and
!, camp equipage of the dead and wounded
which were no longer needed at the
front. While I was waiting at this place
poor fellow died in one of the wagons,
and was buried by the roadside. At
last, after the stream had been passing
me for four hours, / was enabled to pur-
sue my journey, and short distance
from my last hating place I came upon
mournful scene. The dead body of
another Russian soldier lay beside an
open grave by the roadside, while a
party of Bulgarians were saying their
funeral service.
Leaving this funeral group 1 socu
came upon an officer in command of the
escort of the immense trains had en-
countered on the roads. He said their
losses had been terrific before Plevna.
and that during the whole operations
around that place they had probably
lost 10, 200 men killed, wounded sick