Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1877-06-08
The Turkish ,:regulars.
From the BostCu Advertiser.

The Turkish army is composed of five or
dus. The ni.ana, OF regiments of the line;
the redit. or reserve the auXiliaries furnish
ed by the nearly independent tributary
pashas. the irregulars from every source and
the constablery. OF these, perhaps the most
interesting at the present moment are the
irregulars. First on the list comes the
bashi- -bazouk, whose name has become
horror in connection with the Bulgarian mas
sacres. lie is a dark-brown. wild-looking
fellow, in golden clothes-a modern captain
of a fire company. His arms are wonder of
expensive uselessness The settings OF his
pistols are perhaps solid silver, or silver gilt,
inad with precious stones, but their barrels
are probably made by some clumsy Greek ar
morer; their locks are on the old tint-and-
steel principle. and bad of their kind; yet
the treacherous flint is of course fixed in
silver holder and the worthless lock has
most probably an enormous turquoise stuck
rudely upon it. He is now supplied with
breeCh-loading carbine which he decorates
according to his own fancy and which is real
ly his only serviceable weapon. SO much
for his arms; and his dress is entirely in
keeping. The fellow is a barbarian and
looks like it. He is tawdry, loose, and dirty
beyond belief He is fierce, selfish and
greedy to an equal degree. He Is clumsy and
awkward. His gorgeous clothes seem to be
thrown on rather than put on, and his ap-
parel presents the same odd contrasts as his
mind. He comes from some iar-away coun-
try from the mountains of karamania or
Albania, from Syria or where not-so that he
does not comply with the modern fashion of
the Turks at Constantinople, and cover his
head merely with red cap; but he twines
an immense shawl in picturesque folds round
and round it, till be looks when sitting down
like a huge mushroom. An immense sash of
thick silk is wound many times round his
loins and again above it is girded Il broad,
thick, red leathern belt with pockets and re-
ceptacles for arms. This makes a capital
support for n man who sometimes passes
twenty hours on horseback at a time, and
who never saw chair with back to it. His
pistols and silver-sheathed sword-as splendid
and untrustworthy as the pistols stick out
SO far both before and behind that he could
hardly wear a long coat, or button even a
short one. His waistcoat is one dirty blaze
of bad embroidery in front, and he has also
embroidered sleeves TO 1t, while his Jacket Is
made somewhat on the principle of the old
hussars' pelisSe-save that 1t covers both
shoulders, that is to say, the large, fantas
tic, open sleeves hang down behind like
fanciful pair of golden wings. His breeches
are also embroidered, and they appear at
first sight too short, tor they fasten far above
the knee leaving the hinges of the leg as
free as Highlanders, and probably for the
same reason. From the commencement of
the calf OF the leg down to the ankle the
limb is bandagcd as tightly as strength can
bandage it; it is bandaged till the leg becomes
as hard, as shapeless, and almost as thin as
a broomstick. Over this bandage he wears
leggings of the same eternal gold tinsel, con-
fined by long, gay garters of Haunting scar
let silk. His shoes are curiously old and
frail. and he kicks them off upon every op-
portunity, and curls his legs under him.
Such, then, are the characteristics of the
bashi- bazouk. from which it may be auGured
that he Is not a very profitable auxiliary. To
a general ill-surplled with Il commissariat,
however, he is not without his uses. for he is
abstemious almost to- contempt Of daily
food; few grapes OF olives, according TO the
season, lump of coarse black bread, u few
onions and Il little unsweetened coffee is all
that he cares for; but. on the other hand, he
has none OF the virtues or vices OF the SOL
dier. He avoids fighting whenever 1t is pos
sible, and will think it all extremely proper
thing to decamp upon the approach of dam
ger, whilst his idea OF the duties of the mill
tary profession Is firing felon shots from
rock ON the sea-cosst, or n tree by the way
SIDE MS glory Is 10 huIprlse anu Dutcner
the defenceless US they pass through some
lonely mountain gorge.
If all the Turkish irregulars answered to
this character. they would be irregular in
deed; but some are of u better stamp. The
Arnauts, the Albanian Mussulmans, are
fine set of fellows. Scorning European Co.'S
tune, they are yet not SO reckless rs the vol
unteeIs who come in from Asia Minor The
Arnaut, with his jacket OF fine red cloth or
silk, his braided and buttoned vest, his
white. many-folded fustinella, his red cap
placed jauntily on his head. his red CATERS,
pointed red shoes, silken sash. pistols. long
gun and crooked sabre. is picturesque
looking parsonage. having about him much
Of that dash and spirit SO observable in
mountaineers. But of all the irreSularE of
the Turkish army perhaps none are more re-
markable than the contingent furnished by
the kurds. Slight rs is the allegiance of
these semi-harbaroua rovers TO the Sultan,
the fiery zeal Of the Moslem burns in their
breast, and their hatred of the Muscovite
makes them pitiless enemies. As IL rule they
are dirty, badly armed, some of them having
nothing hut bows and arrows; but they arc
splendid horsemen, and able TO endure both
priyatlOu and fatigue