Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1877-09-22

ulCutSs VI WulCu VIC u8NS ucdfu 50 muC0,
are very long in making their appear.
ance on the theater of war; and, &C.
cording to the most accurate calculations
which have been made, they have now
not more than 200, 900 men in Bulgaria,
opposed by about 10000 Turks. The
delay in bringing up new Russian forces
may have its origin either in financial
embarrassment, or it may arise from the
fact that it is not safe now to denude Po-
land of troops, in consequence of the in
surrectiOnary movement which, it is re-
ported, is slowly and secretly maturing
in that country.
The commencement of the rains will
render transportation in Bulgaria a
work of great difficulty, and involve
much loss from sickness. The Russian
line of communication from Sistova to
Shipka is about 1870 miles in length,
every mile Of which has to be protected
from the large armies threatening both
TANKS. These will be increased with
the arrival of Suleiman Pasha's troops,
which should never have been hurled
against the head of the Russian column
at Shipka when they might have crossed
the Balkans by another pass, and effect
ed q junction with the armies of Me-
hemet Ali or Osman Pasha. This opera
ton is now being carried out, and then
more active offensive operations will,
doubtless, be undertaken. An impress
sion prevails extensively in Europe, and
we have seen it dwelt upon BY Col.
Brackenbury, the London Tines mill
tary correspondent with the Russian
army, that while the Turkish soldiers
are good defenders of earthworks, they
are deficient in that elan which enables
men to operate successfully against an
enemy in an intrenched position. This
is one of those popular fallacies which
arise from ignorance of the material of
which the Turkish army is composed.
When well led there are no troops more
full of dash or more reckless in their
charges than the soldiers of Islam; and
an illustration Of this is to be found in
the account given by the Daily NeWs'
correspondent with the Russian army,
of the fierce battle which ragged at
Pelisat on Friday last.
A further complication OF the Russian
position is to be found in the i'll feeling
which is gradually springing up between
the native Christian population and the
saviOrs from whom they expected so
much. The Bulgarians now find that
the invasion, so far as it has not been
successful, has exposed them to the
most terrible retribution. Every Bull
garian village which the Russians occu-
py and are then obliged to abandon, is
a scene of incendiarism and massacre.
The very fact that they have welcomed
the invader, guided him, spied for him,
and fought with him, exposes them to
the not unnatural vengeance of the
Turks, and the Christian peasants now
turn with mingled feelings of terror and
rage on those who came to save them
from misgovernment, and have aban-
doned them to massacre. In Bosnia and
Herzegovina the Russian Government
has informed the insurgents that they
must expect no assistance, and advises
them to lay down their arms and submit.
The rayahs there now also know what the
promises of Russian succOr are worth,
so that whatever gratitude they may
have felt for Russia has been changed
into a very different feeling. Servia,
which might really be valuable assist
ance to Russia, seeing how things are
going, refuses to move, although the
pressure of Austria has been relaxed !;
while the ROumanians are bitterly re-
penting the day when they joined in q
war from which by no possibility can
they now gain any political advantage,
while they will incur vast losses of men
and money, for which they are repaid
by Russia with nothing more substan-
tial than an arrogant assumption of pro-
ton and promises which can never be
realized. Whether or no such state
of affairs can last through the winter