Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1878-09-19
MEHEMET ALI PASHA.
The Adventurous and Romantic Career
of the Turkish General Murdered i'm
Albania
New York World

New York W Or4d.
Mehemet Ali Pasha was the ablest of
the Turkish generals during the recent
war. By birth he was a Prussian of
French descent, his father being a staff
trumpeter of the Nicholas regiment of
culrassiers of Brandenburg. Young
julius Detroy was placed in business
house at Magelburg But he was of an
imaginative disposition, aud soon tiring
Of business routine, he ran away to
Rostock. where he found q Mecklenburg
brig getting ready for sea. The captain
took him on board in the capacity of
ship-boy, and after a long voyage, of
which young Detroy became heartily
sick, the vessel anchored in the 9os-
phorous. He had had enough of the
sea, and watching his opportunity he
one day jumped overheard, and swan
to caique which was passing. Its oc-
cupant, who proved to be Ali Pasha, al
terWard SO famous, and Grand Vizier
for many years. ordered the boy to be
taken In and was so pleased with him
on further acquaintance that he took
him under his protection and even into
his own family. Detroy, year later,
adopted the Mussulman religion. and
took the name of Mehemet Ali. His
paron sent him to q military school,
where he distinguished himself by his
intelligence and good conduct.
He received his commission in 1853,
and made the campaign of the Danube
against the Russians. He was first un-
der fire at the siege of Sillistra, and it
was said that he did not seem very
II II
by enemies that at the beginning of the
bombardment he sought shelter in a
cellar. But he soon gave proofs of in
trepidity, and even Of daring, winning
universal commentator. He once
spent whole night alone in a captured
earthWork. Omar Pasha noticed the
conduct Of the young officer, and
placed him on his staff, and in this
capacity he went through the Russian
war and, later, the campaigns in Mon .
tenegro, Arabia and Bosnia. He be-
came colonel in 1868, and in 1865 was
made pasha or general. He was en-
ployed with distinction during the in
surrectiOn in Crete, and again on the
MOntenegrin frontier. In 1873 he was
given the chief command of the forces
in Thessaly in order to put an end to
the eXcesses of the banditti, which had
become intolerable. Mehemlt Ali ac-
quilted himself Ofthis difficult task with
great ability. Partly by art1fce and
partly by persuasion, by employing re-
mOrseless severity where examples"
were required, by daring attacks and by
skillful operations in combination With
the Greek detachments assigned for
frontier duty, he was able in a short
time to Te-cstablish order in Thessaly.
Toward the close of 1875 he was intrust-
ed with the chief command at Novi-
bazar, post of great strategic import
ance, and was afterward engaged in
various military duties in connection
with the operations against the Serbian
insurgents.
At the outbreak of the recent war
with Russia, he was assigned to the
command of one of the armies operat-
ing against the MoEtenegrins, Suleiman
Pasha being at the head of the other.
These two officers pressed the heroic
mountaineers hard, relieved Nicsics,
and were said to be even threatening
Prince Nicholas cauital, when they
were recalled to oppose the Russians
VINO were crossing the Danube. Me-
hemit Ali succeeded Abdul Kerim, the
former incompetent commander-in-
chief at the head Of the Eastern army,
but was given no control over Sulei-
man in the West, and Osman at Plevna.
Mehemet Ais battles with the army
of the Cesarewltz generally proved in
conclusive, and it is said that to the
jealousy between himself and Suleiman
was due the slaughter of the latter's
troops in the desperate Shipka pass
struggle. Mehemet Ali afterward at
tempted the relief Of Plevna, but found
it impossible at that late date of his eff
fort to force his way through the Rus
sian lines. 1t spite of his i'll success
Mehemet came out of the war in better
favor with his sovreign and people than
he entered it.