The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1878-03-08
A mUSCOVITE BRAVE.

There is well known story Of the
finding upon the battlefield of Inkerman
of the corpses of an English guardsman
and Russian grenadier, lying breast to
breast, each with his bayonet driven to
the very shank in his opponents body.
Such s proof Of hardihood might have
satisfied Leonidas himself; but still more
memorable example of the qualities which
characterize the Russian linesman occurred
during the almost unknown siege of the
fortified town of Kitab, in Central Asia.
The story is best told in the words of the
Russian officer who related it to our in.
formant:-
The town of Kitab lies in deep, narrow
gully, surrounded on every side by steep
hills, 80 that we could only bring small
force to bear upon any one point; and the
wall, though build of dried mud, in the
Asiatic fashion, was quite high and
strong enough to be tough morsel for
any storming party. However, it was de-
termined to try it by escalade (for, you
see, we had beaten these fellows so
Ditch that we undervalued them for once), :,
and was with the detachment that was
told off to do it. But the whole thing was
tissue of blunders from beginning to
end-as bad as the assault of Kars under
Mourayieff in 1855, which was my first
taste of fighting. First and foremost, the
signal for the forlorn hope to advance
was given, by some horrid mistake, before
the supports were ready to follow up; so
forward we went, under a smashing fire
(for the Shekri-Sebsians can shoot and no
mistake) withouta a man to back us. And
then, when we got to the wall, 10 and be-
hold odSs}addeFs were too short, just as
it happened at Kars, and there we were
being shot down like partridges without a
chance of doing anything Our men be-
haved spIsndidly, I must say; some tried
to splice the ladders together, while Others
attempted to scramble up over each
Others shoulders, with the enemy pep
pering right down among them as hard as
they could pelt. But it was all of no use.
They fell one upon another, just like fish
out of a net, and our colonel was hit in
the side and got bullet in my shoulder,
and the rest dropped one by one till there
WAS hardly an officer left. At last we
heard the signal of recall, but our men
were SO mad with the repulse and the
losses and what not that they wouldn't
retire even when they were ordered, and
Just then the enemy, seeing how few we
were, came rushing out upon us in q
body.
Now it happened that in my company
were two young fellows who were like 6
second edition of the "Corsican Brothers,
regular inseparables, in fact, and, on,
Of them having got through the fight will
what he called slight wound G shoult
have thought it a pretty sharp one my
self) was just turning to retire, when h,
saw his comrade lying on the ground help
less, with ball through his leg. In al
instant he had him on his shoulder an,
was carrying him away, when eight o
the enemy came running upon them a
once. Thereupon the rough fellow laid hi
wounded friend on the ground as gently a
mother, and standing astride Of him club
bed his musket and fought the whole eigh
, of them singlehanded, and when the sup
ports came up they found one Shekri
sebzian lying with his skull smashed lik
an egg-shell, and the Russian, with fv
sword wounds in him, keeping the othe
seven rascals at bay. But when wepraise
him and called him a hero he looked d
us quite surprised like and said, "Wha
was to do, father? l couldn't forsak
Il Il