The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1878-03-07
RUNNING THE GAUNTLET.
An Episode Of the RussO.Turkisll War
of l77O.


An Episode Of the characterization War
Of 1910.
CAPTAIN. what you propose is inn
possible
Admiral. it's possible enough to
any man who has pluck
With these bitter words on their lips,
two men standing facing each other ON
the quarterback of the Russian flagship
Vladimir. rs she lies ut anchor off the
wears the uniform of Russian Admit
raj. is Il man of colossal stature and
proportions. but with Il broad. heavy.
unmcaning face. which shows that his
intellect is no, on a par with his bodily
strength. The other is short, square.
muscular figure. with Il firm mouth and
keen gray cye--formcrlv Lieut. Elphin-
stone. OF the British Navy, but now in
command of the frigate Yekaterina in
the Russian Black Sea fleet: and the
superior to whom he is speaking SO UNI
tremendously is no other than the I'M
pcrial Admiral himself, Count Gregory
t;rc@orievi,ch Orlotf, the first and
ba>cst of the countless favorites of
Catherine H.. 4 man whose worthless
name has been rescued from oblivion
by one great crime-the murder of
Peter LII.
1t is the morning of July 8. 100.
The bright blue waters of Tchesme Bay
are numbered with half-burned spars
and masses of shattered timber: the
warm dreamy summer sky overhead is
blotted with drifting smoke: and along
the surrounding hills bare-legged men
in white turbans are hurrying to and
ing to each other that the Padishah's
war-ships have been destroyed by the
"Giaour>' of the North. Last night,
with single fire-ship. this short, keen
eyed. blunt-spoken Captain burned
every vessel in the Turkish squadron;
and he is now vainly urging his phleg-
matte Admiral to follow up the victory
by dash through the Dardanellcs upon
lefenseles> Constantinople.
Il tell YOU, Englishman," growls
Orloif. THAT will not Send the En-
press fleet to certain destruction in at
tempting an impregnable passage, just
to please YOU
And | tell Your ENcellency," re-
torts the other, THAT what you fear to
attempt with the whole fleet, will do
with one vessel. I'll run my ship
through this 'impregnable passage of
yours, and drink the health of the Brit
i>il Navy in front of the Sultan's own
palace. Good morningr'
Arrived on board of his own vessel,
Capt. Elphinstone musters his crew-a
motley mixture Of sallow. broad-faced
Russians. squat yellow-haired Firms,
big boned beetle-browed EsthOnians,
and slim, wiry Greeks, with two or
three brawny, administered English
sailors looking down upon their COM
rades with.a grand compassionate dis
dain. as creatures whom an inscruta-
BILE Providence has doomed to be for
cigncrs, thereby cutting them off, once
aud forever, from all chance of becom-
ing good seamen. The Captain eyes
them all rs they come aft with the look
of one accustomed to Judge men at
sight, and then speaks, briefly, but very
much to the purpose:
My lads, I'm going to run through
the Dardanelles and fly my flag in the
face of those lubbers at ConstantinOple;
if any man S afraid to come with me,
let him stand out and say sou
But not man moves! The crew are
all picked men, who have followed their
present leader through many hot fight
and many heavy storm; and they
have long since learned to know him
as the real soul of the fleet nOminally
commanded by their incompetent Adj
miral. At the very mention of Con-
stantinople, there is q sudden light in
every eye which the veteran is at no
loss to interpret.
"All right said he, with a grim
smile; IF you're game to poke your
heads into the fire, I'm not the man to
balk YOU. Mr.. Dugdale, serve out a
double ration all round, and then set
every stitch of canvas on her, and away
we go''
1t is beautiful summer morning.
with fresh breeze from the southwest,
when the devoted ship comes up to the
mouth of the terrible passage through
which no hostile vessel has ever ven
turcd before. The sun is just rising
over the Anatolian Mountains, and in
ITS dazzling splendor the wood-crowned
islets, and rocky shores, and green,
sloping hillsides stand forth in all thcil
beauty. All around. the blue, spark.
ling sea; all above, the rich summer
sky. To the west, the little purple
island of Tcnedos stands watching their
advance, as it watched the coming Of
Agamemnon's fleet against doomed
Troy, 5000 years ago. Far to the
northeast, hanging like snowy cloud
upon the sky, towers the great white
dome of Mount Olympus. On the right,
beyond the wide belt of level plain on
which Greek and Trojan battled in the
old sighting days, the distant mountains
loom out, blue and shadowy, along the
eastern horizon; while right in front
the deep, narrow, channel Of the famous
strait curves outward TO the sea, be-
tween the bold ridges that flank it or
either side. ~
We're lucky with the wind, Mr.
Dugdale," says the Captain TO his En-
fish second in command, as cheerily q.
if he were going on picnic, instead d
into the jaws Of naval Balaklava
This breeze is just what we want, fol
therell be pretty strong current
against us inside.''