American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1878-02-23
RUNNING THE GAUNTLET
An Episode of the Rasso-rmxish War


An Episode of the Vhsso-ruI Ixish War of
1910.
+" Captain, what you propose is inn
possible"
" Admiral, it's possible enough te any
man who has pluck -
With these bitter words on their lips,
two men stand facing each other on the
quarterback of the Russian flagship
Vladimir, as she lies at anchor, off the
coast of Asia Minor. The one, who
wears the uniform of Russian Admit
raj, is man of colossal stature and pro-
portions, but with broad, heavy, un-
meaning face, which shows that his in
tellect is not on par with his bodily
strength. The other is short, square,
muscular figure, with firm mouth and
keen gray eye-formerly Lieutenant
Elphinstone, of the British Navy; but
now in command of the frigate Yekate-
rina in the Russian Black Sea fleet; and
the superior to whom he is speaking SO
unceremontOusly is no other than the
Imperial, Admiral himself, Count Greg
DRY Gregorieyitch Orloff, the first and
basest of the countless favorites of Cath
arine IL, a 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, 177O. The
bright blue waters of Tchesme Bay are
numbered with half burned spars and
masses of shattered timber; the dreamy
summer sky overhead is blotted with
drifting smoke; and along the surround
ing hills bare-legged men in white tur-
bans are hnrrying to and fro with looks
of dismay, and muttering to each other
that the Padishah's warships have been
destroyed by the Giaours' of the
North. Last night, with single fire
ship, this short, keen-eyed, blunt-spok-
en- Captain burned every vessel in the
Turkish squadron; and he is now vain
ly urging his phlegmatic Admiral to fol-
low up the victory by dash through
the Dardanelles upon defenseless Con-
stantinople.
81 tell you, Englishman, growls Or
loft, "that viii not send the Empress s
feet to certain destruction in attempt
ing an impregnable passage, just to
please your
&c And tell your Excellency," retorts
the other, g that what you fear to at
tempt with the whole fleet, 1 will do
with one vessel. I'll run my ship
through this impregnable passage OF
yours, and drink the health of the Brit
ish navy in front of the Sultan's own
palace. Good morningi"
Arrived on board of his own vessel,
Captain Elphinstone musters his crew
a motley mixtureof 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 inscrutable
Providence has doomed to be foreign
ers, thereby cutting them off, once and
forever, from all chance of becoming
good seamen. The Captain eyes them
all as they come aft with the look of
JIG 1SOuSOOAAOO " yuO9O D4Cu lS LII,
and then speaks, briefly, but very much
to the purpose:
g My lads, I'm going to run through
the Dardanelles and fly my flag in the
face of those lubbers at ConstantinopIe
if any mans afraid to come with me, let
him stand out and say so!''
But not man movesl The crew are
all picked men, who have followed
their present leader through many
heavy storm; and they have long since
learned to know him as the real soul of
the fleet nominally commanded by their
incompetent Admiral. At the very men
ton of Constantinople, there is sud
den light in every eye which the veteran
is at no loss to interpret.
s'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
baulk you. Mr.. Dugdale, serve out a
double ration all round, and then set
every stitch of canvas on her and away
we gor'