The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1878-03-13
COHsTANTINOPLF.
The Demoraltzed Condition OF the
Turks

Correspondence New York Tribunel
CoNsrANZINoPLE, Feb. 13.-Uneasiness and
uncertainty reached climax in this city on
Wednesday last, when there was something
near to panic, if so undignified word may
be applied to any emotion of the Turks. The
police had been drafted into the ranks of the
army, or had been Withdrawn from the vast
TURKISH quarters OF the city in order tn pro-
tect Pera, Kadikeuy and other foreign GEN.
ters- Rumors constantly fioated through the
streets that the russians were still advancing.
they had appeared in the forest of Belgrade,
at the valley OF the Sweet Waters and other
suburban localities Testimony OF the truth
OF the stories was In the appearance of
a ceaseless stream of Bashi-BazOuks armed
to the teeth, savage and hungry enough for
any desperate tellies. Circassians scuttled
away on every side or meditatiyely peered
into every window and door, appraising the
loot each house would furnish. Refugees
| stood on the street corners and grumbled
under their breath, or thronged the bridges
and public squares, suriily resentful of the
slightest jostling of the crowd. The Turkish
residents were glum and silent. Even the
cries of the street venders were hushed, and
| there was silence in the air which was op-
pressive, like the silence before a tornado or
an earthquake. / could not get out to the
Notifications to see for myself, but the last
report which / received from the front at
nightfall, was that the Russians Were in line
Turks to leave, and that Mukhtar
Pasha had refused TO evacuate. and
was preparing to fight. The next
| morning, however, as soon as l set
foot on the bridge, there was a Struggling
crowd OF ragged. gaunt wretches, uniformed
in dirt whose Peabody nhes showed that
| they were supposed to be soldiers. This
made it evident that Mukhtar Pasha had
given up. The truth soon came out that the
evacuation of the defenses of Constantinople
was the last and hardest of the terms of the
armistlce. The government had concealed
the matter from the people, fearing a
tumult although the silence of the govern
ment was the very thing needed to provoke
one. 1t was only after the Russians actually
| arrived in force in front of the line that the
| evacuation was seriously undertaken, and
| then only Sc hours remained of the eight
| days allowed for the purpose. Several heavy
| Krupp guns were therefore left in the forts
sacrificed to the plan of hiding bad news
| from the people.
That day (Thursday) Bashi-Bazouks,
| Circassians, gipsles and demoralized soldiers
| continued to pour into the city, and little
| rows occurred here and there. For instance
| a Circassian rode through group of Armen-
| ian hamals tporters) on the Bsyazid square
and jostled one of them, who resented il.
The Circassian then drew his sword and
i struck the Armenian on the arm. The
Il
| the Circassian, took his naked sword from
his hand and dragged him from his horse
4 The Circassaah, however. broke away from
1 them, and, drawing his dagger, made q
lunge out at the nearest hamal, but an
| American gentleman, who CHANGED to be
passing on horseback, was able to interpose
| his whip and divert the dagger Upon this,
| some Softas and other Turks rushed into
the melee, and cursing both Circassians and
hamaIs, forced them to depart In
| opposite directions. The police being al
/ ways unavailable in any such emergency, /
| several times saw citizens-commonly
bearded and turbaned Turks-stop nascent
| effervescence in the streets by sending off
| the anarrelers in opposite lines, with the
remark that they ought to know better than
to get angry on the street at critical time,
when any private row may grow to be
national affair of European interest in five
minutes. This cool appreciation of the
| situation on the part of the better class of
the people has gone far to supply the want
| of sensible government Mr.. Lsyard says
that there is mo government here,' and he
was not far from right when he made the
| statement to Lord Derby. If his telegram
went to London by way of Bombay and Fac,
| as is probable, the government had begun to
recover control OF the city again before the
dispatch reached England, however. Troops
have come In from the forts, and are estab-
4
Throughout the whole crisis, moreover.
the parties have at least had GOODNESS enough
| to see that from public or private charity
| bread has been given to the vast hungry
crowd which fills the street. This, in the
| eyes of the classes who make the lack of
| government dangerous, is one of the first
| duties of a king, and thus they have not
been aware of the situation described by Mr..
Layard The Russians have the city and the
Turkish empire completely in their grasp.
| This result has come about so gradually that
| we have watched the successive steps leading
| to it as those who float in dreams from realm
| to realm, and have no wonder for the mar
vels they behold. The vastness of the
changes in progress were hardly realized
until the empire was practically broken
down, and all saw that In Europe and
| in Asia it had no stable foundation. Still,
steps have been taken to gather a new army,
although, as a Turkish officer sagely
remarked, There doesen't seem to be any
place left the porte on which to deploy it,
New recruits come in every day. They are
stout limbed, smooth faced boys, tied together
often by thongs about the wrists, and jostling
as they come the crowds of broken-spirited
old soldiers who are arriving from the retreat
before General Ghourko through Rhodope.
Many of these old soldiers are perfect types
of misery. They are in rags, their guns
look as If they had been in mud puddles,
their heads hang like those of whipped
school boys, and they weanly drag one foot
after another, generally going in single file,
as if misanthropically disgusted with life-
Sometimes regiment comes in whose clean.
well kept guns show sold -ly instincts; but
even here the step is without spring, the
ranks disordered and the appearance of
the men is utterly weary and demoral-
lzed. Their condition is melancholy enough
to warrant the expression of their faces
They have suffered everything They have
frozen and starved alternately, and both
frozen and starved together. They have
fought desperate but hopeless battles, and
have found all their efforts vain, through
incompetent leaders. They have sacrificed
their home property, crops and cattle, and
are now reduced to extreme poverty. being
denied even the small sum needed to go
home. The contrast is striking between their
lot and that of the American soldiers at the