Litchfield enquirer., 1879-11-06

n zr&-ESng hsS a1tacE. and on the reasons whr he m@1e S1ch and such dispositions. In f1-s. the ss@H thrUu. bout the day received on the ss5 EEAcsicAl lGeGonstTatioasof the science of w1xa-i iha value of w1l- -conceiEed tactics. Rv-xu1-hv we came out in the open plain. wk~-e mnuuDs n. had been erected commem- UrzrIve oE the ba1tle Ii is situated on the ex trvzs Tl<hz of the Russian position, and con- sa<x<rf small Fnartle column surmounted by aGSS Sms sET0Dded by p1asters crowned whk zrxe cznnOn-baIls- A Russian priest here do11ed his robes. lighted his censer, and, wT-h e simple d-@gOOn for clerk, began sol- eun service for the repOse of the souls of the dad Evexy head was uncovered, the party stsod in respectful gruups around the column xTxh TtS crUss-;he geneSaI to the right of the rrSesz The sun shOne in unclouded splendor, narurs s4z8ed hushed for the moment and the whzre u.fsssf1zfed hazsly around the head of St. N5chnIaA have witnessed the gorgeous cer- ezzsoaiai of continental Catholic cathedrals,- have taken part in the rich ritual of Anglican e{4ngcteS,- listened to the sonorous mass in Greek eaiheiral,-have worshippedin the simple chapels of Presbyterian Scotland, = but have never been present at a more impressive reiI<ious service that On the battlefield of Sen- axn CFeaTs and forms were forgotten in the EoleTuaity of the act and the earnestness and Cievosioa of the worshippeEs z and as the tren- blrng accents of the priest, with the deep but sweet responses of the dragOon-clerk, were b1rue on the still morning air, one could not but hope that .'all was welr' with the thou sands of brave men who had pcrished in the discharge of their duty as soldiers. As the service progressed the general wept like child, and among the small but deeply moved c0ngregatioa tlsere were few dry eyes, albeit these hafgiy and sometimes rough warriors are seldom used to the melting mood. One and all advanced and reverently kissed the cross extended to them by the priest, and thus was brought to a close q service touching in it's in ception and the simple manner in which t was scauied out. st[.sE s
 But with a soldier weeping may only endure for a moment, and the general gave the signal ''to horse" All were speedily mounted, one of Scobioieff-s celebrated white chargers being provided for me. The brief emotion of the hour appeared to be dissipated in smart gal lop to the southwest, where we came to the great TedOubt stormed by the 61st Regiment. We rode to the crest of the tumulus, and sur veyei the field with astonishment that such a seemingly impregnable position should be taken by an army inferior in numbers, and without artillery Then we turned into the wood, and inspected the masked redoubts and the theatres of the bayonet fights, where corpses had at the end of the day been piled on each other four and five deep. In shady glad es were long lines of trenches, where the brave fellows had foanf hastyA bufial,t and it was without regret that we left the deeply interest ing but melancholy spot. Once more out in the open, the general conducted his staff over the plain which separates Hemedl from Seno- vo. pointing out how, even In such an exposed situation, infantry may find shelter from the searching fire of an enemy, and how impor- tant itEas for him 10 have his reserves posted pretty safe from fire, and .yet at hand. Al brief examination having been made of the trenches, by means of which his right flank had been secured in the early part of the day, and which looked as fresh as if only raised a week ago, we rodesup to the village of Heme-e dr. which commanded a fror {. view of-the wbole battlefield. A halt was called, and the general once more proceeded to deliver dis colrse on the strategy and tactics he had adOPted, and the manner in which all such positions should be attacked.
 An ascent was made into the Pass of Hem- eth. in order that we might observe the diff culties which General Scobieleff and his troops had to encounter in ther passage of the Bal kans in mid-wnter. The ascent was even to begin with, pretty steep, and wound round the shoulder of ridge which projected into the plain. For many miles the path was suffi- ciently broad to admit of two horses going abreast but it was explained to me that this roadway had been constructed by Russian en- gineers subsequent to tbe battle for the passage of the guns which hadbeen abandoned in the mountains. At one point where the ridge, so to speak, joins the main range of mountains, the path was along the brink of a precipice whose bottom could not be seen, and itfwas al few yards from fhis spot that the Generals chief Of the staff had been wounded Then the path becaine mere track through deep glens, and anon along the brow of steep moun- tains covered with oak scrub, and with the wild brier and rose, whose delightful perfume filled the air. Three hours of such riding brought us to a deep defile, in the bottom of which cDursed small stream, which in winter time becomes raging torrent. Here. scrub gave place to large forest trees, which lined the whole mountain sides At the head of this defile all farther progress appeared to be stopped by precipitoue cliff at least 150 feet high. It was because of this apparently im- penetrsbe barrier that the Turks never dreamt that Scobielef would choose the Pass, and hence 1t was their non-occupation of the sur. rounding heights which enabled the Russian General to accomplish the passage of the Bal kans. Long before this, we had been compell- ed to go in Indian file, and at many of the turning points 1t was only the sure-footedness of our horses which prevented us being pre- cipitated into an abyss of unknown depth. But" said to the General ''how was it pos iible for infantry, much less for cavalry, to overcome that obstacle ?"-pointing to the cl1f. "All things are possible to determined mcs" replied he. 'The men crept down. round by the sides on hands and knees as we
 willdo presently, and will shew you how we got eur cavalry down" Dismountings from our lorses, we tied the reins over their neeks,. broEs a branch from a tree Ut hand, and with 2 mani ''hee-hee's" drove them up the precipi- tous dope. Planting their fore-feet firmly in the Sil, and dragging their hind ones after, they progressed at a wonderful rate Some- times. however, the fore legs doubled under and blck they would roll down the slope till mayhip. caught by some tree-trunk. It was every man for himself. Scrambng on hands and kiees, seeking the shelter of a tree house threatened to roll down upon you, talk ing breath every few steps, and renewing the laborips ascent, at length dozen of us, gain ed thejAmmitof the cliff. which we had cir cumveh&d and 1 must confess that bowed befordtR genius and daring ofaa general who could successfully conduct an expedition through slch places, and over such, to ordna- ry humanjudgement insurmountable ohsta- eles. Ho'ses and men alike were permitted to enjoy haE an hours well-earned rest-the horses in cropping the grass, and the men in discussing the situation I have seen the Shipka Pass, the Hani Kioj Pass, the Hani Bogas Pass, and the Hemedli Pass and am perfectly convinced, with General Obrou:cheff, that the Balkans can never be regarded more, as barrier to invasion from the North, and ,it is worse than useless to regard them as of the strategic i'm portance which some modern statesmen do. The who le army which Tur- key could put into the field could not hold them against determined enemy, led by such generals as Gourko and Scobieleff. When we had been sufficiently rested, commencement was made with the descent. First of all. the horses were collected and one by one dniven to the side of the cliff, where the ground slopes some what Planting their four feet together, the wise brutes allowed themselves to slide down, guiding themselves with won- derful instinct, and taking advantage of any little shelving places to stop for minute. Without accident, all reached the bottom of the defle and begun to walk quietly along the track. F'It was thus that twenty squadrons of cavalry were able to accompany me to Seno- va" said General Scobieleff. The descept of the men was as precarious as the ascent; but that, too, was accomplished in salty. and we set out on onr return journey to Hemedl
 For the most part that was done on foot, the