Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-01-13

v,sws6 nsn On Eisvsusr- ossevssises 90
ske Way.

vbtwet Srsn On Elevation Oh~rasisrs 90
ske wsy.
Iecaa Letter 20 the London Daily Nsw~l
The Increasing artillery fre before us
and the exceptional fine weather al.
Rured serious attack on this side oil
she Bresnik hills. Should anything
really be intended on the other side. Il
had assuredly been postponed to the
following day, lest the Servian general
commanding there should be too late
TO reach Sofia in one stage. On the
steep eastern bank of brook cutting st
right angles the road, twelve miles from
Sofa, fresh entertainments were being
thrown up by battalion and by pea.
SAINTS as q first. line Of defence for Sofia.
Some hundred willow-trees, the only
oTnsment o. the fiat and melancholy
landscape, had been cut down aud turn
ed 10 account. Little wayside inns had
the Red-Cross flag flying from masts be.
fore them, and we're metamorphosetI
into hospitals, where medical volunteers
bestowed the first care upon the wound
ed. All these places were crowded.
ard outside there were teamSters,
horses, and carriages of all desc1p-
tons. After three hours driving we
arrived at last at the village Of Slivnitzs.
The fields before that place on either
bank Of dirty brooklct, crossed by a
wooden bridge, were filed with bullock
carts, horses, soldiers, drivers, aides
de-camp. doctors, Red-Cross volunteers,
and militiamen-all moving in busy
confusion TO and fro. Some were cook
ing, preparing in the large regimental
copper kettles the substantial soup for
the hungry soldiers fighting beyond ;
seine were feeding their animals some
were chatting by the fireside in the open
air but the genuine saunterers thronged
around 125 Seryian prisoners who had
Just been brought in from the front.
These poor fellows, clad in blue regi-
mentals, blue oyercoats, and blue
French caps, had in their hollow eyes
the wolfish expression OF starving crea-
lures. Their meagre countenances
showed that their stomachs had not
lately enjoyed the comfort Of soup,
roast beef, or mutton, just now boil
ing and stewing with savory perfumes
under their very noses. These dainties,
too, were exclusively reserved for their
dark -green.clad Bulgarian enemies,
whose dust-colored coats and black fur
caps make them less distinguishable
mark for shells and bullets.
From Slivnitza itself, situated in a
depression Of the ground, very little
could be seen or heard, for mile off a
semi-ciI cular range Of partially-rocky
hills shuts out all view toward the
west. This CONFORMATION suggested
naturally enough the establishment of
an intI enched position on the SUBMITS
and spurs. One steep cone only, con-
sisting of barren. bleak stones, and
towering over the other hills, the plain,
and the village, was curiously enough
not comprised in the system Of field
Notifications, most likely because the
nature Of the soil did not allow the
erection Of earthworks there, UNI
less with sand-bags. This neglect
provided an imminent danger for
the Prince, the people, and the
army Of Bulgaria, as l had soon
the opportunity Of seeing. We drove
upward to the centre of this group Of
hills. which were accessible to vehicles,
passing across the empty headquarters
Of the Prince, and thence walked to the
SUBMITS, crowned with formidable look
ing redoubts, lunettes, and rihe-pitS,
the strength Of which leaves so much
to be desired that they deserve rather
the name Of scarecrows for timid Ser
VANS than of field Notifications accord
ing TO the rules Of the art. Some Of the
more exposed breastworks were manned
with militiamen in their homespun boor-
ish attire, fur caps, and sandals, the
same their ancestors wore thousand
years ago. We stationed ourselves be-
meath redoubt and above the village
Of Aldemiroftze, situated on the south
ern side of the fortified hills. There we
had as comprehensive a glance over the
battlefield as ever Hannibal, Caesar,
or Napoleon enjoyed. Amid the thun-
deripg roar Of about $50 field-pieces
and the rafting, uninterrupted fire OF
long skirmishing lines echoing from the
surrounding hills and the mountain
rsyines / was enabled to note the posi-
ton of both contending armies, traced
in light gray smoke on the brownish
landscape. The Bulgarians leaned
their rear on the group of hills where
l stood, ready in case Of emergency to
hold the intrenchments en- the top as a
last resource. Their right, stretching
over the Prot road, had occupied some
rocky hills, from which they had
already partially driven the Servians
ON the previous day. They took un-
der my eyes just the most remote OF
those SUBMITS in the western-that is
to say, in the enemy's-directiOn and
endeavored afterward, not without suc-
cess, to outfank his position there. The
Seryians at last were gradually compelled
to withdraw their skirmishers and bat
teries and fall back with their left wing
toward their centre, following always,
however, the ridge of the general eleva-
ton which forms the separation Of the
lsker and Nishava rivers. Over its
lowest point, close to the above-men'
toned rocky Hill, runs the road to
Tsaribrod and Prot. 1t entirely COM
mands the depression below, allowing
the whole inclined plane to be swept
by fire Of musketry, and offering al
the same time perfect shelter for the re-
serves behind.
In the centre the Bulgarians occupied
the eastern side of that depression,
which toward Aldemiroftze became q
rayine with sleeper sides, with brook
let in the middle. while an insignificant
number Of Servian skirmishers kept W
On Indifferent fire from the opposite
border. Later on, however, it became
evident that their main force lay con.
eealed, waiting for the favorable mo.
ment, behind commanding hill covered
with brushwood of an autumnal reddish
hue. such as one meets with all over
the Balkan peninsula, where the goats