Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-05-27
IN A STAMBOUL DUNGEON
How Turkey Has Rewarded
One of Her Heroes.
HussEIS BEy's CRUEL FATE.
The Persecution to Which the Cal
liant Defender Of Kars Has Been
Subjected by Envious Foes.

pitiable creatures in the world. Hussein
Bev, Colonel OF Ottoman Artillery, be-
longs TO family which has for century
done suit and service to successive Sui
tans. In recognition Of their service he
was chosen from the Turkish cadets to
60 to Woolwich Academy, there to learn
all England could teach him Of the art
Of war. He went in 1845 and left in
1852, having an excellent record in the
school, and indeed he had plenty of time
to t. learn what he was taught, for he pass
ed there or in the arsenal double the
usual period of study. He reioined at
Ccnstantinople Just in time to be
Of some service in the Danu-
bian pIincipalities under Omar
pasha. and got step or rank before the
treaty OF Paris brought the Crimean war
to close, over thirty years ago. Then
lie was put in the Tophane Arsenal,
where he applied the knowledge he had
acquired in the factories OF Woolwich,
and did the State good service, as has
j. been over and again admitted. Indeed,
. he. was decorated with the Medjidie for
his work as Captain of artillery in the
Galata Arsenal. Then he was sent to the
Montenegrin border, aud thence to the
Greek frontier and the Greek islands,
and at last he was posted in
Armenia, where, at the opening of the
campaign OF 1877 he was Colonel COM
!. mandiBg the artillery, including the
whole OF the great batteries, of Kars.
War was declared on the Oath Of April,
but the Russian troops crossed the from
tier OH the 23d, and by the 1st Of May
they began constructing q battery on the
south side of the Kars river. On the 4th
the fire became annoying, though the
battery was at the almost incredible dis
tance Of 10000 yards, and on the 9th
Hussein Bey planned sOrtie which re-
{ suited in the destruction Of the Russian
work. The next opening OF the APP
proaches was at 10000 yards distance TO
the northeast of Kars, and here the Mus
covites would have had the best Of a
fight in the open. So they completed
their works up to 5000 yards by the
18th Of June, but could go no nearer, for
whenever the batteries became dangerous
the Turks met them with counter works,
all OF which were under the immediate
direction OF Hussein Bey and his staff,
for the Pashas, though good enough at
fighting, were OF no account scientifically
speaking. So Melikofi was held at
bay until the 9th Of July, when Moukhtar
|. Paeha relieved the city and fortress.
By that time she Russians had sent
against kars, according to Turkish COM
putation- about 10000 shells, mostly from
the 1917 -centimeter (61S-inch) Krupp
guns, and the Ottoman batteries had re-
piled with IL ,45S projectiles OF sorts and
sizes ranging from l3-inch bombs to l2-
FOUNDER shells, the latter chiefly used in
tho fifteen sorties made against the Rus
sian work. Hussein Bey was exceed
ingly economical Of his ammunition,
not knowing how long the siege
,dnaight last, and it Is pretty good evidence
NJ 20 he did not waste much Of IL when it
K wT7used because the nearest Russian bat
f-s " when the siege was raised was over
itB miles from the enceinte. 1t was con-
\ e yently expected that Hussein Boy
= build have been made Hussein Pasha
recognition Of the ability and the
- Auck he had shown in the defense Of the
great fortress; but he had had several
differences with his titular supsriors
during the Investment, and 1t was only
by standing on his own rights. as In
that he was able to pisdent the enemy
from making muca moe rapid progress,
80 his obstinacy was remembered
against him by those in whose hands
lay the recommendation Of promotion.
1t is believed that on the instigation
OF General Sir Arnold Kemball, the Brit
ish Commissioner in Armenia, Moukhtar
Fasha was on the point Of giving Hussein
ley acting rank, which the Eeraskier
cAuld hardly have refused to confirm,
wfen little bit Of overmuch zeal on the
parfof the artillery Colonel stopped the
Step for the moment. and, as it turned
out, forever. In conversation with q
correspondent who was describing to
Hussein Bey the way in which the Rus
's slams took advantage Of the shelter Of
several ruined towns and villages
along the front Of Moukhtar's position
on the Alagsdagh, the artillery COM
mandant said that he could soon stop
that by sending the Mushir some OF Ills
big guns, which he could very we'll
spare. Without waiting for orders he
did so. and though the very look of the
y guns did what was wanted, the interfer.
ence Of the subordinates was noted
against him. He was kept in Kars look.
ing after the reprovisioning of the fortress
and for considerable time actually in
chief command OF ii until Moukhtar was
forced back in the middle Of October
That in the route OF the Turkish forces
Melikof did not press forward and there
and then enter Kars on the heels Of the
fugitives was entirely due to Hussein
Il Bey, who drew up the small number q
~ men he had in the fortress and kept the
Russians back until the remnant o
Moukhtar's army had found shelter
within the works.
When the General-in-C Chief few day.
later fell back, with hardly brigade, fol
the protection Of Erzeroum, the greater
part OF the defense of Kars again rested
r on the shoulders of Hussein Bey. L
needed 1900 men to man the works
and apart from the $500 sick ant
wounded in the hospitals there wer,
but 10000 available, or at the rate o
GOO men to the mile Of parapet. II is
matter OF history how Melikoff, wher
this siege had lasted month
threw his force by night against tn,
fortress. The great and carefully
prepared batteries which in thu
day time commanded one another ant
thus rendered S9dgment for any length
of time all s5ut impossible. were, unde
the circumstances, useless, and 80 tn,
Russians found an entra.,ce6Nn the lower
grounds TO the south. They held on II
the Kanli tabia, or fort, until an adiacen
w work known as the Suwarry or Cavalr,
( tabia was carried In similar way ant
then the encIente was fairly pierced
though the Russians lost heavily in mel
and officers, especially officers. two gen
IA erals being killed.
The whole Of the defense fell to th,
infantry, who were ell bfx entirely de
.,imoralized by the defeat in Che open
month before, and Hussein Bey pa
wounded in his attempt to defend Nh
Suwarry tort which he held for lou
hours. Wen it was taken ne was
prisoneE The citadel ieil veiy s9on
sR'y snad ths "a spai = Sn1aaa Il soas uaSA