The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1889-02-23
Four Days In Battle.
Realistic andfrHht:ul Sketch Of the Horrors
Of Modern Warfare by The FaEI5as
Russian Novelist, v, VI. Garshin.

remember how we were runnin:
in the woods, how the bullets buzzed
the branches fell, and We made on
way through tie hawthorn brushes
The reports became more frequent
Something red appeared beyond tn
border, which 2lis'e,od and flashed
and disappeared. Sidorov, q young
soldier of the first squad, suddenl,
sat dowI on the ground and mutel,
Sazed upon me with a frightenedlook
From his mouth ran q stream o
blood. Yes, remember it all toe
well, / remember also how almost
on the skirts of the forest, Ipercieved
bin. He was a huge squabbish
Turk, and, although l was weak and
lean, / rushed upon him. Something
creaked; something fed by. HE is
shooting at me-" Thought. But he,
with a cry of terror, shrank back
and pressed himself to a thick law:
thorn shrub, but, being frig htened
he climbed on the prickly plant. With
one stroke l knocked his gun out OF
his hand. l thrust my bayonet.
Something either roared or groaned.
| ran futher. Ours hurrahed.
l remember having fired several
times more, being already on the
meadow out OF the forest. Suddenly
a loud hurrah resounded, and we
made rush forward; that is, not we,
but ours because was left. Itseem-
ed to me strange, but more strange
was the fact that all of a sudden
everything disappeared, the tumult
and shooting were hushed, heard
nothing 1 saw only something blue;
it was probably the sky. Then even
that disappeared.
I had never before been in such a
strange position. L lie on my face
and see but q small piece of land. A
few tiny herbs, an ant creeping down
one of them with it's head downward,
some dried grass of last year that is
my whole universe. l see all this
only With one eye, for the other is
by something hard; it must
be a branch, on which my headrests.
l feel very uncomfortable, and
want to move, but am unable in the
least to understand why l cannot do
Sc, hear the cracking OF the grass.
hoppers and the buzzing ofbees, moth
ing else. AT last l make an effort,
Tree my right hand from under my
body, and, leaning on both my hands,
l endeavor to stand on my knees.
Somsthing sharp pieces through
my body from the knees to the chest
and head, and l fall. Again darkness;
again nothing around nla.
awake. Why do see the stars
shining brightly on the dark blue
Bulgarian sky? Am l not in the
tent? | make a motion and fell a
sharp pain in my feet,
Yes, l was wounded in the battle.
Is the wound dangerous or not? |
touch my feet where feel the pain;
both the right and left are covered
with blood. AT the touch of nv
hands the pain becomes unbearablt.
1t is like toothache, continual, heart
rending. 1t rinkles in my ears; nv
head becomes dizzy. Ibegin to realize,
though confusedly, that both ray
Feet are wounded. Have the turks
defeated us? | begin to recollect
what has happened, first dimly, the
more clearly, and | arrive at the con-
rlusion that we were not defeated at
all. remember that our battalion
commander shouted, "Boys, we will
be there; God help us!" pointing to d
hillock in the distance. And we were
there; we were not beaten. Why did
they not pick me up? The meadow
is an open place; everything can be
seen. Surely | am not alone here;
they fired SO frequently.
Let me turn my head and look.
feel now more comfortable. HE on
my back, because when / ehdeavor to
'aise myself l do not fall in the same
position.
| raise myself Just a little and sit
Town. This is pretty hard work
when ones feet are broken. Several
times | despair; at last with tears in
my eyes l sit down.
Above me a bit of dark blue sky on
which shine a large and some small
stars, around me something awfully
lark and high. 1t is shubbery. 1
I'm in the shrubs then; they have
lot found me.
l feel the roots of my hair shake
md tremble.
But how did l come to be in the
pushes? 1t must be that / crept
here after was wounded. 1t is on
y strange why / cannot move now,
While then | could drag myself over
lere. Maybe l had only one wound
hen and that the other | received
lere. Rose-colored spots begin to
oil in q circle about me. The large
tar pales, the smaller ones disap-
,ear. The moon rises. How pleas
mt it would be to feel at home.
Strange sounds reach my ears.
groans. Yes; tits a groan.
Does any one lie here like me with
,roken legs, or with q bullet in his
hest? The groans are so audible,
md yet it seems there is no one near
ne. Great God, it is l myself who
;roans. Am really sick? 1t must
'e. / don't feel the pain; my
cad is dull and clouded. l am
bout to lie down, q broad, pale
freak of moonlight brightly illumi-
ates the spot where / have been
esting, and l see something dark
nd large on the ground atsome five
teps' distance. Here and there the
ght is reflected upon it. This is
ither dead or a wounded body. All
he same I'll lie down.
mo, it cannot be! Ours have not
one away. They are here; they
ave defeated the Turks and remain
l. Al 1 II