The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-07-10
Lieutenant Green's Army Life i'm Rus

tenant Green's "Army Life in Rus
sia,n and bring before the mind Il viv-
id picture of the facts of War. Let
meu once realize that these horrors
are unnecessary, and that the glory of
War cannot hide the Hell it creates,
and surely every effort for disarmament
will be made, for men are not brutcs
by choice.
"During the summer the Emperor
lived with comparative comfort In
tent, but as the cold autumnal rains
came OH, he was forced to seek such
shelter as the miserable huts of the
villages afforded. His manner was
always the same-dignitied, couteous,
and apparently calm; yet even q cas-
ual observer could detect the weight OF
care and responsibility which seemed
to rest so heavily upon him. The eX-
preston of his face grew still sadder
as the summer and autumn were on
and Plevna held fast, and he gradual
! w lost fesh-mOre than thirty pounds
l-giving him q gaunt look.
"There the naked bodies lay, their
arms and legs tangled in ineXtrlcabie
confusion, reminding one of Dore's
| illustrations of 1.-THE Inferno. When
the ditch was nearly full, the loose
earth was shoveled down from the
parapet to cover the bodies, and the
ceremony was complete.
IT had been riding over the field
among these scenes, cleaning as much
as possible from the survivors of the
events of the battle. and had grown
somewhat hardened to the sickening
sight, when suddenly, OH passing near
ditch full of naked bodies, my horse
plunged violently, and stood culver
ing and snorting with fear. Among
the corpses was a. living man his
head and one arm only were visible
among the tangled mass of bodies and
legs; his face was purple, and he was
already so far gone as to be speechless |;
with his hand he beckoned very faint
| ly to me to come near, and in his face
and eyes there was the most ghastly
death-agony I have ever witnessed.
I called a passing soldier to bring
some water; he replied he had seen
none since early morning; there was
none on the field nearer than the riv-
er, two versts off; my own brandy
flask and cigarette-case l had emptied
few minutes before among a group
of wounded. There was nothing to be
done for this poor fellow, and I moved
on he was probably dead before many
minutes. For all the volumes that
have been written in all the ages of
the horrors of the battlefield after the
battle, how little do they or can they
portray it's reality"
"War is at best brutal and brutlfy-
ing in the midst Of it men are too
busy with the object to be attained to
have any time for human sentiment,
and, they think of their fellow-men as
mere units, like horses, guns, muskets
and wagons. Afterward, when the
brain is less heated, its daily events
group themselves togetherin the MEM
ory like confused and unreal night
mare, of which some more than usual
ly vivid scenes are the only tangible
features"
"As they had to fight all day in the
snow 1t was very important that their
clothing should not be wet, and they
were therefore ordered to strip naked,
roll their clothes in bundle and carry
them on their heads. AS they came
out of the icy river they were as red as
boiled Holsters, but made merry as
thew souatted about in the snow to put
on their clothes. They then formed
and marched through the village,
where the General saluted them as
usual.
"The caravan of which 1 have
spoken was the largest, but it was only
one of many. The migration of the
others continued all the way to Con
stantinople, where, on the arrival OF
the Russians, there were reported to
be three hundred thousands refugees.
The Mosque of st Sophia alone con-
tanned nearly three thousand of them
when I first saw it. They were herd
ed about in mosques and in open
squares, until the typhus fever broke
out among them, when the Turkish
authorities displayed unwanted ener-
CIV, and in few days dispersed the
Whole mass, sending about half of
them over into Asia, and the other
half back toward Bulgaria.
"It is probably within the limit OF
fact to say that seven hundred thou
sand Mohammedans abandoned their
homes and possessions during the war,
and set forth on a long journey, the
aim and end of which they knew not,
and that not one. half of them have
ever returned, and large proportion
have perished. In addition to this,
about three hundred thousand Bull
carians abandoned their homes at the
time of GOurko's retreat in July. A
million of people were thus wander
ing about during the course of the
war, with only such possessions as two
or three families could pack into one
bullOck-wagon."
"The train was ut once plundered of
all it's possessions by the Bulgarians OF
the neighboring villages, who mercl-
lessly put to death all those who had
not vet perished of cold. For three
successive days we marched through
the remnants of this caravan, scatter
ed over q length of seventy mlles-bro-
ken wagons, scattered contents, dcad
animals; here man and his wife,
who had stretched blanket IN the
snow, and lain down to die side 10y
side; there q stately old Turk, with
flowing white beard, green turban.
and brightly figured robe, lying by the
ditch with his throat cut from eur to
ear; and again, Il naked little infant
frozen stiff in the snow, with its eyes
upturned to heaven. Our blood cur
died as we saw u Bulgarian clot, grin
ming and staring at us from the road
side, who answered, as we asked him
who nurdeded those two Turks lying
4 few feet from us:
"Nashe brattew (Our brothers, we
did it.W