The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-09-24
WARS CORRESPONDENT.
FORBES THRILLING REMINDS
CaNCES OF GREAT FIGHTS.

Ee Tells of His Most Exciting Expert
ences in European Wars-The First
to Enter Paris-rhe Battle OF Gravs-
lotte- Assailed by a Mob-How His
Notes Were Rescued.
From the Nineteenth Cent,tru
Archibald Forbes contributes one Of the
most graphic articles of the year. 1t is
IA War Correspondents "Reminiscences. y
The following are extracts: think julius
Caesar would have been an exceptionally
brilliant war correspondent, if the profess
sion had been invented in his time, and if
be could have weaned himself from the
meaner avocations of commanding armies,
conquering countries and ruling nations.
But the first Napoleon, if only be could
have been a little truthful occasionally.
would have eclipsed Julius Cesar and
knocked William Howard Russell into a
cooked hat.
Before the Franco German war there
had been war correspondents, and one at
least of those had made himself a reputa-
ton to vie with which no representative of
newer school has any claim. But this
work, being in the photographic period,
was carried on under less arduous conditions
pondent of to-day. Nor was it so incum>
bent on them to carry their lives in their
hands. Before farreaching rifed firearms
came Into uses. it was quite easy to see a
battle without going within the
range of fire. But this is no longer
possible. With siege guns that carry shells
ten miles, with field artillery having range
of four miles, and with rifles that kill with
out benefit Of clergy at two miles, the war
correspondent may as well stay at home
with his mother, unless he has hardened his
heart to take his full share of the risks of
the battlefield. Indeed, il he has deter
mined to look narrowly into the turbulent
heart Of each successive spasm OF the bloody
struggle-and it is only, now, doing this that
be can make for himself genuine and abid-
ing reputation, he must lay his account with
advsnturing more risk than falls to the
average soldier.
THE PERCENTAGE OF CASUALTIES
among war correspondents is greater than
that among the actual fighting men. In
the petty Servian campaign of 1876, for in
stance, there were twelve correspondents
who kept the field and went under fire.
OF those, three were killed and four were
wounded. Certainly, not more than thirty
correspondents and artists, all told, were in
the Soudan from the earliest troubles to the
final failure of the Nile expedition, but on
or under its cruel sand lie the corpses of at
least six OF my comrades. O'Donovan, the
adventurous pioneer of Merv, persisted
with Hicks. The last hope has long faded
that ViEetelly, endowed though he was with
more lives than the proverbial cat, he's still
life in hand. Power lived to be Gordon's
loyal, valiant and trusted Lieutenant but
ne fell on the errand Of attempting
to bring us the full details of
that noble soldiers heroism. Cameron and
st. Leger were struck down on the same
AZ DIV nd go H.. a.
low grave in the hot Bayuda sand. Poor
Gordon, who had been q soldier before he
became war correspondent, died lone
death of thirst In the heart of the desert,
while pushing urgently on to where his duty
lay. Time would fail to tell of those who
have persisted Of fevers and other maladies,
who have been wounded, shipwrecked and
encountered strange haIrbreadth escapes; of
others again who have come home 80 broken
by hardship and vicisstude that what re-
mains Of life to them is naught but wear-
ness and pain. And it is such men who
have been classed with the camp followers,
and denounced as "drones who eat the
ratons of fighting men and do no work at
alln
IT WAS THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR
Of 1870 which brought about the revolution
in the methods of war correspondence,
although at Saarbrucken, in the earliest
4 days OF that great contest, there was as yet
no perception Of the opportunities that lay
In our hands. But If at Saar bruoken the
correspondents thus early On the warpath
were still unregenerate in this respect, we
had some experiences in which the comic
and the tragic were curiously blended.
Within two miles of the little town lay
whole French army corps, which any day
might overwhelm Saarbrucken and its
slender garrison Of a single German battal~
Ion 50 we lived, quite a little detachment
Of US, in hotel on the outskirts ready for
ajudicious bolt At this hotel there arrived
one morning young German girl who was
engaged, we learned to a sergeant in the
regiment garrisoning Saarbrucken. She
mad come to say farewell to her sweetheart
before the fighting should begin, and he
n should march away, mayhap never to re-
turn.
Some Of the liveler spirits among us con-
celved the idea that the pair should get mar
Flea before the parting should be said. Both
were willing. The bridegroom's officer gave
y pith leave, on condition that, should the
alarm sound, no was to join his battalion
WITHOUT moments delay. All was in
readiness, and the clergyman was Just about
10 JON he pair in holy matrimony, when
the sound of bugle suddenly broke in on
tne Stiffness 1t was the alarm. The bride
groom hurried embraced his bride, buckled
On us requirements and darted off to the
alarm-platz. In ten minutes more the COM
Dat was IN full swing The French had
carried the nights overhanging the stown,
and were pouring down upon it their artil-
lery and misraileuse fire. Our hotel was
right in the line of fire. and soon became
exceedingly disagreeable quarters. We
got the women down into the
teilar, and waited for events. A
SHE'LL crashed into the kitchen, burst inside
NE cooking stove, and blew the wedding
TeakfasC, which was still being kept hot
no what an American colleague called
everlasting smash.h IL was too hot to stav
mere, and everybody strategieally maneI-
sered to the rear, Including the German
battalion which had constituted the garri>
Eln A few days later was fought. close to
Saarorucken, the desperate battle of the
opicheren, In which the bridegrooms regi
.1ent TOOK leading part. The dey after
s s3 oattle was wandering about the battle
neia helping TO relieve the wounded. and
tatI1g shudderingly on the heaps of dead.
tuuuenIy came on our bridegroom. his
acS resting against stump He was
1oUe dead, with bullet through bis throat.
The MOST THRILLING EPISODE.
sA that colossal struggle was the sinru-
H dramatic climax of the battle of
Ssvsotte: All day long, from noon until
sNng Gown OF the sun, the roar of the
u9a and the roll of the muskatry had
~. IIcessant. The deep raviue between
Nsasseotte and st. Hubert was a horrible
m NJ wherein seethed struggling
,Ass of German eoidiarr -. -