The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-05-06
A STRAY SHOT.

1t was q warEl time in the Moravia
ea1ley-not only dramatically, for the
summer was exceptionally hot and op-
pressive, but warm with the heat Of bat
tie, burning villages and blazing camp
fires. Every night for the last week in
August, 1875, dull red light flowed
over the valley, coloring the Impid wa
tiers of the Moravia with bloodlike tints.
A low cracking and kissing came
signing with the evening breeze from
burning homesteads Of the unfortunate
Servian peasantfy as specks of bright
fame shot up into the air. Each days
bloody work added to the nights ruddy
glow, for the Turks were always victori-
GUS and destroyed everything that came
in their way as they advanced up the
valley, illustrating the aphorism,
.Where the hoof Of the Turkish horse
treads no blade of grass ever grows"
had watched the last shots one evening
flicker against the purple background Of
the darkening hills, SCATTERING in the
cleaning like fecks Of fire from a flint
and steel, for the Turks were now with
in few miles Of our town, and tomor-
row portended q warmer period still.
Far into the night the stfetcher bear
ers were trailing over the Aaexinatz
bridge up through the winding streets Of
the town with their groaning burdens of
MANNED humanity.
EARLY in the month several English
surgeons and dressers had arrived, and
under the superintendent Of Surgeon
Major Mackellar were busy at work in
the little schoolhouse, which had been
transformed early in the campaign into
q temporary hospital. Tonight there
was an almost unbroken line of bearers
stretching from the schoolhouse through
the main street out of the town into the
open country.
Archibald Forbes and !, after a hasty
meal in the little hostelry near by, would
devote our evenings to starting from the
hospital and examining the patient suf-
ferers on their litters as they awaited
their turn. We found that many of the
badly wounded had waited since early
dawn for treatment, and some, growing
impatient, had struggled out of their
6ulObCAClG VI DlOthC4 WdROuS dIlU
crawled along the sidewalks toward the
schoolhouse till their life blood had
drained from their veins down the gut
tiers. There they lay, stiff and stark,
staring up into the face of the mellow
moon. AS we walked slowly down this
sad procession we would turn those who
were already dead aside to make room
ap6 no fsr,on CHI
gain the hospitals. Forbes and l wan
dered backward and forward on this
painful duty till the fires in the valley
paled in the stronger light Of dawn.
The three or four rooms constituting
the hospital were crowded with wound
ed; there was hardly space for the doc
tors to work in, and this they had to do
by the itful flicker of few tallow can
dies stuck in patches of grease on the
floor. ! had been assisting the surgeons
by passing the instruments from one
room to the other, holding q candle, or
pressingthe hand 6f some poorfellow
under treatment, when, alaaost faint
with the sitting atmasphere, i thought l
would seek some fresh air. Picking my
way through Che, crowd Of wounded on
the landing and stairway. I had at last
gained the street entrance, when my leg
was plucked at by some poor creature IN
the shadow of thaportal. AS he lifted
his facea moonbeam fell on a sight /
shal1 never forget. His face, a mere
pulp, was crushed by fragment OF
shell, and wasas black as a negroes with
lclotted gore; only air bubbles frothed
from where his nose and mouth had
been.
Staring appalled, at this grewsome sight.
he aroused me by touching my boot and
slowly lifting his arm pointed to the
lower part Of his face. The poor fellow
repeated this action before understood
him. Then / knelt by hisside, unscrewed
my brandy flask and poured some of the
liquid down his throat. He could not
express his gratitude by word Of mouth.
but his eyeids trembled and he slowly
lifted his arm again gradually, bringing
his hand to the salute. The quiet pa
thence Of this soldier, his fearful plight,
will ever remain in my memory.
During the night contingent of Rus
oArA&4 t0AhA@sSSaS- GAAA4tOA WAuk q LOW 9ll1-
GERS. Then, when the sun was well up.
Servian re-enforcements came in from
Belgrade. To blare Of bugles, with
swinging gait, they tramped down the
street. Some of the few remaining
wounded Of the previous nightstil1 lying
in the CUTTERS aroused themselves for the
moment and tried to turn their groans
to cheers. Regiment after regiment
passed on. Far into the morn the points
of the bayonets glistened above the dust
as the troops marched through the town
out into the open, down into the valley
the valley of the shadow of death, for
the smell Of powder and blood was every
where. The desultory shots which had
been exchanged in the early morning
gradually ceased, and for time uni
versal quietude reigned, but just before
midday the opening Of the artillery fire
on both sides and the sharp crackle of
musketry prcsaged close fighting.
am easily stirred by some dramatic
action in a good play or the martial
strains of fine band, but tho ping of