Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1893-02-09


and all by frost bite. 1 only knew tbis
When l got to my hotel and began tn |,
draw from my thumb. Then the pain
as 1t began to thaw was excruciating.
Didn't you feel nervous the first dav
You We're out?''
Yes: that first day L viii never for
get 1t was at a place called Sisitza
on the borders of Bosnia that / re-
ceived my baptism of fire The Ser
VANS, with whose army l was march
ing, were about to invade Turkish ter
ritory by attat king that town. / march
ed with the troops on foot and heard
the crack of the musketry in our i'm
mediate front but this didn't appear
more to ME than a field day at VIM
bleton would have done. At first one
never feels the danger when one only
hears the noise Of the firing Presently
on my left battery of Servian artil-
| leIy in position opened fire. So ] walk
| ed up and watched their shells bursting
/ in some scrub in our front, and present
4 " curious rushing noise came through
1 the air and then there was a terrific
! explosion behind me, whee stood a
small pine forest When this explosion
took place the top of one of the pines
was blown into atoms and noise very
much like that of a huge tuning fork
from the vibrations of one of the trees
/ that had been struck made me wonder
for & moment what had happened.
Very soon the Servian artillery limbere
up and began to quickly retire down the
road through the forest up to which we
had marched in the early morning.
was looking on at this to me eXtraor-
dina''v movement on the part Of the
/ ServianS when number of Seryian
infantry who had been lying under
cover of the scrub in front Of our bat
terry rushed past me. AS the mass OF
men crowded a little on the road a
little below on which the artillery was
disappearing Xone of the enemy's
shells instead of striking the pine trees
burst in their very midst. Then for
the first time the horror Of war burst
upon me; before the noise of the eX-
plosion had ceased ringing in my ears
at least half a dozen poor fellows were
w1ithing in their last agony, torn To
pieces by the sedgements of the she'll
1t was then, to steady my nerves that
/ began the first of a series of war
pictures with which ! have ILLUSTRATED
wars and battles in every part Of IA
world"
''Who is he most interesting soldier
Of all those whom you have known, Mr.
Villiers?'
'Skobeleff, emphatically' he replied
81 knew him Well-nO one knew him
better. We were great chums. He was
a regular figure of romance. He EN-
bodied the qualities of all those heroes
l had worshipped ever since l was
boy, Marlborough, Give, Nelson, Ma
poleon-alI those ''chappies' in short.
The last time / ever saw him viii al
ways live in my memory. 1t was when
the Russian army was facing COnStan-
tinople 1t was a splendid that army
afforded Of the survival of the fitteSt.
Thirty thousand grim warriors who had
come through that terrible campaign
with Skobeleff were ready at moment
to occupy the city of t:he sultans. 1t
was gray a1ternOOn, the SrSat gen
clal stood outside his tent with his bare.
shaven head, looking like a Mussulman.
He stood there the very incarnation of
war, and remarkable picture he made
outlined against the gloomy background
Further on were his escort just light
ing their camp fires. / had arrived
fom Constantinople to bid farewell to
hn 7
to meet our own Indian contingent.
Skobeleff said: Not good bye, Villiers,
but au revior We shall meet again.
but how? Will it be when we Russians
face the British?' for Skobeleff believ-
ed, as did most Of the people, that a
campaign was impending between Eng
land and Russia.