The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1897-05-22
STEPHEN CRANE At THE
BATTLE OF VELESTINO
Glowing Panegyrics on the Fight
ing Of the Greeks at That
Place SATURDAY..
wI1Hs1ooD EVERY ATTACK MADE
Met by Overwhelming Numbers,
They Fought Steadily, Grand
ly and With the Greatest
Success All Day.

New York, May l2.-The Journal pub
fishes a cable dispatch from Stephen
Crane, who saw the battle of Velestino,
where General Smolenski hurled back
Edhem Pasha- Crane says: THE bat
tie at Velestino proved that the Greek
soldiers, well led. can cope sue
cessfully with the Turks, even though
outnumbered. This battle proved th:u,l
to be good fighters, long fighters and
stayers. To be sure, the army retreat
ed from Velestino, but it was no fault
of the army. The commander bit his
fingers and cursed when the order came
FOR retreat. He knew his army had vic
tory within its grasp. For three days
he had been holding the Turks beauti-
fully in check, killing them as fast as
they fell upon him. In the middle @.
the intoxication OF victory came orders
to fall back. Why? / only arrived at
noon OF the second day. The roll of
musketry was tremendous; it was a
beautiful sound, beautiful as l had ever
dreamed. 1t was more impressive than
the roar OF Niagara and finer than the
thunder or avalanche, because it had
the wonder OF human tragedy in it. 1t
was the most beautiful sound in my eX-
%perience, barring no symphony, and the
crash of it was ideal.
The slaughter of the Turk was enor-
nous. The fire of the Greeks was so
fierce that the Turkish soldiers, while
charging. shielded their ears with their
hands. Eight charges of Turks were
made Saturday, and they were repulsed
each time. The desperate Turkish cav
airy even attacked their enemy on a
steep rocky hill. The insane, wicked
squadron was practically annihilated.
The scattered fragments slid slowly
back, leaving he plain black with
wounded and dead men and horses.
From a distance it was like a game.
There was no blood, no expression, no
horror to be seen. All the assaults Of
the Turks on this day resulted disas-
trously to them. The Greeks fought
With a steadiness of salaried bookkeep-
srs. never tired. never complained. 1t
was a magnificent exhibition. The
Greeks fought all the time with an ar
slllery fire on them, even in the mus
kerry lull, but nobody minded anything.
The Turks were in great numbers and
fought according to the precepts OF their
religion. But the Greeks were never
daunted and whipped them well.
sometimes it was fighting among
gaunt hills, sometimes fighting on
green plains, but always the Greeks
held their position.
When night came shells burst fire.
quently, lighting the darkness by red
flashes. l saw the wounded taken to
Volo. There was very little cutlery
among them. They We're mostly silent.
In the early morning the musketry
fire began again. 1t ratified from hill
to hial; batteries aWoke and the whole
play was resumed. The Turkish guns
We're superior to those of the Greeks,
who had mostly mountain howitzers.
l watched for a long time the blue
clad Greek infantry, marching in posi-
ton across the small plain. While I
watched the Turks changed their at
tack from the Greek right on the plain
to the Greek left on the rocky hill. Then
the fighting became obscured from my
view. The Greeks lay in trenches,
snugly t1attened against the dirt, firing
carefully, while the Turks doomed up
closely before them. Every ridge was
fringed with smoke. I saw soldiers in
the trenches ease off and take q drink
from their c%anteens, twist their car
fridge belts to put empty links behind
them or turn around to say something
to a comrade. They then went at it
again. 1 noticed one lieutenant stand
Ing up in the rear OF q trench, rolling a
cigarette, with his lips wide apart. In
this cereless attitude. a shot went
through his neck. His servant came
from the trench n knelt, weeping
over the body. regardless of the battle.
Men had to drag him in by the legs.
Reserves coming up passed a wayside
shrine. Men paused and crossed them
selves n prayed. A shell struck the
shrine and demolished it. Men In the
rear column were obliged to pray to the
spot where the shrine had been.
News came from the left that the Turks
had tried to turn that flank and failed.
The Turks formed or the right and moved
slowly across tho plain and the battery of
howitzers opened OF them. I saw troops
moving to the rear to prevent a possible
flank attack in the direction of Volo. The
fight on the plain to the right began. Mass
es Of Turkish troops like shadows slowly
moved forward TOWARD the Greek trenches
Indicated by the gray lines of smoke.
hill and to also rake the battery to the
rear. I hoped the Greeks on the plain
would hurry and drive the Turks from
short ferocious infantry fight. But the
woods where the fire occurred seemed on
fire. There was a great rafting and bang
ing and then the Turks went out defeated.
the Greek line. The officers walked proud
ly, the men in the trenches grinned. Then,
mind you, just at this time, in the after
noon after a successful day, came the or
der to retreat. Smolerenski had apparently
received the brunt Of the fighting. Yet
the center and left near Karadjah and at
Pharsalla had again retired. No one could
| nYn1Ain r. We We're not aware Of fha
situation, but it seemed an extraordinary
order. They say Smolenski wept. l went
down to see the retreat. A curious thing
was that the Turks seemed to understand
the order as quickly as we did. They
moved up batteries with startling rapidly
for the Turks. The retreat was not dis
orderly but wrsthful and sullen. A regi-
to cover the retreat and in the twilight,
frightened by Turkish shells, the Greeks
slowly withdrew.