The age-herald., 1898-07-04
THE HORRORS OF WAR.


 Six hundred shots mnutei What a frightful slaughter must accompany the use of these terrible weapons, capable of throwing such a relentless hail of death- dealing projectilesl How destructive of life modern battle must provei
 Such is the opinion one hears constant- ly expressed in these days of Maxim and dynamite guns; yet, surprising as it may seem, an investigation into the facts, com ing down to the bedrock of figures and
 statistics, reveals an entirely different state of affairs from that usually imagin- ed. Not only were there more men ac- tually killed in the battles of olden times, but also the percentage of dead was often far greater than in modern engagements.
 For instance, compare the battle of Marathon, which was fought in the year 391 B. C., and is one of the earliest of which there exists any authentic record, with that of Ha-Shan in the Chino-Japa- nese war of 1894. In the former conflict out of total of some 10000 troops en- gagged, nearly 1000 were left on the field. while in the latter only 75O dead were counted, though the opposing forces amounted to more than 1000 men; a dis PoiilS iieie SStllS ilcOHlpTentnSlDle when We remember that throughout the war the, Japanese were provided with the lat est types of guns and ammunition. Some of the battles of ancient times showed a proportion of dead or disabled that can- not be accounted for unless we accept the view that the wars of those days were waged in the spirit of a policy of extermi- nation pure and simple, in the belief that success was not assured until every enemy had been killed, or captured with view to subsequent torture and execution.
 Three memorable battles took place in France shortly after the advent of the Christian Era, and the story of each of them is fraught with intense interest as marking the successive dowhfalls of three powerful nations that strove in turn to ob- tain mastery over Central and Western Europe. Every one bloody butchery.
 At Dethmold, A. D. 9, 160O0 Roman troops under Varus, with some 9 600 camp-follow- CTS. were skilfully surrounded and cut to pieces by large force of Teutons under Arminius, not one of the unfortunate de- scendants of Romulus, it is believed, es- caping to tell the tale.
 Four centuries later, at Chalons, Attila, at the head of his villainous multitude of rapacious Huns, met the allied forces of Romans, Franks and Goths, 300 000 strong, Attilas strength was estimated at fully 100000. The night before the great conflict a skirmish took place between outlying pickets, in which over 900 troops were killed, but the following evening the plain was strewn with the corpses of the slain to the number of close on to a quarter of million.
 The third of the epoch-making contests was fought at Tours, in the year 732. and resulted in the driving back of the Moors across the Pyrenees. which they had crossed under the leaos rship of Abderrah- man, with the intention by one bold stroke of conquering Frankland and crushing the rising faith of Christianity that was strid- ing rapidly through Western Europe At the head of 100000 Arab troops Abderrah- man arrived at Tours without encountering the slightest opposition, and proceeded to encamp at a little distance from the an- Christians had meanwhile assembled under the banner of Charles, afterwards Martel, and, with only 30,0O0 followers, the cham- pion of Christendom determined to give battle to the Saracen. The cause of the Cross prevailed against the almost over whelming numbers of the heather, and the victory was accomplished by the inevita- ble wholesale destruction of the vanuuished If we can believe the accounts of the his- torians of the period, Abderrahman and 3io,O0O of his followers were ruthlessly butchered while the Christian loss was on-