The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-10-31

champions holding In check their mer.
CHESS foe, were but q. handful against
Sulieman's legions. Once the Rus
slams were driven from the pass, a
bashi- bazouks would pour down into
the valley, and, sweeping over the
camping grounds Of the miserble fugi-
tives, destroy every living thing. Yes!
Only three short hours after the first
Russian left the pass the CHASTITY work
! would@begin* in these very streets.
| The light. OF the moon still prevailed
Of the old town and out on to theTopen
country. The camp fires Of the refu-
gees still starred the romantic valley
| Of the Yantra. for the dawn was only
just breaking. 10
Well" said Forbes "its going to
be an eventful day, and, as usual, we
are the only correspondents in it.
more. There's only one man who
might turn UP, and that's the Russian
Jew. IL,
"Bah!" said Forbes. Gle doesn't
count 81 ,s =.
1T is rather remarkable that out of
f1fty-eight correspondents accredited
to the army, only you and and the
the, three most important fights at
present Of the campaign" ~.
TT is," replied my friend, as he
drew up at a fountain gushing from
the side of a rock into a natural trough
and watered. his horse. Our nags were
plunging and snorting. at their refresh
ing. draught, when I heard the sound
of horse trotting up the road.
Presently a voice said: why, vot
luck! mon cher Villiers, und re ami
able Forbes" ,..n -. :, -, .:..
''Well!''z cried I, talk Of
IS, It was no less a parsonage than our
Russian. Jew. .:s.@. =. ..,... s.-s: -
The sharp rattle of infantry fire now
| filled up the interlude between the
the foothills of the Shipka. ~ The IA
nous Pass was not the ordinary gorge
| or cleft which usually signifies the
| name, but a.. track over a section of
the Balkans Of, less than average
height, which had been widened into
a fair road for artillery by the Rus
sians.s It, however, passed thru and
over a. network of ,glens: covered with
dense foliage and bare, rocky. spurs,
and was a. difficult place to hold un-
! less with big army. Forbes, who
summed up the situation, at once saw
that the Russian position as a defen-
sive one was weak, for their guns en-
with their fire the pockets Of the val
| leys and reverse slopes which hemmed
| 1t in. The Turks with good leading
might creep UP near to the guns with
out coming within the zone Of their
bursting shells. In fact, as. we ex-
pected, Stollitoff and his little force
had been hanging on, so to speak, by
the skin of their teeth, trying to keep
| the road to their base free from Sulie-
mans redifs, who were endeavoring
to join hands. Only the day before the
grip; was nearly clinched. For four
days-long midsummer days-Stol-
litoff had held the Turks at bay, swarm
ing up from those glens and reverse
slopes to environ their enemy. The
outlying posts, rounding them up on
to the main force as the cowboys OF
the&western prairie herd in their cat
tie. AL day the Russians behind their
forts and earthworks kept the Turks
from closing in with a final grip; but
as the sun dipped below the sky line
Of the hills the Turkish exultant cries
| of Allah! Allah! IL AMah!' could be
I heard on all sides as they commenced
! to close In on the gallant little force
holding the Pass. The Russian gen
erals had sent message to their car,
stating what they expected. and, in
spite of being driven into their, posi-
! lions and beset. on all sides, they
| would hold them to the last drop OF
| their blood. Toward sunset the Turks
seemed to! slacken their fire, pausing
for; the supreme effort Of driving the
last rivet in the encircling belt of
steel. = $50 ...~
The Russians lay along the bullet
swept ridge, painting and exhausted for
| want Of food and water, and the ter
rible nervous strain of the three DAYS
fighting. r. On the summit Of the pass
the two generals stood anxiously
scanning thru their glasses for a
glimpse Of the succor they so urgently
needed. The long brown trail leading
down to the Yantra valley showed no
living thing upon 1t. Stollitoff sud-
denly clutches his comrades arm and
points down the pass. A long, dark
column is winding up over the rocks
and thru the sonbec patches CT dark
| purple foliage. 49,.
Heaven be thanked" murmurs