Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1904-03-03
RUSSIA'S GREAT
MILITARY LEADERS
Some Famous Fighters, At Whose Head Stands Gen
Kouropatkin, the Right-fand Man OF Gen.
SkoEeleff,

New York Sun-The late Archibald
Forbes, the war correspondent, was
fond of telling how he met Skobelef,
the Russian general, after one of the
fiercest of the many desperate fights
before Pleyna.
Il was sitting in my tent writing
dispatch" said Forbes, when the flap
was suddenly drawn aside and in
stalked the most terrible and awe-in-
spring object have ever seen in my
life. II was Skobeletf, whom | knew
well. hut had to look twice before l
recognized him.
His smart generals uniform was
torn into shreds and stained with
blood and gunpowder from head to
foot. His sword, which he held in his
hand was simply smothered in blood,
and sreat drops of it fell on the floor
Cf the tent as he greeted me.
There was a terrible cash across
the top of his forehead, and his eyes
still hlazed with the, fierce excitement
of the hand-to-hand fight which he
had just had with hundreds of Turks.
w AlIC liz SlONN. bhSlS lSiiihAS1 tAlS
about the battle. his favorite captain
Kouropatkin, came up and called him
away to decide about the disposition
of some Of the prisoners. Kouropat-
kin looked even more like god of
war fresh from the scene of carnage.
He was bleeding from half dozen
wounds, but he stood as steady as
F,l 1Nff no
latter suggested that he had better go
into the hospital, but ne CURLY re-
piled:
No. general. There is work to be
done.
Il heard afterward that Skobeleff
and Kourcpatkin had fought side by
side throughout that bloody day, and
had slain the Turks literally by
dozens. Their exploits formed the
themes of many a story told beside the
campflres of both armies throughout
the campaign"
Captain KCuropatlin, who was the
right-hand man OF SkObelef all
through the Russo-TurRish war, as
well as in the fight at Plevna, is now
General Kouropatkin, the cars min
lister of war. and the most noted of all
the Russian fighting men,
He was trained in a harder school
than most modern generals, and went
through enough perils to satisfy the
biggest glutton for adventure. After
one of the bloody fights in the Shipka
Pass he was left for dead upon the
field.
All night he lay there sore wound
ed and unconscious 1t was in the
bitter cold Of a Balkan night and he
might have frozen to death had he not
been almost entirely covered by the
body of a dying Turk, who had fallen
across him after he sank to the ground
with the agony of his wound
In the morning Kouropatkin re-
covered consciousness, crawled from
underneath the Turk, and made his
way slowly and painfully to the Rus
sian camp, where his comrades re-
ceiyed him as if he were a ghost.
KCnr0patkin became the hero Of the
Russian army, second only to his great
lead r Skobeleff. by his bravery and
fine generalship at the capture Of
GooI Tepe in 1882.
When the Russians, baked in their
dreams Of winning Constantlncple by
the Berlin congress, were making their
great ewoop through Central Asia to
tha gates of Herat Lord Salisbury
told the British public not to be alarm
"a for the safety of India.
They viii not be able tc conquer
the Turkomans," he declared. "The
Turkoman barrier will last for our life
time at least"
General Tergoukasof, the Russian
commander in Central Asia, disagreed
with Lord Salisbury. He told the car
that the Turkomans might be con.
quered by three years hard fighting.
That is too long" said the czar.
He recalled Tergoukasoff and sent
Skobeleff to command the troops.
Skobeleff promptly secured Kouro-
patllin for his chief lieutenant and to-
gether they performed in a few weeks
the task which the British premier
had declared would take a lifetime
Cock Tepe, the great stronghold Of
the Turkcmans, was carried by as,
sault after months siege. The brunt
of the attack fell on Kouropatkin, who
commanded a body Of light troops
from Turkestan
1t was a great victory, but it sui.
lied the reputation of beth the Rus
sian leaders They ordered their
troops to give no quarter to the Turko-
mans OF either sex, and all the hor.
rors usual when such orders are given
were perpetrated.
Spectators say that even when the
Turkomans fed in disorderly mob
across the desert men. women and
children mingled together, no mercy
was shown to them. Artillery and
cavalry followed in THAR raor apd