The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1904-04-29

spondent, was fond of telling how he
met Skobel.cu, the Russian general,
after one OF the fercest Of the many
desperate fights before Plevna. Il was
sitting in my tent writing a Dispatch
a Forbes, when the flap was sud-
denly drawn aside and in stalked the
most terrible and awe inspiring OBJ
1ect nave ever seer in my life. 1t
was Skobeleff, whom l knew we'll, but
l had to look twice before l recognized
l m 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
great drops of it fell on the floor Of
the tent as he greeted me. There was
a terrible cash across the top of his
forehead, and his eyes still blazed with
the fierce excitement of the hand to
hand fight which he had just had with
hundreds Of Turks.
"While he stood there telling me
about the battle, his favorite captain,
kuropatkin. came up and cased him
away to decide about the disposition Of
some of the prisoners. Kuropatkin
looked even more like a god of war
fresh from the scene of carnage. He
was bleeding from a dozen wounds,
but he stood az steady as a rock when
he saluted Skobeleff. The latter sug-
gested that he had better go into the
hospital, but he CURLY replied: NO,
general. There is work to be done.'
II heard afterward that Skobelef
and Kuropatkin had fought side by
side throughout the bloody day and
had slain the Turks literally by doz-
ems. Their exploits formed the theme
Of many a story told beside the camp
fire of both armies throughout the
campaign"
After the death of Skobeleff, in 1882,
Kuropatkin was summoned from en-
trail Asia by the car and given one
high military Office after another at
St Petersburg, his special work being
to reorganize the Russian army. He
was regarded at first as a plain, bluff
soldier, who would never NEEDLE in
politics, and consequently, everybody
welcomed him advancement. But, to
the chagrin Of the ministers, he de-
veloped into an ardent politician and
gained great influence with Alexander
I'LL, and later with the present CA
On the whole, that influence seems
to have been wisely used. Many Rus
slams deny the common statement that
kuropatkin is the head of the wal
party, and say that, although he las al
VI7av StronI1ny1c1v o1vooo tod R1,ccior
expansion in Asia, he has invariably
opposed schemes likely, in his judg-
ment, to lead to war. Certainly he has
often spoken against war, both pub
licly and privately, declaring that he
witnessed more than enough Of it's
horrors. While governor of Trans
caspia, from 1890 to 1898, his policy
was constantly peaceful, and he sue
ceeded in pacifying several restless
tribes with whom a bellicose governor
would certainly have fought.
kuropatkin has the reputation of
being an excellent judge of men and
always on the lookout for keen young
officers who banker after the post Of
responsibility and danger, as he used
to do in his younger days. Such men
found the path to promotion made
smooth for them while he was minister
of war. He seems, if his su%bordinates
may be believed, to know something
about the character and record of each
individual officer in the army.
AS a strategist and military writer
Kuropatkin enjoys a European repu-
tation. His works On the Balkan cam
paign and the central Asian wars are
in the library of almost every Russian
officer, and are widely read in other
armies. They have been translated
into several languages,