The Savannah morning news., 1904-01-24

The late Archibald Forbes, the
famous war correspondent, used to be
fond of telling how he met Skobeleff,
the greatest of Russian generals, after
one of the f1ercest of the many des-
nerate fights before Plevna.
Il was sitting in my tent writing
despatch" said Forbes, when the
dap was suddenly drawn aside and in
stalked the most terrible and awe
inspiring object 1 have ever seen in
my life. 1t was Skobeleff, whom 1
knew well, but I had to look twice
before 1 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 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 foreht ad, 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,
Kouropatllin, came up and called him
away to decide about the disposition
OF some of the prisoners. Kouro-
patkin looked even more like a god
of war fresh from the scene of car
mage. He was bleeding from half a
dozen wounds, but he stood as steady
as a rock when he saluted Skobeleff.
The latter suggested that he had bet
ter go into the hospital, but he curtly
replied, No, General. There is work
to be done
Il heard afterwards that Skobeleff
and Kouropatkin had fought side by
side throughout that bloody day, and
had slain the Turks literally by doz-
ems. Their exploits formed the theme
of many a story told beside the camp
fires of both armies throughout the
campaign"
Capt. Kouropatkin, who was the
right-hand man of Skobeleff all
through the Russo-Turkish War, as
we'll as in the fight at Plevna, is now
Gen. Kouropatkin, the Cars Min
lister of War; and the most noted of
all the Russian fighting men. He was
trained in 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 held. All night he lay there, sore
wounded 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 COW
cred by the body of a dying Turk, who
had fallen across him after he sunk
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-
celVed him as if he were a ghost
houropatkin became the hero of the
russian army, second only to his
great leader Skobeleff, by his bravery
ana me generaiship at the capture OF
Cock Tepe in 1882.
When the Russians, baked of their
creams of winning Constantinople by
tne Berlin Congress, were making
tHer great swoop through Central
ASA to the gates of Herat, Lord
oaisbury told the British public not
10 De alarmed for the safety of India.
4hey VIII not be able to conquer the
Iurcomans,' he declared. 1.-The Tur-
conan barrier will last for our life
time, at least"
Gen. Tergoukasoff, the Russian
commander in Central Asia, disagreed
with Lord Salisbury. He told the
Gar that the Turcomans might be
conquered by three years hard fight
ing That is too long" said the
Ear. He recalled Tergoukasoff, and
sent Skobeleff to command the troops.
ohooeleff promptly secured Kouro-
tdlkln for his chief lieutenant, and
roeether they performed in a few
mqeAs the task which the British Pre-
4hleF declared would take lifetime.
:. Ieok Tepe. the great stronghold of |
.ie Iurcomans, was carried by as
o 90 after a months siege. The brunt |
~ oa lne attack fell on Kouropatkin, who |
ttoIIlInanded contingent of light |
loops from Turkestan. 1t was a great |
o ottcIory' but it sullied the reputation |
VI potn the Russian leaders. They |
to their troops to give no quar-
49, 10 the Turcomans of either sex,
or 49, all the horrors usual when such
SlS are given were perpetrated.
rSpee1ators say that even when the !
suIeomans fled in a disorderly mob
biosS the desert, men, women and
~ 4Ien mingled together, no mercy
COS SHOWN to them. Artillery and
Larry followed in their rear and
lived them down, until darkness put
b,,, end to the pursuit In that few
po ' chase one thousand pursuing
russians slaughtered eight thousand