Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-08-28
TERRIBLE WAR SCENE
Horrors of Defeat In the Far 2 East Conflict.
RUSSIAN OFFICERS AWFUL NIGHT

Narrowing Experiences I'm Trying to
 Save the Wounded = Piteous Calls
 With Shattered Legs-Men Maddened
 by Pain Dance Naked In the Cold.
 The following translation from the
 Russian of an officer writing in the St.
 Petersburg Bourse Gazette appears in
 the Globe of London. It shows one of
 the many saddening pictures that have
 been sent to Russia from Manchuria:
 Tt all took place one night after an
 engagement, which had gone against
 us (Russians), as usual We were in
 camp All around me were tired men
 with sad faces and weary hearts. To
 make matters worse, all our food sup
 ply was exhausted There was not
 field hospital anywhere near us and
 there was no fuel for making a camp
 fire. All the baggage had disappeared
 literally into the earth, for nobody
 knew where it was. There were 9 de
 grees of cold. Ones skin cracked and began to peel off, and the blood in ones
 Veins seemed to become Jumps of ice.
 In such circumstances 1t would have
 meant a certain death to have stood -btill or to have given way to weariness.
 As it was, many of the men did not
 survive that night. Just picture our
 Terrible plight, if you can. Just picture
 A0.C00 men huddled closely together,
 10000 men from among whom came
 only the heavy tramping of their feet
 Dn the hard, frozen ground. Besides
 the tramp of feet there was not
 Bound, not even whisper.
 "The stragglers who had found their
 Way to the camp said that in the open country to right and left, in front and
 1n their rear, they had heard cries for
 help, wailing and lamentation, groans
 and sighs from our wounded. who had
 been left behind in the darkness far from the main force. They wanted to catch up with their comrades, but such of them as could manage to walk had no means of helping the weaker ones to get along, and so they had to be left behind to their fate. For what could have been done with them? How was it possible to help them?
 We must get together the wound ged,' cried aloud. We cannot leave them to die without trying to help s&hem. Who will come with mef' There was no answer So went up to the gcolonel, who just turned his back on fme. Then I tried to speak with the general. He passed by me without saying one word. A surgeon of high rank replied to me when I told him what wished to do: What are we to do with the men2 We have no stretch CTS; we have no drugs: we have not single instrument; we have simply nothing. So you had better leave them alone in peace. Good night Not a sympathetic word was to be had any where. The feeling of pity was quench- ted, and nobody shuddered any longer At the most horrible sights. Every where was a deadened indifference. From the generals down to the com mon soldiers everybody knew that per .haps 1t would be his turn tomorrow. Still, 1 found few sparks of feeling among them. 1 managed to scrape to- gether a few stretchers, and about 100 of the soldiers followed me as struck out of the camp into the intense black ness of the night. .-....- ..-.. Z We lighted torches, but we had pcarcely need of them. for after we had marched for about an hour the groans of the wounded were a better guide to ns than were our torches, which were swept about by the wind in all direc- lions and threatened to go out every moment. Every now and then we pulled ourselves up shortly like fright Rned horses as we stumbled up against patches of men. Suddenly was aware that something had seized me and was holding me fast to the spot: something was closing in on me like iron bands Ii was two hands grasping my feet and digging into my flesh like hooks of steel. while a mans teeth were try. ing to tear through the leather of my high boots, and all the time amid horrible bowling like the baying of a dog I cried aloud from fright. and some of my men came running up. We saw lying before us a shattered man. n blood sOddened body. for both bis legs had been shot away. As 1t was quite impossible to get me free from the poor fellow. some of the men with me smashed the mans skull with their inusket ends. How I survived those cannot tell My heart seem td 10 cease to beat and wild. delirious thoughts passed through my brain as If were in a deep fever. 1 felt that I must escape from the terrurs of that swful night. so pulled myself togeth. rr and called out to the men. stop it: ssyp it. Quickly. quickly. I can bear t no loneerr
 T was about to return to the camp when suddenly we heard on our right bowling and shrieking. wilder and more penetrating than the piteous calls for help which came 10 us from ali sides. As I could not refuse to follow Inc bowling. went. much against my will in the dire-tlou whence it came. In ihc weird light cast ly the torches. which could srHrceiy pierre the dark hess. | saw before me-and it was in no Authorization fifty. a hundred. prota- hly two hundred. men. ali stark naked md capering and dancing abOnt in all manner Of movements. and aIi the time 'bev uttered curses Yss. they dM -aans.