The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1905-09-13

| uiCI> III 'ctuylA Dau quietly marched
u2 to Spallvo and surrounded it. Then
a search party entered the village and
began searching the houses. The Al
banian shepherds, who had heard the
barking of the dogs, Joined them. The
soldiers were now doubly assured that
they had Apostol and his band sur
rounded at last.
Meanwhile, the pounding at the doors
as the Turks demanded entrance to
the houses, alarmed the village. For
tunately, the search began from the
side opposite to that where the bands
men were quartered. Now, it is a
standing law of the committee that the
bands must never fight in the villages.
unless absolutely cornered, 80 Apostol
and his men, still half clothed, gath
cred themselves together, and deter
mined to break through the ring. It
is probable that the traitor, who as Il
Greek, hated the Turks only a little
less than the Bulgars, had minimized
the number of the band, and that the
Turks thought they had only band
OF ordinary size TO deal with, of from
fifteen to twenty men. At any rate.
Apostol and his men had no difficulty
in walking through the circle. They
retreated quickly up the pass through
which the river runs until they could
go no further. Behind them the bluffs
descended abruptly into the Vardar:
on one side rose cliffs, on the other,
| below them, ran the river. wide,
swift stream just then, for the SHOWS
were melting. Before them the rocky
ground descended toward the village.
From Il military point of view, it was
an ideal position for defense-and
death, for 10 escape was possible.
Day was dawning then, as the
! bandsmen hastily threw up three lines
Of trenches with loose rocts and
boulders that had once tumbleG down
from the heights above them. As
soon as the Turks were able to
| locate their positions by the growing
light, they spread out in fan formation
| below, and began to fire. The bands
men numbered just thirty eight, for in
| the hurry there had not been time to
gather in the two men who were in
| the hut with the ammunition. AS
was found later, they continued Sleep
ing undisturbed, for the iurks had
not considered the hut worthy of
search, and there the ammunition and
its two guards remained in safety dur
ing the whole day. The first line of
trenches in the pass was defended by
Save Michaeloff and eleven men.
Fifty yards beyond and higher up
fifteen men were stationed, and still
higher up were Apostol and twelve
men.
Meanwhile the firing had begun to
attract to the spot the vuitures of the
Turkish army, the bashi-bazouks.
| These are disorganlzed. irresponsible
rabDIe, who seldom fight but are al.
"ays on hand to share the plunder.
On occasions, they will sometimes sup
port the troops in a charge, for th2y
are well armed. These began to gather
in great numbers now, and took up
positions with the regulars. When the
fight was two hoIrs old a Greek band
of thirty men. commanded by an officer
in the uniform Of the Greel: army, ap-
peared and joined the Turks.
Evidently the Turkish officer in COM
mand had recognized the strength of
Apostors position, for hitherto he had
ordered no attack. Meanwhile it had
been telegraphed to Salonica, two
hours away, by train, that Apostol
was cornered and more troops were
| needed. But, anxious to gain the big
| reward on Apostol's head, the Turk
lsh officer determined to get him
before his superiors arrived. Ell
! forced by the bashi-bazouks, the AL
| banians and the Greeks, he ordered
a general charge. The bandsmen al
lowed the charging throng to come
halfway up. Then four hand gren-
/ AIDES were thrown and as many volleys
fired. They also rolled down huge
boulders into the panic-stricken Turks.
The destruction by the bombs was ter
rife, for even the Turkish regulars,
fierce fighters as they are, poured down
in scrambling retreat.
Having lost heavily, the Turks made
no further efforts then to storm Apos-
tolls position. But in three hours the
reinforcements from Salonica began to
arrive. By noon twenty-five carloads
had come, two thousand soldiers in all.
Meanwhile the bashi-bazouks had
streamed steadily in from the sur
rounding villages to the number of
five thousand, some reports say. That
is probably an exaggeration, and then
too, as far as actual fighting was con.
cerned, most of these fellows prob.
ably took up the passive attitude o!
expectant spectators.
Upon the arrival Of the general otiite,