Okolona messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1900-current, 1907-12-11
BRAVERY OF TURKS
NOT THE RESULT OF RELIGIOUS
IksPi ALTON.
Writer In the Contemporary Review
Declares indifference to Danger
Ia a Purely tSeIal Char
acteristc WIKI Them.

The bravery of the Turkish fMeh.
med (Tomny) IL wsll kacwn Ac-
cordirg to A. de Bilinsty in the Con
nptrary Review, it proceeds from
- absolute uncoasciousacs IS, of dan
er. In It's blindness it is almost ami
alike, but, preci ely On that ac-
cant, knows no limits. Its nature is
, st revealed BY the att2ntion the
furnish soldier is capable OF giving
tie thick of battle to trivial details
f ordinary life, such as tie undoing
his boot strinos, which he will sit
Nn calmly and uaccacerncdly to put
{, or the tiieht of bird, " oh he
XII follow in is ccur e, OF h NOR
% iacldcnt which win set hiia laugh
ns II is q purely racial character
eec Contrary "a wkat is generally
thought to be the case, religious in
raton has little or nothing to do
with it.
Islamism only ADDS to the war)i6e
enthusiasm of the Turk 1t makes him
more eager, more gtfe5nous, more en-
terprisins III BATHS with the infidel,
since death in such a case secures to
HIN the traLe 71dent rewards OF
martyfdom lat his fearlessness is
not greater when he is waging war
against the latter than when he is
fighting his re- ..,,cus hlbanian or
Arab coreligicrist. whlct he S con-
stantly employee in doing Ivy order OF
the sultan. II - ~ 1.da.ils as he is
brave, and as G'3cirl ine1 as he is en-
during What e IAN put up with in
the way of harls.!rg CT every descrip-
ton is far beycld tho ca acity of the
European soldia" Ect excluding the
Russian, who, however, might equal
the Turk in this connection were it
not for the drinking habit to which he
is a victim and from which the former
is absolutely fISe.
To find an cI,t parallel for the
power of the Turk to DEFY all forms of
suffering we must go 10 China and
Japan. 1t does not detract in the least
from his merritt in this re pest to say,
what is perfectly true in his case as in
that of the Chinese and Japanese, that
his impassivenoss where pain-produc-
ing circums Slnces are. concerned, pro-
ceeds in a great measure from insensi-
bility. Ultimately this means the pos
session of an exceptionally healthy
and robust constitution; and health
and strength, which certainly are
among the inhertances of the Turk,
are great virtues. The discipline of the
Turk does not show in superficial mat
tiers. He reserves his salute for full
blown generals and otherwise behaves
towards his superiors with sans
gene which produces bad impression
on those who are accustomed to con-
meet obedience with complicated dis
play of respect. But his submissive
ness to those in command is quite
extraordinary, though under the pres
ent government of Turkey the con-
ditions of his military service have
become so intolerable that mutiny
has become a frequent occurrence in
the imperial army The wonder is
that any discipline at all exists in it's
midst The reliant and resourceful,
should add that this last quality is
characteristic of all the inhabitants
of Turkey, who, in the semibarbarous
condition of the courts, ars constantly
forced to exercise their wits with
great keenness to preserve their late
existence