Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-10-04
BRAVERY OF THE TURKS.
Religious Inspiration Has Little to Dc
With II.


The bravery of the Turkish "Meh-
med" (Tommy) is we'll known. Ac-
cording to A. de Bilinsky in the Con-
temporary Review, 1t proceeds f.1nl
the absolute unconsciousness Of dam
ger. In its blindness 1t is almost ami
mal-like, but. precisely on that ac-
count, knows no limits. Its nature Is
best revealed by the attention the
Turkish soldier is capable Of giving In
the thick of battle to trivial details Of
ordinary life, such as the undoing OF
his boot strings, which he will sit down
calmly and unconcernedly to put right,
or the flight Of bird, which he Will
follow in its course, or a humorous In
cident which will set him laughing. 1t
Is a purely racial characteristic. Con-
trary to what is generally thought to
be the case, religious inspiration has
little or nothing to do with 1t.
Islamism only adds to the warlike
enthusiasm Of the Turk. 1t makes him
more eager, more strenuous, more en-
terprising in battle with the infidel,
since death in such case secures to
him the transcendent rewards OF mar
tyrdom. But his fearlessness is not
greater when he is waging war against
the latter than when he is fighting his
rebellious Albanian or Arab coreligion-
ist, which he is constantly employed
In doing by order of the sultan. He Is
as enduring as he Is brave, and as
disciplined as he Is enduring. what
he can put up with in the way Of
hardships of every description Is far
beyond the capacity Of the European
soldier, not excluding the Russian,
who, however. might equal the Turk In
this connection were 1t not for the
drinking habit to which he is VIC
tim and from which the former Is alb
solutely free.
To find an exact parallel for the
power of the Turk to defy all forms
OF suffering we must go to China and
Japan. It does not detract in the least
from his merit in this respect to say,
what is perfectly true in his case as
in that Of the Chinese and Japanese,
that his impassiveness where pain
producing circumstances are concern
ed, proceeds in a great measure from
insensibility. Ultimately this means
the possession of an exceptionally
healty and robust constitution: and
health and strength, which certainly
are among the inheritances Of the
Turk, are great virtues. The disci-
pline Of the Turk does not show In su-
perficial matters. He reserves his sa-
lutte for fullblown generals and other
wise behaves toward his superiors
with a sans gene which produces bad
impression on those VINO are accus-
toned to connect obedience with a
complicated display Of respect. But
his submissiveness to those In COM
mand is quite extraordinary, though
under the present government OF Tur-
key the conditions Of his military SER
vice have become so intolerable that
mutiny has become frequent occur
renee in the imperial army. The Won
der is that any discipline at all exists
in its midst. The Turkish soldier is
withal good natured, self-reliant and
resourceful. 1 should add that this
last quality is characteristic Of all the
Inhabitants Of Turkey, who, In the
semi -barbarous condition Of the coun-
try, are constantly forced to exercise
their wits with great keenness to pre-
serve their bare existence.