The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1913-02-21

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in the third and fourth centuries
keeping along the upper, or north sid
of the Danube river, the Roman en-
pire furnishing every attempt to eros:
to the south side; but when, toward
the close of the fourth century, the
terrible Huns began pressing behint
the Goths, their desire to get south Of
the Danube awakened again, and they
earnestly petitioned the Eeastern Ro.
man emperor Valens to enter his do
mains; and in an evil hour he consent
ed; the Goths were then considered
Barbarians and were pagans in reli-
gion. Valens was weak man and
feeble ruler, and when too late he saw
his great mistake; the Goths once
across the Danube with families and
possessions spread out over Thrace
and penetrated its fruitful valleys.
| We have heard a good deal about
Adrianople in the Bulgarian war, that
is "the city of Hadrian." founded by
the Emepror Hadrian in the second
century, he having selected the site;
it soon became an important place,
and several Emperors made it head
quarters while directing wars north
| and east, or while directing govern
ment policies; and Valens was there
with his advisers in the year A. D. 378,
when a fierce battle was Joined be-
tween the Roman army and the recent
immigrants. the Goths; when too late
Valens had seen his mistake in allow
ing the Gothic horde within the con-
fines of the Empire, and he tried to
pen them up and turn them back; he
was vacilating statesman and had no
military ability; on the other hand,
his nephew, Gratian, not yet twenty
years old, the Western Emperor, had
already won renown as an able gen.
eral in wars in Gaul and Germany; he
sent word to his uncle that he would
come as quickly as possible to his aid;
it is curious how all through history
we find weak men often very self-con-
ceited and jealous; Valens began to
fear the effect of the coming of the
young Gratian, because of his sue
cesses and popularity, and determined
to attack the Goths himself, hoping
to win all the glory and advantage.
The Gothic general was able and
knew all of Valen's weakness; the bat
tie was joined on the 9th of August
A. D. 378, near what is now Adrian
ople; it was fierce, and fatal in its con-
sequences. 1t might be called a
drawn battle" so far as the outcome
of the combat was concerned; when
too late, Valens tried to be daring,
was out-generaled, and lost his life.
Gibbon says it marked the turning
point of the Roman Empire; the
Goths were in and refused to 20 out;
they remained, and crowding more
and more, at last over-threw the old
Roman Empire, and brought on the
Dark Ages of Europe Centuries after
came the Moslems and fought over
the same region most ruthlessly, and
established themselves in Adrianople
as their capital for long time; and a
celebrated mosque and the tombs of |
many of their noted Sultans at that
place is one reason why the Turks are
so unwilling to leave that city.
And in this present war the Greeks
have captured Saloncia; that is the
ancient city of Thessalonit, of old
Macedon, and the metropolis of old
!llyricum. Many battles have been
fought in that region from the earliest
times, and only twelve years after the
battle of Adrianople, above men
toned, there was an awful slaughter
in Thessalonica, the story of which
makes me devoutly thankful that l do
not live under war-lord, whose per
soma! quarrels may plunge my country
into bloody war; even in our time the
personal differences between Napoleon
III and Bismark furnished the occas-
ION which opened the bloody Franco
Prussian war of 1870. The great
Isheodosius had become the Eeastern
Emperor in 37o; he was an able and
good man; but an absolute ruler; and
when some of the hot-heads of Thes-
salonica insulted the Emperor and de-
fled his authority, in a fit of anger he
ordered punishment, and that consis-
ted OF letting loose a lot of Gothic
soldiers in his service to kill men.
women and children unfortunately
for three hours; they had been invited
to the circus and then were set upon
without warning; accounts differ as
to the number of victims, the lowest
number being seven thousand and the
highest twelve thousand! Think of
1t! innocent men women and child
rem slaughtered to appease the violent
temper OF one man. An hour later he
gave the order he repented, and sen,
a messenger to stop the deed, but he
was too late. 1t is some comfort TO
know that there was some Christ
spirit abroad in the land at that time:
tor the great Ambrose, Archbishop of
Milan, although the intimate friend of
the emperor Theodosius, refused to
see him till he publicly expressed his
repentance of that awful deed, which
he did. in public in a most penient
manner.
Thank God we live in a republic;
our president cannot rush Us into anv
sort OF war, even with turbulent and
exasperating Mexico; and even Con
gress will be very slow to do anv-
thing of the kind. Better that a few
suffer in body or estate as victims of
the fighting Mexicans, rather than to
sacrifice hundreds of our soldiers. with
the following sorrow of their families
and an increase Of the already album.
dant dislike of the American BY the
Mexican. '"e
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