Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-05-30

error at the sight of the strange new
rev their companions into confusion.
rebels was complete and the slaughter
It'll more celebrated son. Hannibal. en-
ployed elephants when he nearly com.
pleted the conquest of the Roman
Empire. According 10 tradition. he
would have succeeded had he not
stopped too long to enjoy the de.
lights Of Capua. The elephants were
useful in this case, but the brave
and intelligent Romans found ways
OF checking them. just as the allies
have begun TO do in the case Of the
poisonous gases used by the Ger.
mans.
The ancient Assyrlans, who were
very intelligent and ingenious PEG.
Pile. used some horribly cruel meth.
DDS OF dealing with their enemies
and extending their dominion over
the civilized world. Many of these
methods are illustrated by the won.
derful carvings found at Nineveh,
Babylon and other sites in Mesopo.
tamia.
King Assurbanipal. otherwise
known as Sardanapalus, was remark
able for his cruelties and his inge.
nuity. When he besieged Potassium,
on the frontier Of Egypt, he caused
his soldiers to hurl cats into the city.
As the cats were peculiarly sacred
to the ancient Egyptians. the unfor.
tunate people, instead Of fighting.
had 10 attend to the injuries Of the
animals.
After Assurbanipal had taken a
number OF prisoners he would order
a vast floor OF bricks to be con.
structed and have the bricks heated
to an unbearable point. Then he
would have the poor prisoners driven
on to the hot bricks, and while they
danced up and down in horrible az.
ony he would fan himself and enjoy
their sufferings.
This had the effect OF discourage
Ing war In the rest OF the popula-
ton, and Assurbanlpal regarded 1t
as a justinable military measure.
There was, of course. no Conven-
ton OF The Hague at that time.
Another practice which Assur.
banipal enjoyed was that OF flaying
his prisoners alive.
The wooden horse, by means OF
which the Greeks captured Troy, Is
one OF the earliest and most cele.
brated ruses of war. 1t cannot be
called atrocious, but az a piece Of
trickery 1t Is hardly eQualled In an.
cient history. The Greeks, having
besieged Troy IN vain for ten years,
constructed huge horse, which
they filled with armed men. This
was sent to Troy as an appropriate
Offering to the goddess Minerva, who
was worshipped in the city and was
received with great respect by the
inhabitants. In the night the Greeks
came out OF the horse and opened
the city gates to their companions,
who captured the city.
Perhaps OF all the measures
adopted In war the most tragic and
the most dramatic was that en-
ployed by the English during the
mutiny In India In 1857. The Eng.
lish took the ringleaders OF the ma.
tive soldiers who had mutinied and
murdered English civilians and wom-
en-, tied them to the mouthe OF can
non and blew them to shreds. The
reason OF this strange punishment
was that ordinary death would have
been no deterrent to the Hindus, as
they believe In reincarnation In g.
higher form. Therefore their bodies
we're blown to pieces. which made
reincarnation impossible, according
to Hindu belief.
The history Of India Is full OF hor.
rors. In the early days OF British
activities In India Suraj ah.Dowlah,
the terrible Nabob OF Bengal, cap
tured Calcutta, the principal English
settlement. He took the, 146 men
comprising the English garrison and
imprisoned them In room eighteen
feet square. In the morning only
twenty-three were alive out OF the
146, the remainder having died from
lack Of air. thirst and PRESSURE This
room is the famous Black Hole of
Calcutta"
One Of Verestchagin's celebrated
picture OF war shows how Ma.
po!eon caused captured Russian
peasants to be lined up in a church
during his invasion OF Russia in 1912
and shot. The peasants had fired on
the French soldiers and hindered the
invasion in other ways. He executed
them IN church to make the spec.
tacle more impressive.
n startling and terrifying innova.
ion IN early warfare was the use OF
Greek fire." II was first used by
the Greeks Of the Byzantine Empire
TO repel the attacks OF the Saracen
hordes on ConstantinopIe or Byzan-
tlum in 673 A. D. The Saracens
were IN overwhelming numbers. and