The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1915-02-26

of The Associated Press. The
gauntlet Of dangers through which
small band of Americans and English
men passed in their escape from a cop
per mining camp in the Caucasus
mountains at the time Of the outbreak
Of war between Turkey and Russia is
told by \. II. Trotter of Syracuse. y .
Y, chief engineer of the company. who
has finally reached London. Their
adventures form one of the most excit-
ing of the minor episodes of the war
The mining village where the party /
was caught iss called DzansOul. and lies |
high up in the mountains about 40 |
miles from the Russian port Of Batoum
on the Black sea. The defense of these |
mountain villages was left to only a |
few companies of Russian police armed |
with old black powder rifles. The re-
port that the Turks were advancing
| in force from the south, and had driv- |
en- in some of the Russian outposts
reached the village in November. ana
! this was the first news that hostilities
had begun. The people in the smelter
camp Were slow to realize the danger
that surrounded them, and took no
steps to escape until the American
manager of the company, r. T. White.
was shot one Sunday morning while
on his way from the camp to the
mines, some miles higher up in the
mountains.
White was riding up the trail when
shot suddenly poured upon him from a
ridge across a ravine. Both he and his
horse were struck, and he fell from the
animal, wounded in the leg. From noon
until evening he lay in the shelter of
THE rock, sniped at every sine he show
ed his head. At dusk, a party, of which
Trotter was a member, sneazed up the
trail to effect his rescue. They brought
him down to camp, and then sent him
to Batoum.
The following evening some Rus
sian soldiers, with a battery of three
inch field guns moved up They sta
toned two of the guns near the sneltcr
and four others lower down at kura.
( Most of the non-combatants of the
f village left for Batoum, but small
: party of Americans and British re
> manned at camp. The situation was not
= taken seriously. as the Turks were
: thought to he only a small party OF
= marauders.
p The next morning when the two Ru@
S sian guns at the mine opened up ~ the
crest held by the Turks. the infantry
:. (which had been increased to about 40l
f men at the mine, were forced int
= their trenches by the hot return fire
- IOf the Russians. only Il small band o
4 Cossacks carried modern guns, the re
\ scrvists. having only single shot pieces
4 The mountain police. who were i'm thu
I ma ority, were armed with ancien
4 guns, as said, firing black powder an
1 lead bullets.
The fighting became 50 intense. tina
1 Trotter decided to make his escape O
! the way down the mountain he ofte
4 had to take refuge from the fire 4
I Kura he met a Russian ammunitio
4 train. whose officers arrested him =
n German spy and seized a package q
bank notes he had with him.
Meanwhile, however, the Turks ha
slipped across the crest Of the opposit
/ bridge and had begun a surprise a
I tack on the ammunition train Tt
\ horses which got the worst Of it, holte
! down the mountain. wreckin@ as the
4 ran MANY of the carts of supplies an
I ammunition.
Trotter tried to Jump on one Of II
4 wagons to escape, but was prodded c
= with bayonets. and sought cover. Wh'
w a motor car filed with wounded can
4 by he tried his luck again. but was Il
able to explain himself, for lack
u Russian, and was again bayoneted {
4 the ear
II The Russian commandant coming
II later in an automobile, gave him sa
Il conduct to Borchka, where the ammul
4 tion train was overtaken and Trotter
IA money recovered. With a Temporal
u pass from the officer, he made his w
by rowboat to Batoum.
The rest Of the English-speaki
II party at camp, caught in the fighti
4 too late to escape, had remained in t
small hospital at the mine, flying t
Red Cross flag. The artiIlcrymen SCI
~ ing the guns at the camp were cut
. to two men, and the infantry iowa
- might became helpless. The Tur
!werc advancing in the dark. light
II their way with burning sheds. Two
II the party, an American aud a Scott
II man, started out to cross the mountaf
to the Russian town of Artvin, wh
the others, under cover of darkn,
II took a chance on reaching orehka a
Il cot through safely. The Americ
II Morris Caldwell, and the Scott got /
III in the mountains and were for TIL
II DAYS without food, before they ina
III arrived at a river which thew had
II swim In midstream they were gre
II Cd by rife fire The Scot was XII
and his body drifted down stream,
II ICaldwell escaped to Turkish villa
III He was so worn ont, that he e,
. dropped off to sleep while seeing
80 Turk in the same room wbet a butte
! !. !. !. !. !. |. !.
knife and talk about Holy war
HI BY good fortune, an old Turk form
ly employed at the mine recogni
II Caldwell as an American and set
free. lie returned to the mine, boar
up the camp, and then worked his '
to Trebizonde. Here he was arres
u ! !. TT