Year: 1877

nearly bad had supposed. Indeed the road all
the way up this point has been much better than
could have imagined. II has rough, to be sure,
full Of holes and sones In some places passing for
hundred yards at time over mere heaps OF stones
that covered the whole bottom OF the hollow other
times through the fields by gates that opened at
passed. but there have been but two three places
far Parovci It has been at all Steep
With help from the in these two three places
| the horses have been able to draw the artillery
through with At Parovoi tho road began to
Steep and from here to tho summit distance OF
about two miles, the men had to help the horses
nearly the whole way. But here the great diff
Guilty OF mountain roads, their narrownoss, does not
seem to have been encountered at all. The road all
tho way TO tho summit was made wide enough for the
wide-tracked artillery wagons without any difficulty
II leads up the side Of tho little hollow, which Is
thcky wooded to the very top and brings out


long, narrow ridge, shaped like a saddle and moro
than any or sixty feet wide This Is the summit OF
the pass, and the descent the south side s per-
ceve far more preciptous than the ascent has been.
Here the will have to help hold the artillery
back instead Of pushing it forward.


GORGE.


We arc two hundred Cossacks drawn ND on this
ridge with horses heads turned south, looking
away over tho interminable labyrinth Of mountains,
hills, ridges valleys, holIows and gorges, through
which SILL have to bore way TO the Valley of
the Tundja before our passage can be assured. The
first streak Of day is just growing visible in
the east and long fash Of rosy light IS
climbing slowly up The sky. Before and be-
meath us is dark, narrow gorge still
pool OF blackness, into which we slowly descend.
We are soon down in the depths OF. the dark de-
fle The first three or four hundred yards aye
very steep; but tho end Of that time have come
fairly the little hollow and the descent the rest
~ . tho ic anti md oth
rough. The hollow is narrower even than the on
the other side, and the here are large the
branches completely uniting overhead. making 1t as
dark a cavern. We move on as silently can,
for, to tell the truth II is, for aught we know
perilous venture. Should the Turks choose lay an
ambush for us-to lot pass and place small force
on the road behind us-a hundred even fifty In
fantry would quite suface 10 bar the way
and render retreat impossible So push on
cautiously Watching for any indication OF presence
Of the enemy. Daylight soon begins to dinuse every
where down In the bottom OF this gorge,


in spite the thcky overhanging that do their
best to keep 1t out General Ranch, who is In COM
mand detaches here aud eight ten men to re-
pair the road where It, appears necessary, and pushes
This operation is repeated often that finally
We havo very tew men left and so We halt and wait
for the detachmsnt to come together again and still
there sign Of the Turks The little force down at
Khani, at tho end Of the deae, evidently does not
dream of Russian being nearer them than Tirnova
NIGHT REST.


| Slowly We work down the hollow, repairing the
road as we go, and by evening we have arrived at
place where the hollow spreads out into little valley
there plenty Of grass for the horses and hero
We camp for the night AS 1t turns out, we have
made Just half the distance the pass aud the
outlet of the deflc and have likewise made the road
passable for the army up to this point But we still
have five or SIX miles before to do tomorrow. and
as tho Turks fires lighted, no
| suppers are cooked, no tea made We cat peco
Of hard bread and & whatever bits OF cold meat





| smoke cigarette, wrap our blankets about
as and lie down on the ground for sleep, expecting
| to hear the alarm sounded at any moment But the
night passes quietly without even false alarm, and at
break OF day are again In the saddle without break
before pushing cautiously forward repairing the road
watching tor the enemy, who may appear at any mo-
dangerous part OF tho road had STILL turned out,
TO be discovered and repaired The character Of the
or ns6 the nsn ssep
| tam rising on either hand high above US, we
sharp rocky steep hills and ridges. through which
tho road wound in the most tortuous manner, somo-
times down deep in the bottoms Of the gorge some,
| feet from the bottom. II would have been moro
| dangerous place to meet an enemy even than higher
up between the two great wooded mountains small
force OF infantry posted along these sharp. rugged
heights, could have kept at bay almost any number OF
troops, for the that but small number could
| advance at a time, and for the most part I'M
possible to scale these rugged heights to the posi-


tions once tney were occupied by resoute enemy.
CossAcK ATTACK.


General Ranch paid less attention to tbe road here
than hitherto, partly because of the necessity Of push


ing rapidly forward sezng the outlet OF the deHe
partly because II would have required powder ana
blasting 10 repair the road in places heading


1t, and this would have given the Turks the alarm We
pushed cautiously forward, therefore, and about
O'Clock we turned sharp around projecting bluff that
moment before seemed to completely bar the way,
and found the dede suddenly open to the width Of
half mile aud behold beyond the valley OF the Tundia
here, not more than. half mile distant we saw
Turkish camp. General Ranch had already learned
from the Bulgarians that there were only couple OF
/ h.rn and nttpU thn Hort ,f
surprise and the certainty that the Turks could not
know but the whole Russian army were at our heels
he determined to attack and clear the outlet at once.
For 200 CossacKs to attack TWO companies OF infantry
would be the height OF absurdity IN any other country
most natural thing do imag and accord
ingiy began to advance. frrg We did rot attempt 10
away tnan to come to close quarters whore we should
certainly have got tho worst oi IT..


SURPRISED AGAIN.


Tho Turks werc, Us usual, completely taken by sur
PRISE 1t is not little remarkable that outpost SER
vice, the very first step which marks savage from
scientific warfare should be often the very last thing
learned, anu that should never be learned at all by
nations the Spaniads and tho Turks, in spite
OF their having every thing else, arms, equipments
organization, appertaining 10 modern warfare. have
seen spanish army march boldly within the enemys
| lines, billet the troops in village in a litto
| hollow surrounded by hills half mile distant,
| without putting out a single picket, with the
usual result Of surprise and defeat. The military
history of Turkey is iull OF surprises and defeats,
caused by the neglect Of the outpost service ana yet
they have learned no more on tins simple point during
the last 400 years than any other SO the force
watching most important point had put out no
pckets 1t taken by surprise. thrown into con
stcrnaton at the approach Of the Russians and
Instantly began to retreat-two companies of infantry
o the regular army before 200 Cossacks | could
hardly have believed 1t If had not It, They fred
| upon us as they ned, aud we pursued, firing upon
them, but there little harm done on either side,
| our loss being Ave six wounded We drove them
out the Slevena road beyond the village Of Khaini
| and waited the approach OF rcinforccments.


GOuRKuA's STRENGTH.


In the of the day General Gourkha arrived
with SIX battaons of Russian sharpsh ootcrs number
| ing about thousand men. and toward evening the
Bulgarian legion the dragoons the hussars the rest
OF the Cossacks and the artillery arrived, making up
the whole detachment and the outlet of the defe was
| made sale The force under General Gourkna's com
maud now consisted Of seven battaons Of Bulgarans,
| about nve thousand mon; six battalions OF sharp
shooters about two thousand men, the battalion OF
being very small brigade Of dragons,
| 900 mon; q regiment OF hussars, 500; and three
regiments of Cossacks, 2, 300 men; three batteries
/ IL HaId.. hni mo