EUROPEAN INTELLIGENCE.

Lyttelton Times, Volume V, Issue 231, 17 January 1855, Page 3

EUROPEAN INTELLIGENCE.

I THE LANDING IN THE CRIMEA. (From the Times' Correspondent). ah the vessels were drawn up in immense V J with a front extending over nine miles, 1 with an unknown depth—for the rigging A sails of the distant transports belonging to Jipexpedition were lost far below the horizon, ,1 -ifter we had anchored, stragglers arrived ;,' ' ], OUI . for two or three days. We were all -* expectation of a gun from the Agamemnon, f signals for landing. No gun was fired, i() we've": and no signals made to let loose the li'inedition on Eupatoria ; but a short oonversaitio'n by signal took place between generals and l',ilinirals, nand towards eight o'clock the AgaI nienuion sent off boats to the transports with the I following order to the Quarter-masters-General I of the divisions;— I ORDERS FOB SAILING. W " Wednesday night, I " The Light Division is to be actually under I way nt l > a.m., to-morrow morning. I " The 4th division to sail at 2, a.m. I " The Ist division to sail at 3, a.m. The 3rd division and the sth division to sail at 4, a.m. ; "Steer S.S.E. for eight miles. "Rendezvous in lat. 45 deg-. Do not go nearer to shore than eight fathoms." The place thus selected for landing, Old Fort, is a low strip of beach and shingle, cast up by ! the violence of the surf, and forming a sort of \ causeway between the sea and a stagnant salt \ water lake, one ot those remarkable deposits of I brackish water so frequent along this shore of the Crimea, and which abound close to our present quarters. The lake is about one mile long, and half a mile broad, and when we first arrived its borders and surface were frequented by vast flocks of wild fowl. There is another sheet to the south of us, and another to the north, between our camp and Eupatoria. The causeway is not more than 200 yards broad, and it leads at the right or southern extremity of the lake, by a gentle ascent, to an irregular table-land or plateau of trifling elevation, dotted with tumuli ior harrows, such as are seen in several parts of | England, and extending to the base of the very [ remarkable chain called, from their shape, the [ Tent Mountains. Towards the sea this plateau ; presents a precipitous face of red clay and sand--1 stone, varying i v height from 100 to 150 feet, \ and it terminates by a descent almost to the | sea-level, at the distance of nearly two miles j from the shores of the lake. Thence towards \ the south, there is a low sandy beach, with a | fringe of shingle, raised, by the action of the j waves, above the level of the land, and saving |it from inundation. This low coast runs as far | as the eye can reach, till it is lost beneath the | base of the mountain-ranges over Sebastopol. I Tiie country 'iuhmd, visible from the decks of | the ships, is covered with cattle, with grain in I stack, with farm-houses, and seems capable of I producing enormous quantities of live stock I and fodder. The stubble-fields are now covered j with wild lavender, southernwood, and other I jrasvant shrubs, which the troops are now busij iy collecting for fuel, and which fill the air with | nil aromatic perfume. We could see the people [ 'invmg their and busy in their ordinary [ "occupations. | Now and then some Cossacks were visible, | scour,,,* along the roads to the city of Simphe- | ropol, the capital, and down south towards the | menaced stronghold of the Czar; but they were |ot numerous. The daybreak of Thursday gave i Sn? °r 't l u Vf y morni "ff. Dilt the pledge was | f Mll fullllled- The sun rose from a cloudless Em Xowuvds -«oon-the heat of his midday j 'warns was tempered by a gentle breeze, and by 1 Sil "°'U!" S i flee °y va P°»™' *Mch turned IS V" i « owers of rain«an(l the after»oon a dark and gloomy. The vast armada, which st ipT'f I" I" the ni Sht *» Perfect order, . "deled he honaon with a second heaven of ;J«™«aWe lights advanced parallel with the UaVS!"' a' m'f ? l of the fleet were in shore Inewssi " PreSCrlb^ Positions, but it was found i«te^ ir lo <'!r v- ihe? rel)Miidn"dßomeoiher transports .?' ln ord? r to l«w *P the slower Kvhich It in- e," °f War' The Emperor, fin le ™5,(. )lu' RtHdingstar, did not keep eiactty ii,, E'°V[ the p!:lces taken hy 'he lJaud So ; ' t lhe \ eSt of the fleet wrong, ; wnie doubt and a little confusion arose in

consequence, but the absence of an enemy rendered any slight deviations from order of comparatively trifling importance. The greatest offender against the prescribed order of disembarking was the admiral himself, who, instead of filling the place assigned to him in the middle of his fleet, anchored four miles from the shore. As the ships of our expedition drew up in lines parallel to the beach, the French fleet passed under steam, and extended itself on the right, and rin in close to shore below the cliffs of the plateau. Their small war steamers went much nearer than ours were allowed to go, and a little after seven o'clock the first French boat put off from one of the men of war; not more than fifteen or sixteen men were on board her. She was beached quietly on shore at the southern extremity of the red cliff. The crew leaped out; they formed into a knot on the strand, and seemed busily engaged for a few moments over one spot of ground, as though they were digging a grave. Presently a flag staff was visible above their heads, and in a moment more the tricolour was run up to the top, and fluttered out gaily in the wind. The French were thus the first to take possession and seisin of the Crimea. There was no enemy in sight. The most scrutinizing gaze at this moment could not have detected a hostile uniform, along the coast. The French Admiral fired a gun shortly after 8 o'clock, and the disembarkation of their troops commenced. In twenty-two minutes they say that they got 6,000 men on shore. The instant the French had landed a regiment, a company was pushed on to reconnoitre, skirmishers or pickets were sent on in front. As each regiment followed in column, its predecessors deployed, extended front, and advanced in light marching order en tirailleur, spreading out like a fan over the plains. It was most curious and interesting to observe their progress, and to note the rapid manner in which they were appropriating the soil. In about an hour after theirfirst detachment had landed, nearly 9,000 troops were on shore, and their advanced posts were faintly discernible between three and four miles from the beach, like little black specks moving over the corn fields, and darkening the highways and meadow paths. The French army were on board line-of-battle ships, and were at once carried from their decks to the land by the men of war's boats. The Montebello carried upwards of 1,400 men, in addition to her crew. The Valmy had in all 3,000. The Ville de Paris and Henri Quatre were laden with men in proportion: and all the line of battle ships and steamers had full cargoes of troops. In fact it was found that their small brigs and schooners were neither safe nor comfortable ; and that they vrere better suited for carrying stores and horses than men. The fleet of French men of war carried more than 20,000 men. Their whole force to be landed consisted of 23,600 men. Our army amounted to 27,000 men, and were embarked in a vast number of transports, coveiing a great extent of water. But they were carried in comfort and safety; and, though there was still much sickness on board, it was as nothing compared to the closely-packed French. Perhaps nj army ever was conveyed with such luxury and security from shore to shore as ours, in the whole history of war. About nine o'clock one black ball was run up to the fore of the Agamemnon, and a gun was fired to enforce attention to the signal.. This meant divisions of boats to assemble round ships, for which they are told off, to disembark infantry and artillery. There was no enemy in sight, but long before the French had landed their first boat's cargo, the figure of a mounted officer, followed by three Cossacks, had fallen within the scope of many a glass. The 'Russian was within about 1,100 yards. He rode slowly along by the edge of the cliff, apparently noting the number and disposition of the fleet, and taking notes with great 'calmness in a memorandum book. He wore a dark green frock coat, with a little silver lace, a cap of the same colour, a sash round his waist, and long leather boots. His horse, a line bay charger, was a strange contrast to the shaggy rough little steeds of his followers, "the Cossacks" —stout, compact looking fellows, with sheepskin caps, uncouth clothing of indescribable cut, and high saddles. Each of these Cossacks carried a thick lance of some fifteen feet in length, and a heavy looking snbre. At times they took rapid turns by the edge of the clill in front of us—now to the left, now to the rear, of their officer, and occasionally they dipped out of

sight, ove.r the hill, altogether. Then they came? back, flourishing their lances, and pointing to the accumulating masses of the French on their right, not more than half a'mile from them, on the shore ; or scampering over the hill to report progress as to the lines of English boats advancing to the beach. Their officer remained for an hour within range of a Minie rifle, and when the Highflyer stood in close to shore, he was coolly making a sketch in his portfolio. Meantime the English boats were nearing the shore, not in the order of the programme, but in irregular groups ; a company of a regiment of the Light Division, the 7th Fusiliers, under Lieutenant Colonel Yea, I think, landed first on the beach, to the left of the cliffs ; then came a company of the 2nd battalion of the Rifle Brigade, commanded by Lieutenant Col. Lawrence; a small boat from the Britannia, commanded by Lieutenant Vesey, had, however, preceded the Fusiliers, and disembarked some men on the beach, who went down into the hollow at the foot of the cliffs. The Russian continued his sketching. Suddenly a Cossack crouched down and pointed with his lance to the ascent of the cliff. The officer turned and looked in that direction. A cocked hat rose above the horizon. Another figure, with a similar headdress, came also in view. The first was Sir George Brown, on foot; the second was Quartermaster General Airey. It was evident that the Russian and Cossack saw Sir George, but that be did not see them. A picket of Fusiliers and Riflemen followed the General at a considerable interval. I The Russfan got on his horse, the Cossacks followed his example, and one of them cantered to the left to see that the French were not cutting off their retreat, while the others stooped | down over their saddle-bows, and rode stealthily, with lowered lances, towards the Englishmen. Sir George was in,danger, but he did not know it. Neither did the Russians see the picket advancing towards the brow of the hill. Sir George was busy scanning the country, and pointing.out various spots to the QuartermasterGeneral. Suddenly they turned, and slowly descended the hill. Cossacks and officer then dismounted, and stole along by the side of their horses. In about five minute? two or three tiny puffs of smoke, and presently the faint cracks of a rifle were audible. In a few minutes more . the Cossacks were visible, flying like the wind on the road towards Sebastopol, and crossing close to the left of the French line of skirmishers. Sir George Brown had a near escape of being taken prisoner. He was the first to land, and pushed on without sending vidette, or men in front, though he took the precaution, very fortunately, to brine: up a. few soldiers with him. The Cossacks, who Imd been dodging him, made a dash when they were within less than a hundred yards. The general had to run, and was only saved from capture by the fire of the Fusiliers. The Cossacks bolted. The first blood spilt in this campaign was that of a poor boy, an Arabjee, who was wounded in the foot by the ! volley which dislodged them. Meautime swarms of boats were putting off from the various ships, to carry the English troops to land. The Light Division got on shore very speedily, and were all landed, with the exception of a few companies, in an hour. The Ist Division landed simultaneously with a portion of their friends of the loading division, the Duke of Cambridge and his stuff being early on the beach with their men, and the Brigadiers Sir C. Campbell, ;md Major-General Bentinck, preceding their respective brigades. As each regiment landed, the brigade was formed in contiguous columns, at quarter distance. The light division on the left, the Ist Division the next, and so on in order towards the right. The 2nd Division was under way ere the whole of the Light or of the Ist Division had landed. Sir De Lacy Evans got on shore with his staff about half-past ten. By eleven the Rifles and Fusiliers had been inspected, and were marching from the left of the line, along the front oi'ihe other regiments, towards the right. They ascended the slope of the hill, over the cliffs, passing by the pickets ami sentries which had been placed on outpost duty by Sir George Brown, and marching straight on over the plain inlsmd. By twelve o'clock in the day that barren and desolate beach, inhabited but a short time before only by the seagull and wildfowl, was swarming with life. From one extremity to another,"bayonets glistened, and ivd coats ami brass-mounted shakos gleamed in solid masses. The air was filled with our English speoch, and the hum of voices., mingled with loud notes of command, cries of comrades to each oiliui?

the familiar address of "Bill" to "Tom," or of ' " Pat" to " Sandy," and an occasional shout of laughter. Very amusing was it to watch the loading and unloading; of the boats. A gig or cutter, pulled by eight or twelve sailors, with a paddle-box boat, flat or Turkish pinnace in low (the latter purchased for the service), would come up alongside the steamer or transport in which troops were ready for disembarkation. The officers of each company first descended, each man in full dress. Over his shoulder was slung his haversack, containing1 what had been, ere it underwent the process of cooking, 4^ lbs. of salt meat, and a bulky mass of biscuit of the same weight. This was his ration for three days. Besides this, each officer carried his great coat rolled up and fastened in a hoop round his body, a wooden canteen to hold water, a small ration of spirits, whatever change of underclothing he could manage to stow away, his forage cap, and in most instances, a revolver. Each private carried his blanket and great coat strapped up into a kind of knapsack, inside which was a pair of boots, a pair of socks, a shirt, and, at the request of the men themselves, a forage cap ; he also carried his water-canteen . and the same rations as the officer, a portion of the mess cooking apparatus, firelock and bayonet, of course cartouche-box and fifty round of ball cartridge for Minie, sixty rounds "of smooth bore arms. As each man came creeping down the ladder, Jack helped him along tenderly from rung to rung till he was safe in the boat, took his iirelock and stowed it away a removed his knapsack, and packed it snug under the seat, patted him on the back, and told him "not to be afeered'on the water ;" treated the " sojer" in fact, in a very kind and tender way, as though he were a large, but not very sagacious " pet," who was not to be frightened or lost sight of on any account—and did it all so quickly, that the large paddle-box boats, containing one hundred men, were filled in fire minutes. Then the latter took the paddle box in tow, leaving her, however, in charge of a careful coxwain, and the same attention was paid to getting the " soger" on shore that was evinced in getting him 'into the boat, the sailors half or wholly naked in the surf, sianding by at the bows, and handing each man and his accoutrements down the plank to the shingle, for fear " he'd fall off and hurt himself." Never did men work better than our blue-jackets; especially valuable were they with horses and artillery; "their delight at having a horse to hold and to pat all to "themselves was excessive. When the gun carriages stuck fast in the shingle, half a dozen herculean seamen rushed at the wheel, and, with a " Give way, my lads—all together," soon spoked it out with a run, and landed it on the hard sand. No'praise can do justice to the willing labour ot these fine fellows. They never relaxed their efforts as long as man or horse of the expedition remained to be landed ; and many of them ofhcers as well as men, were twenty-four hours in their boats. At one o'clock most of the Light Division had moved off the beach over the hill ai,d across the country towards a village, near which the advance of the French left had already approached. The second battalion- of the 'Rifle Brigade led the way, covering the advance with a cloud of skirmishers, and the other regiments iollowed in order of their seniority; the artillery, under Captain Anderson, bringing up the rear. By this time the rain began to fall pretty heavily, and the wind rose so as to send a little siu-1 on the beach. The Duke of Cambridge, iollowed by Major Macdonald, Jed off his division next in order, and many of the staff officers, who ought to have been mounted, marched on loot, as their horses were not yet landed. A inle the troops were disembarking, one of tbe recoiinoiteriiijr steamers returned with the news of a Russian camp, situate near the beach, about eight miles south of the place wheve we were landing. The Samson, the Fury, and the Vesuvius, in company with three French steamers, at once proceeded to the spot indicated, ihey found a camp of about 6,000 formed at a mile? distance from the se.-i. The steamers opened fjre with shell at 3,000 yards. The French shells burst: in the air, or fJli short The I'Jiry and Vesuvius were little more successful • but me fcamson pitched shell after shell rio-ht among the tents, knocking them over right and le.i,uii(i dnvmjr the soldiery in swanrs out of the camp, which was destroyed after loss than i'-iiitiia hour's firing. ■No tents were seiii on shore, partly because thsrc.bud oseu no time to laud them, partly

because there was no certainty of our being1 able to find carriage for them. Towards night the sky looked very black and lowering, the wind rose, and the rain fell. The showers increased in violence about midnight, and early in the morning the water fell in drenching sheets, which pierced through the blankets and great coats, of the houseless and tentless soldiers. It was their first bivouac—a hard trial enough in all conscience, worse than all their experiences of Bulgaria and Gallipoli ; for there they had their tents, and now they learned to value their canvas coverings at their true worth. Old generals and young lords and gentlemen were exposed hour after hour to the violence of pittiless storms, with no bed but the reeking puddle under the saturated blanket, or bits of useless waterproof wrappers; and the twenty odd thousand of poor fellows, who could not get "dry bits" of ground, had to sleep, or try to sleep, in little lochs and water courses—no fire to cheer them, no hot grog, and the prospect of no breakfast. Sir George Brown slept under a cart tilted over. The Duke of Cambridge had some similar contrivance. Sir De Lacy Evans was the only general whose staff had'been careful enough to provide him with a tent. In one respect the rain was of service; it gave them a temporary supply of water, but then it put fire out of the question, even if the men could have scraped up wood to make it. The country is, however, quite destitute of timber. During the night it blew freshly from the west, a heavy sea tumbled into the bay, and sent a high surf on the beach, which much interfered with the process of landing cavalry " and artillery. sThe most serious result of the wetting was a great increase in illness among the troops. Several cases of cholera occurred, and one officer of the 23rd died, after a few hours' illness. Lord Cardigan and his staff landed from the Himalaya at six o'clock on Friday evening. Lord Lncan also disembarked the same evening. The whole of the English cavalry out here—with a lieutenant-general to command it, and a major-general second to command—with a large staff divisional, and of brigades, with quartermaster-general, and adjutants-general, with staff surgeons, with aides-de-camp, major of brigade, and commissariat officers attached, does not muster more than 1,000 sabres. Lord Cardigan started on a reconnaissance next morning, with a portion of the• Bth Hussars, 13th Light Dragoons, 250 Rifles of Ist Battalion, and two Horse Artillery guns. They went 25 miles, saw no Cossacks, returned very much fatigued, and suffered severely from want of water. The horses had nothing to drink from the time they left the ships till Sunday morning —more than thirty hours. As prices are"at present, eggs are 25 for 6d.; a good fowl costs sd. or 6d. ; a turkey can be had for 18d.; a sheep is readily exchanged for a Turkish piece of 6 piastres, or Is. Such is the account brought to us from the officers of a foraging party, who ventured a few miles into the interior, to one of the native villages. The inhabitants part with supplies'readily. What will their feelings towards us be if we" emulate the conduct of the Russians, and rob and plunder them of their property ? It was only today that "the mayor and corporation"" (the principal inhabitants and head men of a village near us) waited on Lord R;igl;tn, with an address expressive of their gratification at his arrival among them. It is very pleasant to see this disposition on the part of the people, and I trust, notwithstanding the sentiment one heavs now and then among some of our officers, that we shall continue to foster and promote it by treating them as friends, and that we shall refrain from acting as though wp'were in an enemy's country, so far as the Tartars are concerned.