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AN OUTPOST ADVENTURE.

Mr Archibald Forbes tells the following story in the Gentleman's Magazine :—One bright warm afternoon our friends the enemy brought forward a couple of batteries of field guns, and from a position in front of the wood which crested their ridge opened fire against our camp. The range was a long one, but the Turks had Knipp guns, and their shells came lobbing across the valley and occasionally pitched among the tents. The Russians, who have a great propensity to the dolec far niente when the weather is warm, could not be bothered to reply to this fire for quite awhile ; but at length, about 4 o'clock, I saw their gunners busy among the field guns that were ranged in position along the front of the camp.

Just then I met Baron Driesen, who told me that he had remained quiet thus long because a little scheme he had adopted to surprise and perhaps to cut off the Turkish guns opposite us there. Some two hours earlier, when he first noticed the guns being brought up into position, he had sent off Holstein with the light cavalry regiment of his brigade— the "Grey Hussars " we used to call thorn, from the colour of their horses—away to our right, with ordure, if practicable, to cross the valley higher up out of sight of the Turks, and, getting on to the slope of the ridge, work northward through the clumps of trees till, if they had the luck to get so far, within charging distance of the left flank of the Turkish batteries, when the Russian troopers were to do their best to capture the guns.

I am an old cavalry man, and naturally always eager to bo with tho mounted arm on any duty assigned to it, and I rather made a grievance of it to the Baron that he had not let me know of the despatch of Holstein and his Greys, that I might have gone along with them. He was the best-tempered man in the world, "Why," said he, "standing here, you've got the whole panorama under your eye, and if they have the luck to get up and do anything, you can see them work a great deal more safely, than if you were with them, blinded by dust and smoke." But, nevertheless, I was only half content.

The Russian guns opened presently, and then there was au hour or two of reprisal at lon<; bowls, find nothing else. The Russians lost a horse or two, and one unfortunate fellow was cut in two back in the camp, but the futilo powder-burning was getting very tedious. All at once, however, I noticed some horsemen showing little glimpses of themselves out of a long clump of trees a few hundred yards below, and on. tho left of the Turkish batteries.

" Look, Baron !" cried I, " there are Holstein'a cavalry fellowa sure enough. They've worked round beautifully, quite artistically, and now they're gathering in that clump, getting ready for their dash at the guns !" Driesen was not an enthusiastic man, and he rather drawled in his speech. "You may be right," he said, " but I for my part have a shrewd suspicion these horsemen are Turkish Tcherkesses, prowling about there just to cover that left flank of the batteries which I gave Holstein as his objective." " Why," I exclaimed, " look at the grey horses. There can be no mistake." " Mon Dion!" retorted the Baron, " can't a Turkish Tcherkess ride a grey horse as well as a Russian hussar ?" " Well," said I, for Driesen's apathy made me more stubborn in my own opinion, "I'm positive they are our fellows, and I'm going across the valley to watch how close they make their rush." " Don't be n fool !" said the I3;iron genially. " Even if they are our fellows, you arc much better here ; and if you cross, and they are not, why then " and he shrugged his broad shoulders. But I was obstinate; Driesen was sudieienlly conversant with our kiuguie'o to quote the proverb about " a wilful man ;" and so away I rodo to the front out beyond the Russian guns, down the slope, and through the outpost line, crouching- behind the corn-stook about half-way down. I cantered briskly across the bottom of the valley, which I found to bu a bigger trough than I had imaitiued ; and then at a slower pace began to aaceud the slope of tho Turkish ridge, headiug for tho clump of treee about which I had seen the horsemen.

I had got nearly half-way up. I could hear the shrill scream of the shells speeding from ridpre to ridge high over my head ; as I plodded rm upward, sitting well forward in my saddle, with a grip of my horse's mane in one hand. Just aa I entered a cornfield, crack, whiz, whiz, came a couple of bullets close by me from behind a corn-stook closo in front of me. I halted involuntarily, dazed with surprise, and took a hurried survey of the situation. It was not difficult to comprehend it at a glance. Moving , in aa easy, careless way I had ridden close up against tho Turkish outpost line, which, just as was the Russian line on tho opposite side of the valley, was drawn athwart the slope behind tho cut grain. So closo was I that I could actually see the Ptiynim rascals grinning , at my attitude of scare. Shot followed shot, and each one served to quicken ray realisation of the fact that it was extremely injudicious to remain there longer than was quite convenient. So I wheeled sharply in ray tracks and galloped headlong down tho steep slope, stretched along my horse's neck. I did not wait to exchango any civilities of leave-taking with the humorous gentlemen squatting behind the corn etooks. In a twinkling, long before I had reached the bottom, the Russian outpost line had opened fire on the Turkish outHera who were persecuting me, and this friendly act drew off from me the attention of the latter. Quite a skirmish, although desultory, musketry skirmish ensued, the bullets of both sides whistling over my head, down in the bottom of the valley as I was at this time. But, though I had ceased to be a target, I did not feel in the least comfortable. I could not get home ;>moug the Russians while they kept up this abominable shooting of theirs- —that was too clear—unless I was prepared to take an equal risk to that from which I had just been mercifully preserved. If you are shot it makes no perceptible difference to you whether it is friend or foe who performs the deed. The Turkish side, again, was renewing its inhospitable demonstrations ; and it was not at all nice to remain quiescent in the bottom of the valley, since every now and then a malignant Turk, disregarding his natural enemies, the Russians over against him up there, would take a shot by way of variety, at the inoffensive neutral prowling down below in the middle distance, fti my perplexity I resolved to follow up the trough of the valley till I should reach a section of the Russian front where quietude might be reigning, and where, therefore, I would have thechance to get back inside the friendly lino and out of my embaiTusing predicament. But as I moved along I carried strife and the fire along with inc. Tho Russians, out in front of whom I had originally ridden down into the valley, had known at least that I h-id come from their camp, and hail let mo alonu us beinjf n friend. But as I moved out of their ken I found myself the pariah of both sides, the Ishniaolito against whom wns every man's hand. Neither side had ;my good feeling towards me, and both took occasional shots at me, which camo a great deal too near to be- pleasant. Then,

having fired at mo, nothing wonld content them but that they should fire at each other, and so I was like a fox with a firebrand tied to his tail, spreading conflagration withersoever I went. By-and-by I came to .1 bend in tho valley, and I thought I should never get to where the two hostilo outpost lines ceased to confront each other. And then all off a sudden tho valley began to disappear altogether and raerge into the uplands, u. change in the ground which bade fair to doprive mo of what little cover tho valley had been affording.

Suddenly, from an adjacent clump on the Turkish side of the shallowing valley, three horsemen came dashing down on me at a gallop. Tbe alternatives were so clear that he who ran might read, and I was moving at a walk. EHhor the Turks would make a prisoner of me (if indeed, they did not kill me on the spot), or I must, if I would mako an effort to escape this fate, take my chance of the Russian fire hr I galloped for tho shelter of the Rußsian out-post line.

"Of two evils choose the less," says the wise proverb. I had made up my mind, much more quickly than I can write the words down, and rifle in upon the Russians; and so I gave my horse the spur and fled from my Turkish pursuers. It was pretty clear that the Russians had no sort of compreheusion of the situation, but they judged that the simplest course, pending an explanation, was to try to kill somebody, so they opened fire with zeal.

For me it was like charging a equare. I actually all but rode over a man who was confronting mo kneeling, with his (presumably empty) rifle held like a pike; and when I was pulled up abruptly inside the Russian straggling line by a strong jerk on my horse's bit that threw him back on his haunches, I found myself surrounded by a chevaux (U frisc of bayonet-points projecting from rifles held by angry vociferating, and unintelligible peisons of Slavonic extraction. I never knew very much practicable Russiac, and at that time three words was the sum of my acquaintance with that euphonious tongue. None of the three was at all applicable to the conditions of the moment, but I emitted tho;n all in succession, making the best of my scanty stock in-trade. They availed me nothing. Neither the officer nor any of his men knew a word of English, French or German. In vain I looked for the Polish Jew who forms a considerable item in most Russian regiments, and who lias always a smattering of abominable low German. Failing to make my captors understand anything concerning me, I wasdismounted with considerable vigour, and promptly taken prisoner, one armed man on either side of me, and a third in a strategetic position in the rear. As for my Turkish pursuers, two of them had turned when within a few yards of the Russian post ; the third left his horse dead on the ground and himself limped back wounded.

For the only time, save one, while I was with the Russian army, did I now produce any formal " pass"—ray captors refused to give any heed to the badge on my arm, and probably had no coucpptiou what it meant. Now, the " pass " consisted of a photograph of tho correspondent, with a dab of red wax oa his chest, on which was impressed the headquarter seal, while on tho back wiie written certain cabalistic figures, which, I had been given to understand, instructed all and suudry to whom " these presents " might come to recognise the bearer and assist liiin h}' all the means in tlieir power. It happened that I had grown a board since tho photograph was taken, which constituted my authentication ; my captors failed to recognise any resemblance between my bearded countenance and the smooth face of the photograph, and there was thus ended an element of suspicion. At length it was resolved to send mo up to the. camp, to bo dealt with there by superior authority. A sergeant and two men shortly marched mo off in the direction of the headquarters, while a third led my horse. It was a long tramp, and I was not allowed to chooso my own pace. At length, on the plateau before tho camp, the divisional flng was seen. The artillery firing was over, and Baron Drie.son and his staff, were standing behind tho still hot guns.

Mv iippeiiranoe was greeted with a simultaneous roar of laughter, in which I tried to join, I confess, rather ruefully. " Well," siiid Driesen drily, " can you believe now that Turkish Tchorkesatii can rido grey horses as well as ouu Russian hussars ?" But as we walked back together to drink tea in his tent, thero was genuine feeling in the quiet hoartinoss with which hfi congratulated me on tny escape from this outpost adventure.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WT18890803.2.37.4

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 2662, 3 August 1889, Page 5 (Supplement)

Word count
Tapeke kupu
2,161

AN OUTPOST ADVENTURE. Waikato Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 2662, 3 August 1889, Page 5 (Supplement)

AN OUTPOST ADVENTURE. Waikato Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 2662, 3 August 1889, Page 5 (Supplement)

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