Charles S. (Charles Snodgrass) Ryan - Under the Red Crescent

UNDER THE RED CRESCENT.

Charles Ryan
Walker & Boutall, Ph. Sc.

ADVENTURES OF AN ENGLISH SURGEON WITH THE TURKISH ARMY AT PLEVNA AND ERZEROUM, 1877-1878.

related by
CHARLES S. RYAN, M.B., C.M. Edin.,
in association with his friend
JOHN SANDES, B. A. Oxon.

with portrait and maps.

NEW YORK:
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS,
153-157, FIFTH AVENUE.
1897.

THIS RECORD
OF
THE STIRRING ADVENTURES OF MY EARLY YEARS
I DEDICATE TO MY SON
RUPERT.
C. S. R.

In submitting to the popular verdict this book, which aims at being a plain, straightforward account of the experiences of a young Australian in the last great battles which have been fought in Europe, I feel that a few words of explanation are necessary.

In the first place, it may be asked why I have allowed twenty years to elapse before giving these reminiscences to the world. I must answer that, as a hard-working surgeon leading a very busy life, I had but little "learned leisure" at my disposal; and I must also admit that I did not feel myself equal to the literary labour of writing a book. Indeed it might never have been written if my friend Mr. Sandes had not agreed to my suggestion that he should reproduce in a literary and publishable form the language of the armchair and the fireside, and so enable me to relate to the world at large some of the incidents which my own immediate friends, when listening over the cigars to my recollections, have been good enough to call interesting. So much for the matter of the book, and also for its manner.

In the second place, military critics as well as the general public may be inclined to wonder how it was that a young army surgeon, a mere lad in fact, should have been allowed to play such an independent part in the field operations at Plevna as is disclosed in the following pages, and should have been permitted to move about the battle-field and engage in active service, with the apparent concurrence of the general staff and of the officers commanding the different regiments. In reply, I have to explain that the Ottoman army was not guided by the hard-and-fast regulations which no doubt would render it impossible for a junior surgeon in any other European army to act on his own volition and carry on his work as he might think best himself. Furthermore, I may mention that through my close friendship with Prince Czetwertinski, who was the captain of Osman Pasha's bodyguard, I was always kept in touch with the progress of the military operations; and I am also proud to say that I enjoyed the confidence of Osman Pasha himself, and was on terms of the closest intimacy with that gallant and true-hearted soldier Tewfik Bey, who won the rank of pasha for his magnificent courage when he led the assault that drove Skobeleff from the Krishin redoubts.

These facts may explain many of the adventures narrated in this book which would be inexplicable to critics accustomed to the rigid discipline under which medical officers do their work in other European armies.

It is only right to say, in conclusion, that I consider myself singularly fortunate in my coadjutor, who, while he has brightened this narrative of my early adventures with all the resources of the practised writer, has nevertheless left the truth of every single incident absolutely unimpaired. At a time when the Eastern Question looms like a huge shadow over Europe, and when the very existence of the Turkish Empire is once more threatened, may I hope that this story of the military virtues of the Ottoman troops may not be found without real interest?

CHARLES S. RYAN.
Melbourne, July, 1897.

PAGE

CHAPTER I.
FROM MELBOURNE TO SOFIA.

AutobiographicalMy WanderjahrFirst Glimpse of ServiansRomeA Prospective Mother-in-lawSad Result of eating ChopsA Spanish PoetThe Chance of a LifetimeHow I seized itGarcia's Gold WatchThe Via del PoppoOff to LondonEngaged by the Turkish GovernmentVienna revisitedStamboulOrigin of the CrescentMisserie's HotelThe Turkish CharacterA Splendid BelvedereView from the Seraskierat TowerScutari and Florence NightingaleStamboul by Day and NightScene in a BazaarThree Sundays a WeekA Trip to Sweet WatersVeiled BeautiesI am gazetted to a RegimentAn Official DinnerOff to the FrontA Compulsory ShaveMy ChargerThe March to SofiaMy First PatientPrescription for a MalingererMehemet AliMy Soldier ServantDiagnosing my CasesBulgarians at HomeAt SofiaMacGahan the War CorrespondentLearning TurkishA Dinner in CampLeniency to BulgariansA Lady PatientSo near and yet so farFrom Pirot to NishThe WoundedMy First Operation

CHAPTER II.
THE PRELIMINARIES TO THE RUSSO-TURKISH WAR.

Prince CzetwertinskiA Romantic CareerHis First CommissionA RetrospectThe History of a Noble PoleFrom Monte Carlo to BrisbaneA Prince as a Deck Hand on a SchoonerA Bush TutorHe returns to EuropeThe Load of PovertyLighter to Bear in AustraliaA Big Win at FlemingtonSchool Teaching in BataviaBack to New South WalesDeath at WaggaThe Vale of MoraviaThe Hot SpringBulgarian BlanchisseusesSlavonian Folk-songsHow the Turks singA Bulgarian SmadhFoley's EndInfuriated ScavengersA Mysterious DisturbanceRough-and-tumble FightingA Turkish HerculesCapturing a PrisonerA Solitary RideA Bulgarian FarrierBack to SofiaChristmas in the SnowA Maize Cob for a Christmas DinnerOrkhanieh to SofiaA Doctor frozen to DeathBitter ExperiencesSalutary Effects of a Good Dinner

CHAPTER III.
THE IMMINENCE OF WAR.

Off to WiddinStrong FortificationsOsman Pasha in CommandThe Kalafatians at WorkDr. BlackA Discreditable EnglishmanShooting on SightAn Arrest and a Release"Life off Black"Egyptian Troops arriveZara Dilber EffendiOsman Pasha's BallA Memorable FunctionI get Plenty of PartnersMilitary Wall-flowersThe Ladies of WiddinThe Dance before the FightThree Beautiful RoumaniansAn Angry GrandfatherLambro RedivivusPreparing for the CampaignSome Forcible DentistryReligion of the TurksThe WrestlersVisitors from KalafatI pay a Return CallAcross the Danube into KalafatDinner with the RoumaniansPumping the Guileless StrangerA Futile EffortFrank PowerNicholas LeaderEdmund O'DonovanWild Duck Shooting

CHAPTER IV.
FROM WIDDIN TO PLEVNA.

Declaration of War with RussiaAn Ominous SilenceThe First ShotAn Interrupted LuncheonUnder Fire at lastDisappearance of the InhabitantsA Move UndergroundRunning the GauntletBlowing up a GunboatOur Hospital shelledKilling the WoundedOperations under FireA Terrible CoincidenceHow a Turkish Mother diedSome Marvellous EscapesCircassians on a Raiding ExpeditionCattle-lifting on a Grand ScaleA Long BombardmentInsignificant LossesOsman Pasha in the BatteriesRewarding a Good ShotCircassian PeccadilloesOsman Pasha's PlansHe is baffled by Red TapeA Fatal DelayGood-bye to the KyrchehirMarching out from WiddinA Picturesque BivouacFalse AlarmsA Forced MarchHow the Russian Army was placedFall of NicopolisA Race to the BalkansSleeping in a TombPushing on to PlevnaA Terrible NightLost in the BushMany Cases of SunstrokeGoose for DinnerI flesh my Maiden SwordA Record MarchWe cross the Vid at lastArrival at Plevna

CHAPTER V.
THE FIRST BATTLE OF PLEVNA.

The Town of PlevnaA Natural StrongholdLe Petit VillageThe Gypsies' WarningDr. RobertAn Expatriated BacchanalianWe attend a BanquetThe First Battle of PlevnaAn Artillery DuelSurgical Aid to the WoundedA Gunner's DeathThe ZacuskaArranging the HospitalsDisposition of the Turkish Line of DefenceCommencement of the BattleFighting on the Janik BairArrival of the WoundedSufferings in the ArabasVariety in Gunshot WoundsSome Extraordinary RecoveriesTurkish FortitudeObjections to AlcoholAnd to AmputationBerdan v. Krenke BulletsA Man shot through the BrainRapid CureAn Erratic Rifle-ballRemarkable Example of VitalityA Missile in the Heart of a Living ManMy Second HospitalA Turkish Colonel's WoundInsufficient BedsMangled Wretches lying on the FloorTwo Russians woundedThey both dieThe Shambles in the MosqueOur Open-air Operating TheatreCalling the Faithful to Prayer