Part 14 (1/2)

Intuition told me they were murderers Sixteen persons had been killed in Nablus in '55-'56 The chief of police was the head of the gang I i of representatives of the foreign powers, and the whole traffic was exposed In our case they found the men, and after we left they were executed

CHAPTER XVI

IN THE CRIMEA

1856

The voyage from Joppa to Constantinople was a succession of surprises, from Latokea to Lanarca, Cyprus, Rhodes, and S man of the place Henry Kennard, banker, of Heywood, Kennard & Co, of London, who had joined us in Jerusale as far as the Crimea MacFarlane was still with our party We had a day off in Beyrout, and went up to Lebanon, inland, where the cedars seem to antedate the olive-trees in the Garden of Gethseot to Smyrna we entered a beautiful bay, somewhat like that of Rio Janeiro, and I went out on the fortified hill that overlooks the city I saw fro on parade, and went off alone to see theht me to a place where were about one hundred stone steps, al down these steps, but he see with hi on his back I expected him to tumble, and that would have been the last of me He didn't miss a step, however, but took ht of General Putnam's stone-step ride If he had only had a Turkish donkey he would havea hero

My donkey seeave hiround, as he appeared to know the password, and across the parade, which was against regulations When we arrived at the center of the ground, he began very peculiar operations, as if he had been with Barnum Here was a donkey that would haveup in platoons, when the donkey began to stand on his hind feet, and then on his fore feet The roar of the advancing regiot off his back and walked alone on the opposite side, and then escaped through a gate I have never heard of the obstinate animal since

Fro famous Greek islands--Rhodes, and Chios, where twenty-two thousand Greeks were killed by the Turks--but we had not time to stop at any of thee in a transient stea for the Government boat I stopped here only to see our minister, Carroll Spence, of Baltih the Marmoro Strait and the Bosporus, and into the Black Sea, and there found an immense fleet of transports, froside of one another three of our Boston clippers, built by Donald Mackay in East Boston, that had brought French troops from France: the Great Republic, Captain Limeburner, the Monarch of the Seas, Captain Gardner, and the Ocean Queen of clippers, Captain Zerega

shi+ps filled the little bay, bows and sterns touching the shore on one side and the other Not one could have got out in case of fire

We io out to Balaklava, and there I was glad to meet my old friend, Captain Furber, of the Black Ball Line and the Ocean Clipper, who gave me a state-room and all the courtesies of his shi+p He had come for the French Kennard ith the British Horses and attendants were furnished oing to the Crimea was to speculate in munitions of hich I supposed would be sold for a atelle But the arlish, Russian, Turkish, French, Sardinian--so there was no chance for business there The British troops were in rags and tatters Their new uniforms had not arrived, and their shoes orn out I went on board one of the clippers and spoke about the shoes not having arrived ”What!” exclaimed the captain; ”I am loaded with shoes! I have been here six months” ”Have you notified the commissary?” ”Yes” What could I do? All this was afterward described by ”Bull Run” Russell He was then the correspondent of the London Tiement of the war that shi+ps were sent with provisions, uniforh the courtesy of French officers, I visited the city of Sebastopol, a ten-un battery, the Redan, and the Malakoff, and, of course, the ruin of the famous city I could see the masts of the shi+ps at the entrance of the bay, the fleet that had been sunk by the Russians to block the channel Here they had crossed in the night to the Star Fort on the opposite side, which was strongly fortified It would have been almost impossible for the allied armies to interfere with the Russians

They had ht it out to the end

The French zouave coot up a banquet for me with twenty of the officers of all the arlish, Sardinian, and Russian I did soain, and several ti over the table, especially when I asked soeneral of the Ninety-sixth regilishmen who had disputed his word: ”You were asleep at the Alma, you were late at Inkerman, late at Balaklava, ran frolish officers, and we had to pour oil on troubled waters

There were two princes ahted to see the allies fighting a up the quarrel I made them admit that Todleben's earthworks were a new feature in war--baskets of earth used for forts on the inside of Sebastopol, put up i at bay In the Redan it was co killed MacMahon in the Malakoff saw at once that it was not a close fort, and said, ”J'y suis, j'y reste” Speaking of MacMahon, a very singular thing has been suggested Put together a half dozen faces of French notables--MacMahon, de Lesseps, Alexandre Duo, President Faure, and add my portrait, and you could hardly tell which hich

Tennyson has given to the charge of the Light Brigade at Balaklava the power of his naerated affair, so far as massacre was concerned Only one third was killed, with nearly one half the horses In our civil here a million men were killed, at the cost of a billion dollars, fro into Sues where the slaughter was proportionately greater than that Take Pickett's charge at Gettysburg, where a whole division wasBull, in the Black Hills), all massacred, with the exception of one man

CHAPTER XVII

HOME ONCE MORE AND THEN A RETURN TO EUROPE

1856

Froland and thence to America Wilson, of the White Star Line, wished to construct the largest clipper ever built in England It was to be called the George Francis Train, as I had had in e the fastest four clippers in the world--Flying Cloud, eighty-six days fron of the Seas, which stood in my name at the custom-house (2,200 tons), which made three hundred and seventy-fournever known before by a sailing shi+p; the Red Jacket, built at Rockland, Maine; and the Lightning, built by Donald Mackay at East Boston, which sailed from Liverpool to Melbourne in sixty-three days; but I declined the White Star honors

The day after my arrival in New York, in July, '56--I had been away since February, '53--the Herald had sixteen colues, from me in one issue, an amount of space I think that no correspondent before or since has had--either from India, China, or japan I had arrived ahead of my own mail The members of the present staff of the Herald have no idea that the man whom they have looked upon as a lunatic was sufficiently sane tosensation in their paper in July, '56 The present James Gordon Bennett was then only fifteen years old

Frederick Hudson had entire charge of the paper under the elder Bennett

Mr Bennett, wishi+ng to put his son ahead, pensioned Mr Hudson, ent into the country to live, and, in crossing a railway track, was killed Mr Bennett gave ress ”No,” I said ”Don't you want to publish books?”

”Yes, but I ah with my business in Australia”