He was not so sanguine about the result of the war as many of the officers with whom I had conversed.
"I fought against the Russians in the Crimea," was his remark on this subject. "They have very little money," he continued; "however, we have less. We shall have to buy arms from abroad. So long as we have gold, your manufacturers will supply us; when we have no liras left, there will be no more rifles and cartridges. We have plenty of men. We can recruit from the Mussulmans throughout Asia. We can put into the field quite as many troops as the Russians. The latter are not to be despised as soldiers, they will die in their places. Our men will do the same. It will be a question of money and the longest purse will win."
From the cavalry barracks I proceeded to a large Khan, originally constructed for travellers, but now given over to the troops. Here a battalion of redifs (reserves) was quartered. They had just received their uniform—a blue tunic and trousers, very much like the dress worn by the red French infantry, and were armed with Martini-Peabody rifles—a quantity of these fire-arms having been recently purchased from an American firm.
The rooms in which the troops were lodged had nothing to recommend them; they were dirty and low, besides being overcrowded. The officers' rooms adjoined the men's dormitories, and were equally filthy.
A captain was drilling his company in one of the passages, and was making the soldiers go through the motions as if they were volley-firing. The moment the men had their rifles to the shoulder he gave the word "fire;" there was no time allowed for taking aim.
The same fault I subsequently observed in a battalion which was ordered to form a square to resist cavalry. The band was placed in the middle of the square, the men, so soon as the music struck up, commenced firing independently—the object of each soldier being to discharge his rifle as rapidly as possible, the officers encouraging them in this bad habit.[12] If the same system is to be carried on in a war with Russia, the Sultan's army in Anatolia will soon be without ammunition.
CHAPTER XII.
A conversation with the Pacha—The English Parliament opened—What will they say about Turkey?—Can the people at your Embassy speak Turkish?—The French are brave soldiers—The fortifications—The roads—The water supply—The posterns—Important military positions—A dinner with our Consul—He relates a story—A Kurdish robber—The colonel—His young wife—How the Kurd wished to revenge himself—Many of the Kurds are in Russian pay.
Erzeroum was certainly the land of rumours, or, to use a slang expression, "shaves." Shortly after returning to my quarters, the Pacha called and said that he had received a telegram to the effect, that England, Germany, and Turkey were to be allies in the coming struggle.
"Do you believe it?" I inquired.