495 
OBITUARY. 
We regret that our obituary is added to this month by the 
death of Veterinary Surgeon Elkes, of the Land Transport 
Corps, through the occurrence of a very melancholy accident. 
The particulars of this sad event will appear in the sequel of 
the following narrative, which we extract from The Times . 
Mr. Elkes had only just entered on his professional career, 
having obtained his diploma as lately as May, 1855. 
Incidents at the Camp at Baltschik. — To render 
the recurrence of the miseries endured by our army in the 
Crimea from short rations impossible, the government es- 
tablished at several points, within easy distances of the 
Crimea, depots of horses, bullocks, sheep, and other stores 
upon a scalp of considerable magnitude. One of these depots 
was formed at Baltschik, a few miles from Varna, and a 
detachment of the Land Transport Corps, of the Turkish 
Contingent, commanded by a few English officers, was 
stationed there as a guard, and appeared to obtain for them- 
selves the good-will of the people of the country. Lately, 
however, atrocities of the most revolting character have been 
perpetrated by them on the soldiers and officers of the force 
in charge of the depot, and within a few days prior to the 
date of our correspondent’s letter (the 10th of June), no less 
than four murders had taken place. One victim to the 
cowardly and murderous attacks of these blood-thirsty villains 
was Mr. William Peirce, a lieutenant of the before-mentioned 
corps. On Thursday, the 5th of June, he left the camp, 
attended by one private leading three horses, with the 
intention of going to Varna. There not being any regular 
road, they had to proceed for some miles through the wood 
that lies between Varna and the camp; but, it being quite 
light (six o’clock in the morning), and they anticipating to 
complete the journey before noon, both Mr. Peirce and his 
attendant were unarmed. They had not, however, proceeded 
more than nine miles when the soldier, who was riding in the 
rear of his officer, observed a man suddenly appear in a bush 
at the side of the path they were pursuing, and, simultaneously 
with the crack of a rifle, beheld Mr. Peirce stretched lifeless 
on the ground. At once discerning that all hope of resistance 
would be futile, the soldier threw himself from his horse and 
plunged into the brushwood, followed by three musket balls 
discharged by the bandits. Fortunately, this time their aim 
was erring, and the man escaped with much bodily fatigue to 
the seaside, and late in the day made his way back to the 
camp, where the melancholy news aroused, as might be 
