THE SHIPKA PASS'. 
525 
was to draw on the 15th Field Park, which for this purpose had 
been moved up to the foot of the Pass. The incomplete state of the 
battery had, however, this advantage, that the horses of the 4 guns 
and 12 wagons, which had been detached, could be used to increase the 
teams of the remaining carriages, and this was a necessity, as the 
ordinary teams were unable to pull the heavy wagons up the steep 
road. Each team was therefore increased by one pair of horses. 
The weather was favourable, being dry and warm. The former 
circumstance made the ascent easier, the second enabled the men to be 
lightly clothed and to leave behind their heavy baggage. Although 
at this time almost everybody went about in bivouac in blouses, in the 
position all had to wear cloth uniform, as the white jackets offered too 
good an aim to the enemy's sharpshooters. 
At 3 p.m., the battery was collected at the entrance to the Pass. 
The extra pair of horses were hooked into each carriage, the men each 
carried both pairs of bootsj some clean underclothing, and their rations. 
The commander gave out orders as to the supply of food to be sent up, 
and as to the reports, &c., to be rendered. The baggage was left in 
charge of the sergeant-major, as all the three effective officers had to 
accompany the battery. 
After a short divine service the battery advanced into the Pass. In 
the Shipka for the first time ! Through all our minds passed the 
thought, “ Shall I ever return again ! " But we did not long nourish 
such gloomy ideas. Hardly had we been a quarter of an hour on the 
road when all began to talk of how soon we should arrive on the 
position, if we should arrive in the night or at dawn, where a halt 
would be made, &c.; all busied themselves with the present, and left 
the future to take care of itself. 
The narrow streets of Grabrova offered great hindrances to our 
advance. An ox cart got in our way and it was impossible to pass it 
by. Our lads, however, soon hustled it into a side street, and at last 
we debouched on the high road, after great difficulties in getting round 
the sharp corners. The road we took led first along the valley of a 
mountain stream, and for a short distance was paved. Then a bad bit 
had to be traversed, but towards the foot of the ascent it became 
good a,gain, although the frequent traffic of heavy carriages had cut it 
up a good deal, and deep holes and heaps of stones were encountered 
the whole way. In three places the road crosses the stream by bridges, 
but, as in the whole of Turkey, they were built in the form of an arc, 
and were so steep that at one side one could not see if anyone was 
at the other end of the bridge. The passage of such bridges was 
rendered so difficult and dangerous by their narrowness (1-| sagenes ) 
and the absence of hand-rails that we preferred, where possible, 
to 'ford the river. By this valley it was five versts to the foot of the 
Pass, and at the end of it the battery halted for a short rest. Here the 
wagons were formed into a separate echelon, and the guns sent on in 
front, so that the former might not hinder the quicker advance of the 
latter. 
The so-called “ first ascent," is the most difficult in the whole Pass. 
There is a slope of about 15°, 20 sagenes long, then the road turns 
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