The Secrets of a Kuttite: An Authentic Story of Kut, Adventures in Captivity and Stamboul IntrigueMousley, Edward O. (Edward Opotiki)
History
The Secrets of a Kuttite: An Authentic Story of Kut, Adventures in Captivity and Stamboul Intrigue
Mousley, Edward O. (Edward Opotiki)
Al Kut (Iraq) -- History -- Siege, 1915-1916; World War, 1914-1918 -- Prisoners and prisons, Turkish
My eyes became troublesome, and Greenwood's arm
inflamed. However, we made a good halt and lunch in the
summit among pines, and here met our old good Commandant,
Fatteh Bey, who was storming against Enver Pasha and Sheriff
Bey. He had had some difference at last with Sheriff Bey,
whom he was too weak to restrain. This led to Fatteh's
getting removed to Eski Chehir. He had had so many contradictory
orders to go that at last he set off without them.
While he was away the escape occurred, and he was interrupted
at Changrai and ordered to return. Sheriff, the nominal
commandant when the affair occurred, accused Fatteh of
conniving. He caused Fatteh's kit to be searched secretly at
Changrai, and a letter, really innocent, was found from an
officer in Kastamuni to a friend at another camp. So Fatteh
got in disgrace, and was now pensioned off. It was all worked
by Sheriff. Fatteh told us he wanted to leave Turkey and
go to England to live. Every now and then he produced a
Cook's English-Turkish. He has already learned the money
quite well!
That night we reached another wretched _khan_, and slept
on the roof. We smoked a little while the drivers slept, and
the gates being well secured we could not escape. Ali became
obstreperous and obstinate, and wished to show his authority
even in the matter of our walking or riding or getting firewood
or procuring water to wash. He wants us to get it from the place
where we must, of course, pay for it. But these have been wonderful
days of movement, a voyage of rediscovery of the
world, a passing from sleep to dreamland, from death to life.
We find very many old landmarks that we now remember
perfectly to have seen on our outward trip--a lonely cabin, a
path over the mountain, a deserted mill, a desolate Armenian
house. Thus in moments of tragedy can the eye collect vivid
impressions of things so commonplace that they are usually
missed. A very hot day of trekking, followed with frequent
collapsing of the horses, and more frequently of the harness,
which was tied with string or rope. Periodically came a
louder crash from our groaning wheels, which wobbled dreadfully,
sometimes so ominously as to threaten to tip us out
altogether. We were at an angle certainly of forty degrees off
the perpendicular quite often, and Greenwood, being a sapper,
developed a trick of making elaborate calculations as to how
many more fractions we might go over, and what the momentum
of our boxes packed behind our heads would be in a general
roll. We were hemmed in by the ribs of the wagon's cover,
and in case of accident could not move a foot. Once we
actually did go over, but only tipped on to the side of the
bluff, and luckily not the other way. We kept Ali in cigarettes,
and gave him more than one tin of food. Fatteh and another
very fat Turkish officer who accompanied him lived, I verily
believe, on the same onion and melon from Kastamuni to
Changrai. They ate bread and olives.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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