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426 shell lay on the ground. It burst; the animal was terribly wounded, but its rider escaped unhurt. On seeing his figure reappear through the smoke after the explosion, the soldiers recovered their confidence and resumed their advance upon the Turcoman position.

Next day there was a reconnoissance with cavalry which completely encircled the fortress, and was bravely met by the Turcomans. Nothing now remained but to cut the trenches. The first parallel within 800 yards of the walls was successfully cut by January 4th. From that date it was a regular siege, interrupted occasionally by sallies of the Tekkes within the fort or attacks by those outside. In one of these fights General Petrussovitch was killed. The besieging army was about 10,000 strong, while the besieged were from 30,000 to 40,000. The parallel was armed with cannon on January 11th. General Skobeleff in his report stated that on January 16th "the positions of the enemy forty yards in front of us were successfully taken by assault, and the enemy, who had attacked our centre and left flank, beaten back after a most stubborn fight all along the line. The losses on their side were very great. The work in trenches is difficult, because we are ten times weaker than the enemy. Head of sap is now thirty yards from walls of the stronghold." Throughout the siege the Turcomans made frequent sallies and there was almost continuous fighting. Sometimes the Turcomans drove the Russians from the outposts, and if they had been as well armed as their besiegers it is highly probable that Skobeleff would have fared no better than did Lomakin in his disastrous campaign. The Turcoman weapons were no match for the breech-loading rifles of the Russians, and in every struggle the latter were victorious, their loss being small in comparison with that of the Tekkes. The Russians had sixty-nine pieces of artillery, while the Turcomans had no