The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1904-12-22
BOTH RACE FOR
RAZOR BACK Pie
laps and Russians We're Hard
Up for Meat
TEA WITH LEMON is SERVED
Russian Forces Are Living in Dugouts
to Protect Themselves From
the Bitter Cold
Weather.
TEA WITH LEMON is SERVED

|
Correspondence of ths Associated Press,
On the front line of Russian defense be-
low Mukden, November 2O-The ther-
mometer is five below zero. There has not
been much snow yet but it is pershing
cold. and fuel is almost at prohibitive
prices.
We have come from a ride around the
front II was nearly mile to the front
through fields of cut kaolin, the giant
millet of Manehufia, which is being rapid
iy burned for fuel Whole villages of
Chinese huts have been gutted of every
particle of woodwork for the same pur-
pose. Nearly the whole of the army is
living underground where body heat has
! to serve instead ot fires.
1t was a desolate ride to the trenches
We caught up with the officer of the day
| visiting his outposts, and accompanied
him along miles of trenches where the
ground is already frozen foot deep,
and the soldiers are working rapidly ex-
tending the lines of defense, and burrow
ii 9 into the gorund for bomb proofs, and
du outs before The frost gets a seat, and
the ground freezes seven feet deep. To-
ward noon we care to an extensive en-
trenchment, an encampment where nu-
merous little fires were burning, and big
kettles swung from cross-sticks showed
that the soldiers were prepareing their
usual meal.
Produced Tea and Lemon.
Here a group of staff officers welcomed
us and in addition to the tea one of
them actually produced lemon to go
with it. How lemon got into that por-
ton of Manchuria, was mystery that
they refused to solve.
Ahead of us on the reverse side OF the
face of the cliff was scores of what look
ed like gigantic swallows nearby. They
were simply holes in the cliff. Here the
men live dozen to the dugout packed
like sardines for warmth. but comforta-
BILE Some of the officers dugouts are
fairly luxurious.
The men have plenty of tea and are
fairly fed, but fresh meat is a luxury
that is not neglected at any juncture,
and suddenly, while we were talking by
| the fire, some fresh meat made its ap-
pearance. There was row towards the
forward line of trenches that might have
presaged Japanese attack, and we rush.
ed to a knoll that commanded a view.
| There from seemingly deSerted Chinese
house, rushed a half grown pig, shoat
| of the Manchurian razor back variety.
| After ii went a cossack in hot pursuit.
Other cossacks Joined the chase, but the
pig, threading the trenches rapidly gain
| ed the open ground and headed for the
japanese lines, less than 400 yards away.
| NJ anVfhfnR
cossacks dashed in pursuit with their
| long brown coats tucked about their
| waists The pig headed across the inn
| aginery dividing line, and charged the
Japanese position. The opposite hills had
to all appearances been unoccupied and
silent as a grave, but a trench suddenly
gave up party of Japanese. and away
they went after the pig. The cossacks
| stopped and the Japanese headed the
pig diagona1ly back towards the Russian
line. They did not catch it, but fresh
relay of Russians took up the chase and
the pig veered over again to the jap
anese Not a shot was fired ali this
time and the Japanese and cossacks
stood within a hundred PAGES of each
other in the open, laughing at each 9TH
er's escape and hurting maledictions after
the pig. The last seen of the pig, the
animal was keeping straight to the neu-
tral strip between the forces and heading
river.
Invited Back to Palace.
The general laughed, though he also
sighed at the thought of the vanished
pig, and invited us to have more tea at
his palace"
"I do not patronize anything but pal
aces" he exclaimed as we mounted TO
follow him, land there being none here
abouts l had one built" Overhanging
| los bo L
ace, nothing more than unusually
commodious dugout, and inside stove
was cunnngly built into the wall with
home made bricks. Before it on the
ground sat Prince Radzivt, just come in
from scout and warming his red hands
against the bricks. There was table
and a tiny window. Hot tea without
lemon this time added to the joys of
living.
Then we turned back later along the
route we had come. The opposite hill
side was vacant and silent as usual.
! But from far distant crest came a
| wink of light almost like a heliograph,
and few seconds later big bysean-
tine shell burst with a thunderous noise
and cloud of smoke, and hit close to
the trench where we had seen the pig
race in the morning. We climbed to a
| heliograph station on the cliff nd found
to Putioff Hill. Through the binoculars
we could see Putloff's tiny mirror wink
ing In reply. New battery" said the
officer, jerking his head toward where
the shell had come from. while signal
sergeant through transit was scanning
the hill crest "Poutllof and / have both
got his angle, approximately" he ex-
claimed. "And we know the base line
from here to Poutiloff so when he
shoots again we can triangulate on him
and get the exact range. We will make
things interesting for him a little later"
So we rode slowly back TO our dug
outs, leaving the signal officer trying to
beat some circulation into his mittened
hands. There may be a fight tonight.
or there may not. but that is all there is
to tell Just now of a day along the front.
Dividend Is Declared.
i Philadelphia. December 21.-The direc-
tors of the Philadelphia and Reading rail-
way company today declared a semi-an-
nual dividend of ~ per cent. on the com
mon stock This is the first dividend on