Evening capital and Maryland gazette., 1913-03-03
SOFIA WAR SCENES
Streets of Bulgarian Capital Ring
With Songs of Recruits.
People Remain Silent as Battallens Of
French Reserves Pass Through
Town on Their Way 70 the
Front.

Sofa. Bulgaria.-Above the regular
tramp. tramp. tramp Of soldier feet
rises the hoarse chorus OF soldier
voices-like a sullen sea rolling on
short Of rock The armistice has been
proclaimed. but the streets Of Sofa
are filled with reserves who. battalion
after battalion are being dispatched
to the front TO fill the sickening gaps
at roll call. and TO mix new strength
with The tired valor of the veterans
At the beginning OF the war Bulgaria
had expected TO raise barely 100000
men. On the establishment of truce
there were already over 500. 600 in the
field Now 100, 600 new conscripts are
gathering toward Adrianople and
Tchatalja And still this calm. fierce
little nation is not exhausted Many
men remain If Turkey shows the
least sign Of arrogance or OF trickery
the war will so on.
Tramp, tramp, tramp sound the feet,
Four by four the recruits filed by
young men between 20 and 30 They
gre singing Is it song? It is more
like the battle growl of some slow
moving monster reused to fury, says
a correspondent for the Chicago News
The threats are deep and hoarse. The
music breaks and pauses in odd stern
rhymes "Slavna Bulgaria." Tramp,
tramp. tramp. Slavna bulgaria."
Tramp tramp. tramp. The uniforms
are old and muddy and torn. They
are the color OF earth The faces are
those of a stolid pcasantry--not too
stolid, however. TO feel the fires OF un-
quenchable patriotism burning within
those broad breast "Slavna Bull
garia!" growl the sullen lips. From
the head Of the column the chorus
echoes back: "Slavna Bulgaria.!
Tramp tramp, tramp "Slavna Bul-
garia!" Yes. "Glorious Bulgaria."
Come look at Sofa in war S1ne. It
is gayer. they say. in peace The
swarming crowd in the square before
the old white mosque, whose narrow
minaret rises like an admonition into
the blue sky. chartered louder. they
say, and bartered longer in the days
before the war But even now the city
is calmly animated One is farther
east than at Belgrade. The general
effect IS more Asiatic, more pictur-
esque
Belgrade is an overgrown village a
city In the formative state. Sofia is
alroady a city. compact and individual
Remove the people and the street
stalls and it will somewhat resemble
any bright new town Of Europe or
America The streets are paved with
brick, the central part is clean and
green. the buildings are of brick or
stone or plaster There are some
worthy examples of architecture-the
theater with its lion drawn chariots
surmounting the facade; the palace,
its yellow stone harmonizing quietly
with the green of the gardens which
surround and half conceal it; the
market, with a touch of orientalism
III the mosaic about the doors, in the
design of the bricks, laid in broad red
and tan stripes; and then. above ali.
the churches.
An unshorn convalescent soldier
saunters up the cloth of his coat still
torn where the Turkish bullet went
through And over all the busy swarm
hy hocks of loudly clattering rocks;
a family Of them lives in every chin
ney pot; their scolding and gossip new
er ceases.
Hark! The measured tramp of feet
againi. Another battalion of recruits
is marching to the railroad station.
Far down the street you can hear The
growing voices: "Slavna Bulgaria."
Tramp tramp. tramp "Slavna Bull
earia!" The crowd swerves slowly in
the direction of the singing. Every
one watches anxiously Good! say ap-
proving eyes The quality is not de-
cliningl Bulgaria still has sons of the
strldiest TO hurl against the Turk
The soldiers reach the corner, turn
and disappear Nobody cheers. But
on every face glows a look of stern
pride