Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1914-03-27
HORRORS OF WAR
seen BY A GIRL
Alone, In Mans Attire, Spent
Year IN Balkans.
SHOT At and HELD As SPY

Daughter Of British General Gives
Vivid Description Of Her Adventures
on eattIefieIds-AwfuI Fate Of Tur.
kish Prisoners on the Island Of
SaraiIle itschy.
Miss Jessica Borthwick, who has re-
turned to London after spending year
In the Balkans watching the closing
phases of the war, has given the Lon
don Chronicle remarkable account of
her experiences. Miss Borthwick is
twenty-five years old and the daughter
Of the late General Borthwick. who
was employed in Bulgaria In the eight.
des to reorganiZe and command the
army In eastern Roumelia.
Miss ROrthwick journeyed unattend-
ed. Her outfit consisted Of manila rid
Ing breeches. riding boots. flannel
shirt, sweater. felt hat and cam
era with which to take cinematograph
pictures. She had big cape which
served as skirt when she was in the
towns Che took only one revolver
with her. but was able to add to it an
arsenal from the bodies Of dead off,
GERS.
Struggled Through a. a Servant.
She sought the Bulgarian premier
in Sofia in January, 1918. and told him
she wanted to Join the Bulgarian army.
He handed her over to the minister OF
war, who gave her permit. and she
soon found herself on the way to Sta
razagora. officers smuggled her to the
'front.' one taking her with him as his
servant.
After many wanderings and adven.
lures she made her way to Adrianople
when the garrison surrendered. She
gives a graphic description Of the ter.
rible havoc. The open ground before
the city was covered with the dead
bodies of men. horses and bullocks.
She visited the island of Saraille
Itschy, where the Turkish prisoners
were sent.
dead soldiers, robbed of almost ev-
cry garment, lay there as food for the
scavenging birds" she says. but the
sight of the living who waited for
death was worse On the island. which
was one large swamp with huge trees
sticking out and knee deep in mud.
were thousands of starving Turkish
prisoners herded together for warmth
and support Their faces and hands
were ashen gray and their eyes sunken
In their sockets
81 saw four men sitting around Il lit
tie fire, and as il was the first fire ]
had seen there ! went UP t" them. !
spoke to one of them, hut there whS no
answer ! repeated my question. with
no result. and then pushed his Sllonl
der. He reeled over. All four were
dead"
At Adrianope Miss Borthwick was
stricken with cholera and lay unat-
tended in a mosque three days without
food or water until she was found and
taken to the Red Crescent hospital.
She returned to Sofia. but again set
out.
Wounded and Hold a. a Prisoner.
In the neighborhood of Mustapha
Pasha she had an encounter with an
outpost Of Bashi BaZOuks. who opened
fire, wOunding her In the leg and shout
der. She was wounded several times
during her adventures by bullets and
fragments Of shells. At Uskub she
was arrested as an Austrian spy and
thrown into n filthy cell. where sne re-
manned for nine days. living on bread
and water. Finally the Russian con
sui obtained her release.
One Of her most ghastly experiences
was at Ferre She was feeling hungry
and thirsty and was looking for 9
melon field.
"About 8 o'clock ut night" she says
"when tho full moon was out, l saw
what seemed to be a melon field, will
n lot Of round. light colored objects
like melons on the ground. jumped
off my pony and picked up the neares
melon. but dropped it in horror. l
was a human skull. picked clean b!
dogs and birds. Then all around saw
dozens Of them. with unburied bodies
of women and children which dog
were feasting on. Lying among then
were beds. mattresses, cooking pot
and articles OF furniture. all smashed
and strewn around when the Greek IT
regulars massacred the Bulgarians."