The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-11-21
WOMAN DESCRIBES
POLAND WAR SCENES
A Resident Of England. She
Saw Thrilling Scenes in
Russian Invasion.
MADE HER WAY AUSTRIA
SpSc,dI Cajie Despatch to TUE suN.


LoNpoN. Nov. 2o.-The Ddiiy Mad
rr.uts the first descriptive story of the
u,ppcnings near CraCow on the first
Russian invasion. as told by an English
woman. Miss Lucy Haskins. who has Just
returned to London from Poland. She
sa,s
Al the outbreak OF the war between
Austria and Servia | was III tho little
town OF Biala. close to the point where
tho three empires. Austria, Germany and
Russia, touch. Bala is about forty-five
miles southeas; of Cracow and / was
living I'm the centre Of the town with
Polish family, with whom | stayed until
November .. when returned to Eng
l.ud The Russians were then threaten
Ing Cracow and thousands Of refugees
from that town were passing every day
through Bald. where everybody was all
hacked up ready to flee at a moments
totce.
when Germany declared war AL BItla
r,nt SOY mad, and there was some
cause for It. because We kept hearing
through servants and others of spies
b.,uC caught redhandod. one man who
came to inspect the electric lights told
~ thu. wren he was guarding the rail-
way H.. came upon an Austrian officer
ludustriousiy taking notes, Becoming
su.p,cious he challenged the officer TO
produce his papers. and none being pro
dured he arrested the man, who turned
out 10 b. a Russian secret agent.
Tie electric ligh. man also said that
tho following morning some one shot at
him The street In front OF our rouse
Vas barricaded to stop the passage OF
suppusiiitious French automobiles loaded
win millions of francs in French gold
for tie Russians None came our way,
hrt some were reported 10 have been cap
u~cI not FAR of.
We had no difficulty IN realizing that
The official tclesrams about tue battle OF
LENDERS were all moonshine extract My
diary for September shows the kind OF
new the people OF Poland get:
The new spapcrs are full ~ scare tales
about England AcCordins TO them the
courtry was I'm a panic and must say
wonder at ont maction. India IS sun
posed to be in revolt. Egypt also To be
stirred mp by Italy and a British squad
ron n I've suardiag the Red sea In fear
= q Turkish invasion Of Egypt. Greece
and Turkey are apparently going al each
ot-cr and the state Of things In France
gets worse day by day but still they
keep a plucky face on things
"On September : we got news OF the
fall Of Lemberg. from where refugees had
necn constantly arriving all that day.
They came in also from rrzemySl and de-
scr!bed how they were forced to get out
IN the middle OF the nisht with only an
hours notice. They said that all the
country seethed with spies and tina:
Ruthcnians were all traitors. that dead
bodies Of executed spies danslcd from the
trees that 500 Ruthenians had been sent
20 kat;rwitz to be HANGED.
Fifty Poles among the refugees had
heard that "A whole German army corps
was in Cracow. From our windows We
could see some kind of defences being
erected on Josephsberg Mountain. behind
Piala, and I was told that the railway
was also being fortified.
The Statthalter and 500 officials from
I.emberG descended on Biala and were
bIleted on different houses. We had one
official who arrived in the middle of the
night with abundant baggage. He did his
hest to paCify our fears by declaring that
10000 Germans We're in Galcia and that
the Austrian Generals bankl and Auffen-
berg were gradually driving the Russians
back
on September 80 ! was told about the
saving con 'ition Of tn" troops who had
been passing through B!ala from Lem
org. men wio had fought four days ana
'.tvelled tire. without food except what
they could beg at the stations At the sta
tons they used to fight their way out and
run TO houses, begging bread with their
hands trembling so from excitement that
they conid hardly hold the bread when
they 60: Il.
In my diary for this day l find the fac,
noted that Vera. one Of the daughters OF
the house. had q card from "A friend al
the front, telling her that what remained
Of his troop had joined one OF the Polish
uhlan regiments. He described what a
mixture OF noble blood and rffraff ne had
IN his troops. Two OF his uhlans were
g.r.s school friends Of Neras eighteen
ycar-old sister. Each had cut of her
hair In order TO ride as uhlans. The
writer said he had appointed them as his
sdiutants.
II left Bisla on November . with ar
English girl friend, After some annoy
ance over passports we reached Vienna ~
the 18th and found few traces of wal
there. No one seemed 10 have the faintest
idcs OF what was going on in Galicia and
that the Russians were closing in ~
Cracow. All the theatres were open and
the only strange thing was to hear Polisf
spoken on all sides. owing to the number
or Polish refugees In the city. We re-
turned to London by way of Geneva ano