The Washington times., 1914-12-03
Stricken Soldiers, Supply Trains
That Choke Roads, and
Combats on Earth and in Air
Are Incidents.
By WILLIAM G. SHEPHERD.

BRZkM 81. OCl. - 10y Iildll 10 new
York. Passed by the war press bureau.
This is my diary of yesterday. which
l spent on the Austrian firing line,
twelve miles from here:
7:45 A. M.-Under the escort of Colonel
John and Captain Mieilick. we start for
the front We includes John Quincy
Adams, the great American painter:
Robert w. Dunn, of the New York
Evening Post who has just arrived,
and myself. We bundled into one of the
typical springless, Oasket-bodied Gallo
ian wagons.
500 4. M.-we are on the main road
leading from the great fertilization of
Przemysl to the hills, where the artil-
lery firing is heaviest. At $40 we pass
the cholera hospital and five minutes
later we pass through the gate of the
inner fortiications. The road Is COW
cred with wagons. Two tightly packed
lines of them are going in our direc-
ton. Another line on the left side is
going toward Przemysl with sick and
wourded. The steam from thousands
of sweating horses rises like thin
mist along the trail The sight is so
wonderful that even the wounded men
keep their eyes on it. The sick men,
some with green faces and loose, opened
mouths of cholera victims, hang their
heads, half dead.
Sis A. Mon both sides of the road.
on plowed farm land, huge bodies OF
recruits are training. They have stamp
ed the wet earth into black, smooth
shining field that gltters like jet
$50 A M.-Among the thousands OF
sights we catch a glimpse Of pig rid
ing on a seat like a soldier. He has
been tied there to keep him from run
ming away from dinner. though II VIII
be some one else's meal, not his own.
Mating Lines Trenches.
s:s5 A. M-We pass the outer line of
Notifications. The trenches are lined
and floor ed with willow or straw mat
ting. As far as our eyes can reach.
TO our right and left, stretch small
forests of posts, hitching post high,
with barb wire hung and tangled be-
tween them.
e:lO A M-Our wagon is springless.
Now / know why all the wounded men
I have seen in the carts have such
strained faces.
s.35 A. M.-The road dips into a val
ley. On both sides stretches an i'm
nense camp of tents and covered wag-
ons. The smoke OF thousands OF nres
hangs over il all. Mud. men, flags,
smoke. horses, wagons, piles OF bread,
harness. rifles. form 2 weird and in
describable picture that covers hULdreds
of acres in the valley. This is re-
serve camp.
s;4S A. M-We make trip on foot
through the camp. Hello, there, you
American" | hear a man call from a
covered prairie schooner He shows
me a letter he has just written. 1t is
addressed to Helen o. Reese, 1900 Cal
vert street Baltimore. The officer who
wrote il is Lieut.. Carl Hoffman. Of the
Eleventh Army Corps. He is a big.
handsome fellow who has lived in
America.
Balloons Soar Above Hills.
$50 A. MA spherical balloon, a
dirigible balloon and two aeroplanes
are soaring or darting about above the
hills
1000 A. MA soldier is leaning
against the wall at the gateway OF a
convent but the convent is only q
heap of broken brick and stone. The
Austrian soldiers have RACED 1t because
it INSTRUCTED the view from the forts.
The soldier has only the ruins TO guard
and he evidenuy considers his task
bore.
1920 A. M7IWe cross a narrow gauge
railroad track laid over ploughed
farms 1t is an artillery railroad. The
cars are very small. but horses pull
them more rapidly Than wagons.
There is a string of cars across the
horizon. They are feeding the artillery
In the hills two miles away with
shrapnel shells The railroad to Sanok
runs through this farm and when we
pass the depot of Hermanowice We se'
wounded and sick men lying all abou
the platforms. They are waiting To-
trains winch Will carry lleu DdCh ~
the base hospitals
10:se-The sound of firing is incessant
and huge in volume. The Austrian bat
teries fire one gun at time. The Rus
slams are firing salyos- one. two
three. four. five. six" go the Austrian
howitZers. "Br-r-r' 20 the Russian
pieces, all firing at one time. Before ui
are hills covering miles Of territory
from hilltop to hilltop and from valley
TO valley the battle is raging.
How can a man paint a battle Tx
this?" asks Adams. who has Just fin
ished a picture OF the Emperor OF AUS
tro-Hun6ary, in seven sittlngs. and Wh'
usually isn't stalled by important as
signments.
Real Picture of War.
1o.55-Manv wounded have passed u
in wagons. IN never paint war pic
lures again OF men going into bartl
singing and waving their swords sal,
Adams That man with the gree
twisted face on that wagon. suflerlnl
from cholera is a more tremendous pic
ture of war than all the exploding can
not / can paint In the midst OF a
the life and activity and movement
the man was dying before our eyes
There was no one TO care for him. Hi
wagon was held in the endless stream
and it must continue whether it car
ried 8 SICK man or dying man, o
q corpse.
10:sO-Three small deer ran across IN
road ahead Of US. There are thousand
OF soldiers herea bouts. all with rifle
and good meat is not any too common
but the laws against DOaching are in
bued in the peasantry Of Europe an
these deer on the battlefield are prot
ably the safest OF all living things. Bat
ties have WaCcd on this ground f.
weeks and thousands o. men and horse
have been killed. the hungry Russian
have once held this ground. but her
are the three baby deer safe and soun'
live come 10 a wide. shallO
creek. In tents on a hi!lock beside III
road are the corps commander and h
staff. a network OF field telephor
wires. the nerves of the army stretC
out from the hiliock and run of anon
the treetOps in the distant hills. Tw
temporary bridges cross the streams.
River of Death.
This is an infinitely busy spot or,
these two bridges pass all the me
food, and ammunition that feed the bs
tie in the hills This little creek is n
River Of Death for thousands. A reg
Of fresh suldiaTE EuirE and