The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1915-05-21
From Saturdays Daily.

| Jury during the trlai.
From Saturdays Daily.
Athens. May ia correspondent
with the British expeditionary force
ut the Dardanelles. although not al
lowed by the censor to give the name
of the seaport where he Is stationed.
sends the following description OF the
, town and the picturesque force gath
ering there:
I'VE have been lying for four days
Ia land locked harbor. where the
French and English troops are con-
oentrating for their campaign against
the Turks. The war has brought q
weird transformation To some OF
these sleepy Mediterranean towns, a
transformation that will mean per-
manent changes to most o. them.
They will he modernized i'm many re-
spects. and the road-building and
dock making and general house
cleaning which the soldiers are doing
will work almost n revolution in the
towns and their inhabitants.
This place is most interesting Just
now, with its prosperous garrison of
French troops-chasseurs d'Afriquc
on their superb Arab horses. Sencga-
lesc infantry as black as my hat. and
Frenchmen I'm their blue tunics and
red trousers. The Senegalese have
odd little tents dotting a whole hill
side. each eight feet long. four feet
wide. and only two feet high. in the
middle of which six men sleep. Dur
ing the day they lift one side up and
make a sort of awning of IL. under
which they sit. The officers are ali
Frenchmen, of course. some dark
haired men from the south. some
fair. not yet sunburned
Then there arc ordinary French
soldiers in their new khaki. and Aus
tralians. big men. loose-limbed. rid
ing carelessly rough coated horses.
looking all the time as II they might
easily fall of. Too numerous to de-
scribe there are British regulars. ter
ritorials. marines. artilley. aviators.
sappers. army service corps. Red
Cross. Greek soldiers and sailors. and
peasants. Among the latter there is
small proportion of women. all
wearing the native yashams. kind
of double veil.
I Wooden shacks have sprung up i'm
all directions. where loud voiced
Greeks. sell fruit. candies. postcards.
sponges. timed stun OF all sorts
whiskev brandy. and beer at G5 cents
bottle. The shacks are about half
the size of small automobile garage.
and invariably bear sign Bon Mar
che or else Grill Room over the
door. usually in chalk.
The streets are filled with mules
staggering about under huge loads OF
fodder and supplies. ammunition
carts. Red Cross army automobiles,
wagons end small boys In hundreds
crying Penny, signor. penny Out In
the bay are battleships. cruisers, de-
stroyers. transport supply ships. col
/ liers. hospital ships. Greek trading
schooners, and hugh fiat barges by
the score. Everywhere like the small
boys on shore. dash the little. fussing
putting French picket boats or the
mere dignifled English launches.
ION the right. the French are max
ing a road and pier. little nearer
the town the Australians have already
completed q big wharf. and the rick
ETY. structure that has served for gen
erations the needs OF the sleeping viii
lage Is piled high with every con-
cCivable object from baskets of lem
cns to huge pieces of timber. II Is
crowded with natives and Greeks
and looks every second in danger OF
collapse.
| Quietly stalking through all this
furry of war move the Greek priests
with their uncut hair twisted up like
a womans or pushed up under their
hats. with a courteous salute to every
one. black or white. officers or pri-
vate. that looks their way.
Inland half a mile. war has van
ished save for the long regular lines
OF tents on the hillsides and the oc
I casional faint call OF q bugle. There
the farmer ploughs with his old
world wooden plough, drawn by sleepy
! oxen which are stimulated into ac-
J ton at intervals by the prick OF the
goad
by the side of the streams. where
ponDies. lilacs. and ragged robin are
springing up as the same flowers are
In many other quarters OF the world
the women kneel beating their wash
fHS OH tnc StOueS. iduSniHS anu tdlh
ing. and behind them from the well
! walks the familiar Biblical figure OF
the woman and the pitcher. Turn to-
ward the harbor and one has the an
! tithesis. wild western hurry and
| confusion and efficiency there. here
Eastern peace. The latest deadly ex-
plosive on one side. on the other the
pitcher at the well. Yonder the big
army automobile truck. here the
wooden oxdrawn plough
New York. May 15.-visitors WIN
contemplate visit to New York In
the near future should try to arrange
their trips so as to get here during
the period between May IL and Is
when the Atlantic feet will be In the
!, harbor before the trip through the
canal to the Pacific. There will be a
big naval parade with 800 vessels In
iljnec including twenty one battleships
siA 'ianfi,parade ,oG soldiers, and marines
Twill be- = deafure also. The WaESkipj