The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1915-04-30
tbY ASSOCIATED PRESS

t01 ASoONAAA Gu 1AGsooJ
Memel, East Prussia, April 28.-
For seven months and half the war
has been little more than a rumor for
the little city of Memel, tucked away
in the northermost East Prussia on the
Baltic. Beyond the mobilization of
coo of the "landstrum" to take the
place of the regular troops things had
gone on the same as usual.
Then, suddenly, on the 18th OF
March, there came the report that the
Ccssacks were coming from the north
and East, and Memel began to get
it's first direct impression of the gi-
gantic conflict. In the days that fol-
lowed it was to get other and more
terrible impressions.
While officials frantically appealed
for help from the military authorities
the little band Of Landstrum slowly
fell back from one defensive position
to another before the oncoming Rus
slams. made one final but ineffective
stand at the outlying village Of Alt.
hof, and on Thursday night, March 18
were forced to let the Russians en-.
ter.
Burning and pillaging as they went
the Russian troops swept into Memel
AS terrified villagers gazed from
their windows. the soldiers marched
through Memel's main street, smash
ing in the store windows, stopping
only long enough to help themselves
to tobacco, liquor and food.
Memel, however, had had twenty
four hours notice and had utilized
the time for partial flight. Terrified
villagers from the outlying district
had come painting into town with stor
! les of dwellings, looted and burned
relatives and friends siezed and borne
off to Russia by Russian civilians
following the wake of the soldiers
and of atrocities too terrible to men
ton.
Eight thousand of the towns popu
, lation, thanks to one final stand O.
the Landstrum at the Karlsbruch
! with machine gun, succeeded in get
ting out of Memel, with few belong
ings, and onto the long strip Of SAM
dunes known as the "Kurische Neh
rung," that runs in curving direc
ton southwark Koenigsberg.
Few of the fugitives had had tim
to bring any food, and on the marrow
strip of sand there was nothing o.
which they could subsist. The bite
winter weather that had made tn
flight so terrible, however, proved t
be their salvation, for it froze tn
sheltered water between the sand an
the mainland so that supplies coul
be sledged across in sufficient guam
tity to keep soul and body together
Suffering of Fugitives.
Ignorant Of the fate that Nigh
have befallen those they had left be
hind. suffering terribly in the bite
weather, the fugitives waited, hopin
desperately that the reinforcement
for which they had appealed so earn
estly had arrived to drive the Rus
SLAMS out. There they remained
week, or for four days after the in
vaders had been expelled with grea
losses.
u; For three DAYS the Russian trooo
camped about the town. Their swoo
on Memel seemed TO have been III
spired by no tactical reasons, for the
did not sink the ships in the land
locked harbor, nor fortify themselve:
Cermany's threat that Russian town
would be destroyed if they continue
to burn down German villages is be
lieved to have restrained them fro,
destroying Mcneil.
Instead they cleaned out virtual
every delicatessen store, every pre-
vision market and every wine an
liquor establishment in Memel. Ind
vidual soldiers. prowling about, er
tered the homes Of inhabitants an
added to their fear by their depreds
tons and their threats.
On Sunday the German reinforce