South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-12-03
ALLIES, HOPE OF
SERBIAN PEOPLE
Even in Flight From NiSh
They Were Confident
Help Would Come.

LONDON. Dec. g. Charles z.
Jenkin. an engineer who has been
doing relief work in Serbia. gives the
following account OF the heart
breaking retreat Of the Serbian peo-
pie from Nish:
Now the Bulgsrs have attacked
al along the lire after giving as
surances that they had no intention
OF so doing Prot and the main
Constantinople line to Nish are
threatened. but the allies. England
and France. viii help us the people
say. and the streets are gay with
flags and masts in their honor.
The tense anxious days pass; the
deluge OF cold rain and sleet sops
the flags. and the question. viii
they never Gomez passes from lip
TO lip.
When the great bombardment of
Belgrade began the people left, hop
ing for shelter in the south. Sc
mendria. 10 the east OF Belgrade was
evacu-ted. The main roads 20 the
south from the towns join at Val
plana and there it was that / saw
Serb In her agony. the most hope
less and desolate. picture Of misery
one could imagine.
Reads Are Deplorable.
There had been heavy rain for
some time The roads. always bad.
are now depiOrable. two feet deep
in sticky mud for Serbia has been
almost continuously at war for the
last three years and the able-bodied
men have been under arms
I'm hat dismal road. with the
rain falling pitilessly. crowds of peo-
pie were trudging slowly on, hoping
10 find some place TO rest Women
took of their boots and stockings
and walked in mud up TO their
knees. their picturesque costumes
and gaily colored head cloths soddcn
with rain. II was odd TO see that
some still had stuck in their hair
the pathetic remains OF a flower
Many carried on their backs
bundle. from which came a faint
cry They were carrying their
babies-sometimes two-and leading
other children by the hand. They
were splendid. these peasant wom-
en- OF Serbia.
The misery Of this pathetic crowd
Of homeless folk was intensified by
the fact that there were so few able |
bodied men TO help them. Women. /
children, and old men were mixed /
up in confusion with cattle and
sheep and pigs, and 10 the eternal |
rain was now added the cold bite Of !
sleet- In places the procession came I
to a hopeless deadlock, crowding to- /
gether in the mud
II saw no sign of panic-simply /
a stolid, hopeless resignation DAYS
and days they were on the roads !
did not know where they were go
ing. many did not know themselves. |
Nish they hoped for Uskub they
hoped for; they seemed more afraid /
OF the Bulgars than the Austrians. /
They crowded into towns and VIII !
lagos in AFFECT misery.
Expected the Allies.
How they fed / cannot say. Peas |
ants as a rule give bread to each |
other, but the peasants themselves /
were joining in this dismal retreat. |
and in the few inns the food had /
been exhausted Many children !
died OF starvation. The faces of /
these poor peasants were hard and /
stony. But through il all they sem /
ed 20 cherish the hope that the al /
lies would come and save their coun- |
try.
Under these conditions I arrived |
on the evening Of oct. 10. at Nish /
station. the waiting rooms and every |
available inch Of space being crowd /
ed with rain-soaked and weary
women and children and the old \
men OF the people.
Here a pathetic. bent old figure I
on a sodden hurdle OF brilliant col