New Britain herald., 1915-08-13

w. B. Caldwell, 4o3 Washington St.
Monticello, Ill.
Kurdish girl, dead from starvation and
| hardship. In a niche of the rocks
| of the high mountain pass there was
| found deserted baby softly crying
beneath saddle blanket.
Rations Arc Scarce.
AT one point a group Of thirty Ar
! menian women gathered at the mid
day hating place of the Russian SOL
dlers on the crest of the pass, ana
moaned for food and Clothes but
there was nothing to spare them. as
the soldiers themselves were without
bread or fuel to cook their super
abundant mutton. They were in a
district where even dry weeds failed
them for fre-building purposes, and
there were no more villages to destroy
for roof timlers. Even the veteran
campaigners of the o-Turkish war
of 1878 and Of every Russian cam
paign since then are sickened by the
conditions with which they come in
daily contact in this devastated land,
and especially by the emergence of
the brute instincts to kill and destroy.
The roads and. sheep paths every
where are bestreWn with the possess
sions of the Kurds of Van vilayet and
on the mountains and in the valleys
there Craze countless thousands Of
their abandoned sheep. Dead horses,
broken saddles, harness and torn uni
forms testify also to the rapid weaken
ing Of the Turkish regulars.
Stream Bridged With Rugs.
bridged with rugs and carpets laid on
roof timbers from a neighboring vii
lage. Another was formed of the
bodies of sheep, similarly supported.
The Kurds have borne the brunt of
the Turkish retreat, and in addition
to the leaving behind Of their cat
tie, they have abandoned their rich
carpets and rugs, and so much rough
carded wool, that in places the wool
lies thick enough to pave the muddy
roads.
Maps Prove Unreliable.
The Russian military students IN
this camp claim that the present pro-
gress Of their forces has cast a shade
even upon the crossing of the Alps
by Hannibal and Napoleon. Almost
daily this army has had to cross worse
than Alpine heights. The best maps
have proven unreliable, and there
have been no competent native
guides. Detachments have gone three
or four days at a time without a
pound Of bread or rye toast and a
general halt was made necessary to-
day by the almost total lack of salt,
sugar, bread and barley. The horses
have climbed up and down many
steep slopes 1000 feet high on grass
alone. The last great pass, snowy
waste of many miles, is marked by
scores of dead and dying horses. In
some places the ground to be trav-
ersed was covered with snow hum
dreds of feet deep. In other places
horses had to be led over narrow,
melting snow bridges across swirling
streams. To slip was to be engulfe0
and that fate befell three of the Rus
sian soldiers.
In the sunshine it is blistering and
binding at night there is frost. Last
night fresh snow fell on the heights
around the camp. The camel train
arrived last night, "a hours late. The
men had to sleep the night before in
the open. Scarcely a dozen camp
fires of scanty dried stubble blazed
long enough to boil tea and those too
thinly covered to sleep had to walk
in the dark to avoid freezing.
Killed By Poisoned Weeds.
TO complete the desperation, the
bivouac CHANGED to be in a place over
grown with poisonous weeds which
the starving horses ate greedily. AS
a result fifty or sixty including Ger.
| MS mount were dead before morning.
For a week life has been reduced
| to it's elements. Thousands Of men
| think day and night Of nothing but
the primal animal needs. Warmth,
| food and rest are paradise here. The
Russian soldier and still more the
Armenian volunteer, is resourceful.
| Failing tea, bread, and meat, he
| fares forth to milk. fat-tailed or An
| CORA sheep. Boots are wearing out
| and Of course there is no depot. Here
| too, the soldiers resort to self help
with the aid Of freshly skinned horse
| hides.
| Yet there has been scarcely a WORD
| Of complaint and the chief regret is
| that they have been able to force