Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1916-01-22
By William @. shepherd.

Omitted Press Staff Correspondent
Salonika, Dec. 1.-THE French re-
treat began to sweep past Strumnitza,
while we were dining. The valley of
the Vardar was filled with moving
lights, with the clatter of wagons, the
confused sounds of the camp and the
occasional rumble of q railroad train
Everything was coming down the val
ley from Krivolak, forty miles away,
men, supplies and all The French had
tried to reach the Serbians; the long
arms of their cavalry scouting parties
and the even longer fingers of their
"seventy-fives" had been feeling, feel
ing through the Serbian mountains in
an effort to come in contact with the
Serbian right and thus save Monastir
and southern Serbia. But the Serbian
right had been turned back; the Serb
ians in their hillside trenches where ]
had seen them a week before, had been
routed. Krivolak, therefore, was no
longer of benefit to the French or the
Serbians, and the French were retiring
from il.
We dined at long table in a stone
shed. The shed was new. 1t had been
built next to the railroad station for
dining room for General Baillaud s
staff, the general himself occupying
the station. This was the first day the
stone shed had been used and DR.. Vas
sal, director of the medical corps of
General Baillaud Is division, who sat at
the head of the table, told us he was
very proud to have us eat in the new
dining room.
One End Caved In.
"The paint is not yet dly,' he said,
"but our men worked hard to put up
the building ont of such rough pieces of
stone as they could find along the river
bank and we are very proud of it. /"
What did it matter that after mer-
ry dinner one end Of the room caved
in while Eysseri, a poet from Paris,
was recitng in loud roaring voice, a
poem he had written about the Caillaux
casel Some of the stones fell on him,
too, though the most of them went on J
the table. What did it matter if the
whole new stone house went down? 1t
would have been better so, for within
two days, as the fates of war were TO
have it, the Bulgars were to own
Strumnitza, railroad station, stone din
ing room and all.
But only one end of the room caved
in, so we were able to 90 on with our
dinner fun. Bardat, an actor from
Paris, whose name and face are often on
the bill boards, and who looks like Ray /
mond Hitchcock, spoke funny pieces.
John McCutcheon of the Chicago Tri-
bune, with a big pencil, made carica-
lures of our hosts on the side Of the rail
road station which formed the one safe
wall Of the dining room, and Richard
Harding Davis made a speech, present.
ing to our hosts the caricatures as
permanent reminder Of their American
newspaper guests. Some Bulgarian Of
ficer has admired the sketches by this
time.
Tho Noise of Retreat
Amid all our merriment there wasj
the noise of retreat, the sound of
voices from many tents, the neighing
of the horses picketed for the night, the
rattle of hundreds Of wagons along the
nearby road and the rumble of steam
trains.
II ism t often, in this war, that a
newspaperman finds the opportunity to
sit at n campfire in the midst of tents
and talk with ordinary soldiers. Most
of the views that newspapermen have
OF the war have been secured under the
guidance Of high officers and in rou-
tine and scheduled way. SO when
saw chance later in the evening to
leave the camp where We were to sleep
and risk my neck in finding my way
quarter Of a mile across country TO
where the campfires were bright, | took
chance.
There were lights in many Of the
tents, though II was after II o'clock.
heard the sounds Of poker game com
ing from one tent. In brightly light
cd automobile ambulance j discovered
another poker game under way No
one seemed 10 be either sleeping or
sleepy. Most Of the talk heard was
happy talk, banter and joking. This
was not to be wondered at. These men
had been fighting in mud and snow,
against odds and for several weeks,
They had done their BEST 1t was the
Serbian army that had failed, because
it had been tired out by weeks Of re-
treat. These French men were honor
ably retiring from position which was
no longer Of use TO the allied cause.
They were not running away in rout;
they were not being whipped. Their
Job was done nnd their pleasure AT
leaving an unpleasant position was only
natural and it struck me, as | walked
through the camp, that 1t was happi-
ness that was keeping them awake.
/ was partly right, perhaps, but the
real reason that there was so little sleep
was that the camp was to he torn up
and moved ut O'Clock in the morn
ing
Drink 1.-TWO Quart" Kind.
"Hallol who are youl' sentry
standing beside big log fire chal-
lcnged me. All about him were picket
cd horses and mules.
''prcss correspondent with passcs,' Il
explained. Il
"Comc here and show them to mo,
he said.
/ walked into the center Of the ring
of horses and showed my papers. Three
or four Frcnchmcn with steel hatal
came Up TO see them, too. A civilianl Il
An American
''Raro birds" said one soldier
"A F.. Y