East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1916-01-22
CORRESPONDENTS MAKE MERRY
CONTINUED from page one i

merry dinner one end Of the room
caved in while Esseri a poet from
Paris, was reciting in a loud roaring
voice. a poem he had written about
the Caillaux case Some of the stones
fell on him, too. though the most Of
them went on the table. What did
il matter if the whole new stone
house went down? It 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 dining room
and all.
But only one end OF the room cav
cd in, 50 we were able to go on with
our dinner fun Berdat, an actor
rom Paris, whose name and face are
often on the billboards, and who
looks like Raymond Hitchcock. spoke
funny pieces John McCutcheon OF
the Chicago Tribune, with a big pen
ell made caricatures of our hosts on
;he side Of the railroad station which
formed the one safe wall of the din
inl room and Richard Harding Da.
Wis made a speech. presenting to our
hosts the caricat'lres as a permanent
reminder Of their American newspa-
per guests Some Bulgarian officer
has admired the sketches by this
time
Amid all our merriment there was
the noise of retreat the sound OF
voices from many tents. the neighins
OF the horses picketed for the night,
the rattle Of hundreds of wagons
along the nearby road and the rum.
BILE Of steam trains
1t isn't often in this war, that a
nowspaperman finds the opoprtunity
to sit at a 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 q routine and scheduled wav
so when saw a chance later in the
evening to leave the camp where we
were to sleep and risk my neck in
finding my way a quarter Of mile
across country to where the camp
fires were bright, l took chance.
There were lights in many Of the
tents. though it vas after II O'Clock,
/ heard the sounds of a poker game
coming from one tent. In brightly
lighted automobile ambulance l dis
covered another poker game under
way, No one seemed to be either
sleeping or sleepy. Most of the talk
/ heard was happy talk, banter and
joking This was not to be wonder
ed at These men had been fighting
"a mud and snow against odds ana
for several weeks They had done
their best: it was the Serbian army
that had failed because It had been
.ired out by weeks of retreat.
These Frenchmen were nonorahly
retiring from a position which was
no longer of use to the allied cause
rhey were not running away in a
out. they were not being shipped
Their job was done and their pleas.
ire at leaving an unpleasant position
vas only natural and It struck me rs
walked through the camp. that il
vas happiness that was keeping them
wake.
/ wes partly right, perhaps. hut
he real reason that there was SO lit
le sleep was that the camp was 20
torn up and moved at 8 O'Clock F.
Il the morning.
Halo who are you2" sentry
tanding besidea ltg log fire challerr .
d me MI about him were picketoA 7.
lorses and mules
Press correspondent with passes
explained
Come here and show them to me !
le said.
walked into the center of the
lng OF horses and showed my papers .
Three or four Freuchmen with stye
idts came up to see them too. "a
.,vilian An American" "Rare /
,lrds," said one soldier Would l sit
lown on the log beside the fire. \
soldier brought out n canteen anl /
ls&ed If would have a drink. !
Mould. He poured me a lineup fui
# hellfirish French army brandy |
rhcy took drinks of the same size
hs nSelves and they semed To thiUR |
htt could tell them far more in
crestiug things thad they could tell
ne. Had been ir Paris lately /
Vas it cold there What was on az
he thcaters? Was it true thu The.
-r.sLHenI OF Elunca had resiEneln !