Norwich bulletin., 1916-05-20
storis. of the Wa,
Americans Prisoners 0f Hulsariahs'

Americans Prisoners of 5uIgariahs'.
 Eight Americans who were prisoners of the BuIgarians while members of the English hospital unit at SkopIke. Serbia, have recently arrived in Lon- don, with Lady Paget, who has been in general charge of the hospital main tained at that point by the Serbian Relief Fund.
 The party includes three physicians, each of whom originally went to the war zone to aid in the work of the directions of Dr. Richard c. Strong: pr. A. F. Cornelius, of Berea, Ky.s Dr. D. D. Forrest, of Providence, R. T.; and Dr. Raymond v. Brokaw, of New York. Four members of the original Columbia University Relief expedition to Serbia in the party are; Montague Hancock, of Omaha c. B. Logan and Duce Peters of New York, and Web ster ". Eaton, of Columbias O. Also returning was Miss Roberta. Parsons nurse, of Lima, O., who left Lon- don with the English unit last May.
 The Americans were finally allowed to leave Spoplkes February I7, after which they were held prisoners three weeks longer at Sofia, before being permitted to depart fro England by way of Rumania, Russia and Sweden. Miss Parsons had been i'll for three weeks before the order of release for
 
 moved the first eighty miles Of the l journey from SkoplkeS on a stretcher in an ambulance. She intends to re- turn to Serbia with the English unit after a time.
 we were nursing the Serbian war victims and members of the civil pop ulation in the large hospital of I50 beds maintained by the Serbian Relief took the place on October 22 last. said Miss Parsons. The members of the large Turkish populations on sec I ing that the Bulgars were coming in 1 triumphantly took the guns of the Ser | bian wounded and shot down Serbian 1 soldiers. After the Bulgarians took the town, we continued our work as prisoners, but about the only differ- ence was that instead of treating only | SerbisnS, we turned our attention al- i so to a large number of Bulgars and 1 Austrians as well, the Bu1garfans per | hitting us to continue our attention to the Serbians as well.
 ! "On the whole we found that the l Bulgarians treated us with the great l est consideration, seeming to pay a great deal of attention to English pub l lie opinion. On being transferred to Sofia, the Queen paid several visits to
 Lady Paget and inquired as to the
 welfare of us at our hotel. We were | given a special train that took us right through Rumania and Russia to
 Stockholm"
 i Duce Peters, of New York, told EhOW the resources of the Columbia relief expedition, including their twenty five motor cars, were promptly absorbed by the Serbian army, the equipment coming as a great boon to- the hal,a l pressed veterans. The twenty five Serbian interpreters sent by Profes- sor Pupin and the other organizers of
 the expedition, were promptly drafted
 into the army. The, action had the
 effect of breaking up the expedition,
 some seventeen members forthwith re-
 turning to New York in September, while the remainder sought other ac-
 tivities.
 It was a party of Americans, in-
 cluding Hancock, Logan Peters and a
 young physician named Osborne who hurried out from the hospital at
 Skoplke in an automobile on the ap- proach of the Bulgarian Army to af-
 range that the artillery should spare
 the institution.
 "The firing came pretty close about us before the United States flag. that
 we had hoisted was seen,' said Peters. | By that time we had experienced sev- eral narrow escapes and had sought 1 cover on the ground by ravine- We were agreeably surprised, however, to find that the officers greeted us court eously and promptly complied with
 our request. While during our i've months in the hospital under Bulgar- , ian domination we were told plainly that we were prisoners of war, we have no complaint as to the treatment accorded us."