New-York tribune., 1917-04-10
Headquarters, First Division,
First Serbian Army, Macedol


First Serbian Army, Macedonia.
have Just passed ten days among the
mountains with the staff of the First DIVISION
of the First Serbian Army. Our camp was
pitched on a wind-swept summit at an aitl-
tude Of about 5000 feet. The half-score Of
tents were scattered among huge powders
and masses of snow covered rocks. and so
distributed as to get the maximum amount
Of protection against the icy wind that blew
across the SUBMITS Of the mountains tower
ing on every side. Opposite was the Kay
makehalan, the II. 600 foot giant Of the Mog
lene Range, its crest metre deep under vir-
gin snow. To the left lowered the SOkol
+ which. with the Dobropolje and the Netreni"
are the last mountain strongholds in the
hands of the Bulgarians. From the Sokol
northward are a succession Of mountain
crests. behind which lie Prilep and Neles the
next objective Of the army Of the Orient
Behind and to the right IS the succession OF
mountains bordering and dominating the
plain Of Monastir, the series Of heights re-
Gently carried by the gallant troops Of Field
Marshal Mishitch and his French and Rus
sian allies.
4 Battle on Snowy SUBMITS.
Il was a scene Of unutterable desolation
coud-capped SUBMITS covered with sno"
deep valleys, icebound mountain torrents
rocks and crags With the exception OF a
few stunted trees here and there. there was
no sign Of vegetation. With my field glass !
could distinguish few snow covered peas
ant huts scattered over the mountain slopes
The only sign Of life was the endless stream
Of pack mules and donkeys pouring along the
mountain path en- route to the invisible front
among the sea Of mountains ten KILOMETRES
away. Its presence was revealed by the duIl
boonn OF the guns, which never ceased night
or day. Now and then white puffs. like cot
ton wool. round the summit Of Sokol, showed
that the monotonous bombardmcnt OF that
mountain stronghold was still in progress
But for this the scene was one of unrelleved
monotony. desolate desert OF snow and ice
And yet less than ten miles from our camp
thirty thousand men were facing one another
in trenches struggling across valleys and
meandering along mountain slopes. Among
the rocks and crags batteries Of every de-
ScrlptlOn were III pOSlllOH' H""'i'N''"e "'''
against rival batteries across valleys and
beyond intervening SUBMITS. Occasionally
an aeroplane, looking like a huge eagle. would
90 soaring over the snowy crests observing
and reporting on the results of the fire on the
invisible enemy.
But in our camp all is peace. Bella and
Czerna, the black and white sheep that have
been the pets of the staff for the last three
months. wander about, trying to crop what
grass they can find among the rocks, while
Atsko. the camp goat and his wife climb the
crags and powders or make incurslons into
anv tent that the owner may have lncautious-
u left unguarded. Atsko's taste IS even ior
goat-ot the most catholic description.
know nothing except empty sardlne TINS iha'
he will not eat. He will follow me a mile
for A cigarette, which he munches with eVi-
dent relish. He chews up newspapers as IL
they were n delcacy. His taste in drink is Jus'
as catholic as that in food. Tea. wIne' cohee
or beer he laps up like mothers mix, ana
cav him polish off a gill of Scotch whlSKey
with as much relish as if he had been porn
north Of the Tweed. and not in the mountains
of Macedonia. 1t seemed to nave no eHec'
vbatcver on him. though his potations eVi-
do,+lv did not meet with the approval OF ms
wife who butted him every time ne came
oor bor Half dozen fowls belonging 10
ooIoreI commanding the artillery com