The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1918-05-07
AMERICAN RED
CROSS MISSION
TO RUNANIA HAS
REACHED LONDON
(By Associated Press.

4OnQons may tn 1LS IugnE HOt1
lJassy, the Rumanian capital, the
American Red Cross mission to Ru-
mania, which now has arrived in
London, escaped from Odessa 80
hours before the Germans entered it
only to be fired upon by a German
battery in the Ukraine, 90 miles north
OF the famous Black sea port.
The German shells did no damage
to the Red Cross train, falling about
Ialalf a mile from it. The lombard
snent lasted five minutes.
/, When the mission left Jassy, it
twas known that t3e itluIney likely
/ would be dangerous. Reports in Jas
sy 4, &c tho where outs =: me
Germans varied greatly but it was
fairly clear that they were within
/ so or so miles of Odessa and that
their advance parties might be en-
Fcountered along the line.
The American Red Cross mission
l9eft on the third of six trains which
carried the allied missions from
Jassy. The first train left at noon
/ March and the other trains followed
at intervals Of two or three hours.
Each train was provided with food
for a month. There were no dining
cars and the food was cooked in two
military food kitchens carried on
freight car on the end of the train.
Three other freight cars loaded with
rails, ties and railway iron also were
carried 80 that the road could be re-
Epaired quickly in case of accident or
= If the Germans had torn up the line.
The train on which the Americans
/ travelled was one of the most extra
ordinary combinations OF railway
Trolling stock ever seen. American
doctors and officers had third class
sleeping car, while the nurses had
a second class sleeper. Both cars
were OF ancient Russian vintage and
without water supply or heating ia
cilities.
The French officers had sleeping
| cars, some Russian and some Ru-
Earian, but the prtvates were COM
PEELED to use ordinary freight cars
OF nondescript types and two or three
passenger cars.
Engine Burned Wood.
The engine dated back to 1875 and
burned wood which was picked up
along the way. The engineer match
ed the engine. He was an elderly
IRussian OF Bolshevik opinion, and
had to be fed with rubles and cognac
almost as frequently as the engine
required wood. He carried his fam
ily with him In q box car next TO. the
engine and whenever meals or other
domestic affairs required his atten-
tton he stopped The train and went
home to his box car.
Just outside Odessa the engineer
became dissatisfied with the flow Of
rtlbles and cognao and went on g.
strike. The French officers tried to
reason with him but ne was obdurate
and departed with the engine and
the box car, leaving the remainder of
| the train standing on the main line.
He had chosen rather q. critical time,
for reports were current that the
iGarmans were likely to reach the
railway at any moment After some
delay the French succeeded in find
ing another engineer and engine and
the train proceeded.
German battalions entered Odessa
only SO hours after the Americans
passed through the city and it is
probable that some of their advance
parties already were in the suburbs
at the time the engineer went on
strike.
The striker apparently auffered a.
change of heart soon after he left
the train, for the next day when the
train was a. hundred miles or SO
beyond Odessa, he with his engine
and home, caught up with the
train. He begged the French officer.
to take him back on their own terms.
The French declined to reinstate the
old engineer and the last seen of him
he was taking his engine and box
car backward ON the return trip to
south Russia
on the second day when the train
bearing the Americans was about
200 miles north OF Odessa, one OF the
doctors saw a flash of fire away or
on the horizon. It was followed
quickly by loud explosion and al
great geyser OF earth and rocks as
q shell burst in field about half q.
mile from the moving train. The
first shell was followed by many 9TH
ers.
Nobody knew what was going on,
but the general BELIEF was that the
train had come within sight oG q dis
tant German observation post which
was trying to direct the fire of it's
batteries on the railway track. Mill
tary men on board declared the shells
were 6.9 inch or larger. The shells
appeared to tall in regular line as
| lie the el1nners had the railway care
fully registered The range was al
little too great Tor the German guns,
/ however, and all the shells fell short.
Several of the cooler headed Amer
loans were inclined to laugh at the
| whole afFair in the belief that the
firing probably was the accompani-
nrent to a. battle between the Ger
mans and the BoFshevili some disc
/ tance away. At any rate, the engi-I
4 meer and fireman pushed their loco
lanlottva to its utmost efforts.
At KTzrak the Americans were
greeted enthusia iastically by several
Thousand Bohemian troops who
originally had been prisoners cap
tured from the Germans but lately
had been lighting with the Russians
aeainst the central powers, They
said they had just returned from Al
severe battle with the Germans be-
iseyean Kiev and Kursk and many Of
them were wounded. They boasted
l1haA this action on 6lleir part had
esved the American mission, as 9th
erwfse the Germans would have been
4an Kurak before the Americans arr
rived there Most Of these Bohe1a-
san troops had offered themselves for
service In France.
Tlla mission arrived in Moscow on
March 16. The trip northWard tol
tlia l90llrnlalsk coast and thence ID
III q