Charlevoix county herald., 1919-07-25

Trains OF carts rumble SLOWLY through
the town from the river to the ware
houses, bringing supplies of precious
-four or carting back. the furniture
which the Austrians fiOated down the
river on lighters, but which they were
never able to unload.
The oxen are white and have wide
branching horns. There is constant
file of them from the steamers on the
river bank up the steep hill and from
there on down country. They cannot
carry much and Serbia needs every
thing. Women wear dresses literally
made Of tatters and patchwork. Ex-
cept for some of the better class peas
ants In their indestructible clothes,
there Is no one who Is not patched.
The illusion Of Paris is further dis
sipated by the droves Of hogs that are
herded home every evening. They
come toward one squealing and grunt-
Ing, score at time strange looking
animals with long curly hair as
though a merino sheep had strayed
into their family circle at some date.
Red Cross Centor.
Ox-carts constitute the principal
traffic, but occasionally a motor lorry
Of one of the various armies, or
canton Of the American Red Cross
passes. Belgrade is the Red Cross
distributing point for all of northern
Serbia. Here are the central ware
houses for the Serbian commission.
Every day Red Cross workers leave
by boat, for remote towns down the
Danube or for the interior by narrow
gauge train, by canton or by ox-cart.
The Red Cross is continually broaden
ing its work and helping villages
which are famine-stricken when there
Is plenty not twenty miles away.
In Belgrade itself the American
Red Cross has an orphanage, one Of
the three Of all Serbia, for though
Serbia's children are fatherless and
motherless, there has not been as yet
time to make provision for their care.
There are also large Red Cross work
rooms where women make the gar
ments which are later given away.
The returning prisoners, groups Of
whom arrive daily even at this date,
are sent to the Red Cross disinfect-
ing station. Fighting typhus has been
one of the principal Red Cross tasks
In Serbia. If the prisoners and refu-
gees returning through Belgrade are
not promptly disinfected they go
down into the country and presently a
typhus epidemic springs up. 1t is
extremely difficult to make the Serbs
understand the necessity Of 1t.
"Why all this fuss?" they ask.
SERBS are not afraid to die!" Here
In a nutshell is the philosophy of the
East in matters of sanitation. 1t
seems to the average Serb slightly
ignoble and decidedly cowardly to
pay so much attention to matters Of
health when the only object is to keep
people alive In the world. Trust, In
God who knows your appointed day
and hour and do not fear death" This
Is the attitude that the Red Cross
must meet.
Belgrade is still under the military.
The streets are patroled by armed
soldiers, and when at the request Of
a Red Cross officer | gave an order
to some German prisoners who were
moving freight for the Red Cross, an
officer came up and told me must not
speak to them. SO carefully are things
watched.
Soldiers Everywhere.
The streets are full of soldiers,
Serbs, French, CZecho-Slovaks, black
men from Madagascar, and occasion
ally an American, and groups of Eng
lishmen. In a courtyard full of pear
trees in bloom, one may see group of
trim English naval officers sitting
around at ease, curious peep into
England In this. half oriental spot.
There are q number of English naval
officers In Belgrade, come to patrol
the Danube In monitors. There are
even a few Italians. AS one sees
them strolling about watching the
Serbian soldiers with their bag packs
on their backs or guarding the end
less gangs of prisoners being escorted
up and down or unloading the freight
Oh the docks, one wonders how long
il will be before they can all go home
and begin a normal life again.
At the far end of Main street is
a market where peasants tcome In to
sell things. The women are small and
sturdy and infinitely foreign looking.
This is the divide. Here western
Europe is left behind. The peasants
are dressed In striped home-woven
skirts, accordion plated and losped
on each side In panniers, to show their
embroidered white linen petticOats.
Worked into their purple knitted
stockings are great flowers.
They wear short jackets, sometimes
of sheepskin, and two handkerchiefs
on their heads, one held out from the
head by round wooden ring and fall
ing down the back, and the other over
the head. On their feet they wear
"panks," a sort of moccasin, kept on
with thongs wound around the ankle.
Every bit of their costumes is beauti-
fully ornamented with embroidery.