The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-07-25

! burst into a fame which would de-
velop into Jehad or holy war.
ITO gain time we decided we would
cross the Kufian kuh, an 5000 foot
mountain range. No wheeled vehicle
had ever been across this pass. but
we decided the armored car would go
with us. We hauled her up one side
by rope and coasted down the other.
Our petrol supplies were very low and
our iubricating oil lower still To
conserve the latter we used butter.
buying up the country's product for
miles around. 1t proved to be an ex-
cellent lubricant. We couldn't find
substitute for petrol and had to save
II.
with one officer besides myself
ten sergeants, the armored car and
van, we were a sorry looking expedi-
ton to be entering unfriendly country.
But we bribed our way through some
way without any serious trouble.
Suddenly we came upon the British
and American consuls of Tabriz Just
north of Turkananchai. They had
fed from 'Tabriz and were on their
way to Zinjan. Bristow warned us
not to go any farther as the country
was full of Turks and they held
Tabriz. We held a consultation and
the sergeants were in favor OF carry
ing on. We did.
Another mountain range was en-
countered and we hauled the cars
through the Shibbi pass. There was
no road and we had to pull the car
up one side and down the other. 1t
was fairly tiresome job--hauling
an armored car through mountain
passes where there were no roads
Try it some time.
I'VE reached the tiny mountain viii
lagos of kizil and Jenaiden, where
several of the party become i'll. Not
wanting to lose time, I decided TO raid
Tabriz If possible. l learned that
there were about forty armed Turks
there: but the presence of friendly
Armenian population led me to hope
that they would lend their help. AL
the same time | had an invitation to
enter the city from Valiad. brother OF
the Shah of Persia. He was governor
Of the city. ! decided l wanted to
have a look at the interior of the
town.
TWICE THROWN BACK
Twice we attempted its capture
and twice we failed. We sent the
armored car forward but it baked
twice. because of lack of tires.
After the second failure We aban-
doned the attempt. We fell back six
miles and harrassed the Turk from
dawn until dawn. Finally, exasper-
ated, they SORTED out after us with
$50 cavalry, having meanwhile OBJ
tained reinforcements. Again We fell
back, dismantlinE the arm orad car
Ito move faster. We came to the vii
lage OF Hail Agha. forty miles from
Tabriz. We chose position. Soon
the Turks hove into view and de-
cided to attack We were holding
ten-mile front with approximately
twenty-five men. Even then some of
the Persians I had under me refused
to fight and l was forced to shoot
several of them.
I'VE fell further back to our prin-
cipai Observation-Disclosures Eventu
ally we received achievements of
all told. During all the time we were
waiting we were in close contact
with the Turk, who seemed to be
afraid to attack, not being sure how
many men ] had.
Then on September 5. 1918. the
Turks surprised us with a heavy at
tack. They used artillery prepare
! ton first and then sent over eight
waves Of infantry. There were more
than 2,50o against IFS. / decided to
retire.
| For four days we fought rear
/ guard actions until we met reinforce
ments coming up. They replaced the
tired men who had been without
sleep for days
The Turks then stormed US and
we had to retreat. Early in October,
1918, / decided to return to Bagdad.
Overwhelming odds were against US,
and there was no immediate prospect
of succor. So we started for the base
"a forty-f1ve-days' march.
We were ambushed scores of times
on the way down and we buried men
all along the route. We arrived in
Bagdad Armistice day. stayed
there just long enough to get out of
it as fast as l could. BY steamer
and train to Bombay ! hurried
caught a boat for England December
2, 1918. I arrived in London January
5, 1919. back to civilization once
more.
Il am sailing for Monrova to-
morrow"