Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-05-20

(Some of the unusual incidents that
have marked the allied campaign
against the bolsheviki In northern
Russia are related in the subjoined
correspondent who has S@cOvered'' the
fighting in these near-Arctic regions
from the beginning-The Associated
Press.)
ARCHANGEL4 April Correspond
ence Of the Associated Press).-It was
largely due to the 'blutf' Of a young
Russian naval officer in command Of
one Of the little allied steamers on
the Dvina river that the original
allied expedition up that river from
Archangel was not wiped out by the
bolshev.ki in the early phases of the
northern Russia campaign.
The Dvina expedition. 1913 strong.
went poking its way nonchalantly up
the broad river, aboard two or three
funny looking river steamers, on
which field pieces and machine guns
had been mounted. The bolsheviki
had taken the best boats, Mississippi
type of paddle-wheelers, with them in
their flight.
The famous 1913 reached Beresniki
nearly 200 miles south of Archangel,
at the junction Of the Vaga river with
the Dvina, without firing a shot. One
night, all OF q sudden. three or four
bolshevik sidewheelers mounting big
guns came around a bend in the river
our cannon they fell through the thin
decks into tho staterooms Of our
steamers.
Stood Pat by Useless Gun.
yo,,no Puaaian naval ofao.r IN
command Of one Of our little ships
with his own gun out Of action. stood
pat, with the useless muzzle turned
toward the biggest Of the enemy's
ships. and barred the channel while
our other ships retreated.
Then our river expedition got the
glad news that British monitor, sent
all the way from the Belgian coast.
was on the way to help them. The
monitor crawled along the sandbars
and got to Beresniki. The colonel in
command Of the river land forces told
me about 1t. few weeks later. when
went up@to his sector of the front.
1t was something Of a tragedy this
first episode Of the monitor, but the
colonel couldn't help laughing about it.
British Officer Surprised.
The monitor steamed up" the colo
mel said, land its captain was rowed
over to my headquarters ship. The
navy was on>the Job and 50, naturally.
all was over. He didn't want to stop
a minute.
Where he shouted. is tho enemy
fleet, and which is the way to Kot-
lass?
And then the monitor chugged of
in the direction Of the bolshevik ship
around the bend in the river. It didn't
find the enemy feet. and it certainly
was a long way from Kotlass. when a
bolshevik land battery, masked in the
woods on the river bank. dropped a
out Of commission and sending 1t back
to Beresniki."
Naval Surgeons Bravery.
It was in this episode Of the monitor
that a young British naval surgeon
performed one Of the feats Of bravery
and self-dental that are continually
taking place in this war. With one
eve shot out and with blood nearly
binding tho other this young surgeon
calmly and successfully attended to
the monitors wounded until he fell
exhausted.
On the river our forces had reached
Beresniki. on the railroad a little COM
mand of French had battled its way
nearly one hundred miles to Obosers-
kaya, and in the swampy tundra be-
tween the railroad and the river an
other party, including some Of the
American sailors, was lost in the mud
when reinforcements, in the shape Of
three transports loaded with -Ameri-
can infantrymen and engineers steam
ed into ArchanRel harbof,