The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1920-05-01

different armies and each with his
language and way of doing things.
The Poles are a very gay and pleas
u~re-loving people and even here on
the front, from which we have but
lately driven the B~olshevists. there
is always a dance twice a week in the
villages and at the dances one may
see the peasant girls in their quaint
native costumes and dance all the old
Polish dances. Beware of drawing a
"dud," for a single number some
times last for an hour or more with
short intervals to give the musicians
a rest and during which you walk
about or visit the buffet. During the
dance itself, one must be fairly active
though, for everyone plays about in
the most amazing way and as all the
officers wear their swords, even while
dancing, you are liable for a crash
any time, and / may add it is a point
of etiquette for everyone to stop dane
ing till you are picked up and ready
to carry on.
But there are plenty Of people in
Poland who are not dancing these
days and / was told the other day
that they expect upwards of a mil
lion deaths during the winter of 1919
20, from starvation, typhus, etc.
The military situation here is a
very complex one and the longer N
remains here the less one knows.
Since the formation of the Polish
it has enjoyed unbroken success, first
against the Ukaranians and lately
against the B~olshevists. Our army is
the only one that has stood against
the Bo~lshevists and is advancing
steadily. 1t is, of course, essential
that Poland remain as a barrier be-
tween the Germans and the Bolshe-
visits, and now hat the Bolsheyists
are free to turn their whole attention
to us. we expect some excitement ca
our front, but | think so long as the
Allies supply the Poles with food and
ammunition they are a match for an.
number of Bolshevist troops.
Here | wish to pay a compliment to
the Polish soldier. Half clad and
poorly fed they are cheerful and en-
afoatio IN N oo,,ptrr, uvbaro the ali
mate is the chief enemy. And | do
not know of any other soldiers in
Europe who would fight so well under
euch miserable conditions. but they
are well disciplined. always eager 10
go against the Bolshevists and I'm
failingly cheerful.
Everyone who sees the soldiers and
what they have done with such poor
equipment admires them immensely.
Here at the front now the officers
receive the same food and tobacco ra-
tons as the soldiers, so the Polish
army is by way of being democratic
Two days before we captured
Dvensk l cranked my areoplane and
received special permission to go over
with the infantry, as | wanted to see
a town fresh from Bolshevism. / spent
thirty-six hours in an unheated box
car going ninety kilometers to the
front, which is the usual experience
of anyone who travels at the front
here, and then waited in the trenches
on the Dvena, opposite Dvensk, for
a day an a night in a temperature of
thirty degrees below zero, for the at
tack. All l had for a day before the
attack was raw meat. which rather
cooled my ardour for the war in Rus
STA. But the morning came at last
and we crossed the river on the ice
and were into the town before a shot
was fired.
The attack was a complete surprise
and there was only a little scattered
Gre from some sentries.
A few of our fellows were knocked
out by machine gun fire. but before
noon the town vas captured and our
soldiers pressed on Il the attack of
he fortress. But | had seen enough
so wen out to get some snapshots
and see the town. 1t was in a bad
condition. During the war the Ger
mans had tried in vain to take it
from the Russians and had knocked
down part of it. The fire from our
large guns had broken nearly every