The Washington times., 1922-11-12
|OLD T|MESMAN
|TRA|LSTHROUCH
RUSSIAN W|LDS
Arriving at Moscow, He Writes
of Adventures With American
Relief Administration.


Main Hunting the Russian 'du'
dtk,' fowl which Ia half goose
and half duck. from hiding places
n camel carts while inspecting
American Relief Administration
feeding kitchens In the Pugachof
section OF the most severely strick-
en- area OF the famine belt Is one
OF the many experiences Of Charles
M. Willoughby, former Washington
Times reporter, who arrived here
today from samara to confer with
Col. William N. Haskell. director of
the American feeding forces in Rus,
STA.
Mr.. W.lloughby needed the fowl
for food while on trips consuming
two weeks. While conditions are
greatly improved in many sections
OF Russia the Pousachof district liz
one or the sections which wfll suf.
fer again from hunger this win.
ter. according to Mr.. Willoughby.
Grasshoppers and a hailstorm de.
stroyed the small crop that was
grown there.
THE 'dudak makes good eating
when you have been living on
canned stuffs." explained Mr.. VII.
loughby. 1T is similar to the bus
tard.' Whenever we shot one we
would leave II In peasant home
to be baked while we inspected a
kitchen nearby. 1t would serve us
az cold meat for several days.
1T sounds peculiar, but the camel
is splendid ally In hunting the
'dudak.' As noisy as a camel is one
could drag the camel cart within
fifty yards Of a 'dudak' First my
interpreter would locate coyey
with binoculars. We would ride
together about 100 yards towards
the fowl. Then ! would get out
and lie In the grass. the Interpreter
and camel cart circling around and
thus driving the dudaks toward
me-"
"Pugachof was in fearful shane
when the A. X. A. arrived there
last winter. Those who remain ad-
NIT freely that they owe their lives
to the American food and that their
entire villages would have been
wiped out had not the American
appeared. The population in Sep.
'N"icSi was tOD,UUU. 1lGnt
now II is about 400, 900.
This work in Pugachof has been
a regular frontier life. wild and
woody. -The caravan car equipped
with sleeping quarters. cooking
utensils. etc, which the White
Motor Car Company presented TO
the A. Il. A.. and which We lave
been using for my inspections is
scratched considerably from wolves
that prowled about the car while
we were sleeping at night The big
soarchlight on the car would at.
tract the wolves which are unusual
ly bold because the natives have
had no ammunition with which 10
Kill them. The wolves are extreme.
ly bold right now and often we have
come upon villages where the
population had been driving them
away night after night.
"Pugachof is quite a bandit sec.
ton, too. There is a strong band
composed Of about / 700 former mil.
itary officers, who are divided into
two squads, about 1,200 cavalry.
men with horses and about 500
infantrymen. They work in small
units and always make IL a point
to leave the A. X. A. work and
kitchens untouched. In Balakova
the A. r. A. warehouse was next
to government warehouse. A
group Of bandits looted the govern.
ment warehouse and left ours alone.
They are kind.hearted bandits,
for they steal from the villages In
fairly good circumstances and leave
excess they do not care to carry
with villages not in such good
shape.
I'm August trio Of these bandits
drove up to an A. X. A. kitchen,
slapped the Russians in attendance
tasted of the food. pronounced II
good went away and looted the
village treasurer's home. In one
town they spent the night at the
home of a wealthy family, com.
pletely stripping the house of valu
ables. The owner was the widow OF
a. former Russian general.
Later in the village she recog-
nized one of the bandits as a for
mer young officer on her late hus
bands military staff. She berated
him soundly for his lack Of appre.
citation. Assembly was called and
the next morning all the property
had been returned with few extra
goats and camels thrown in for
good measure"