Photograph by Herbert Corey 

 A TYPICAL MARKET-DAY CROWD AT SOUBOTSKO 



They lived in that defiance of natural law 

 which seems the rule of the destitute in 

 the Balkans. Most of the time they were 

 starving. They slept in heaps, like ani- 

 mals, in order to keep from freezing. 



"Send food," Miss Simmonds tele- 

 graphed, "especially beans." 



PEASANT WOMEN TRIED TO CHURN CON- 

 DENSED MILK 



The beans came, but nothing else. 

 There was no salt, no meat, no anything 

 but beans. Boiled beans become singu- 

 larly unpalatable after one has lived a 

 few days on bean an naturel. Yet the 

 nurse and the refugees were thankful for 

 beans that week. They were kept from 

 starvation. Later on other supplies ar- 

 rived. The poor women, faithful to that 

 domestic instinct implanted in every wo- 

 man's breast, made a pathetic attempt to 

 resume housekeeping along familiar lines. 

 But soon they came to the nurse indig- 

 nant and complaining. The delegates 

 placed before her bowls of the prepared 

 condensed milk she had issued : 



"A devil has entered it," they said 



with conviction. "For hours upon hours 

 we have churned it and yet the butter 

 will not come." 



It was at Slivitska that I began to sus- 

 pect that these poor devils have a sense 

 of humor. I had gone to the townlet 

 with a Serbian officer who was inquiring 

 into the recent behavior of the Bulga- 

 rians. We held court in a cow stable 

 during a pouring rain. 



Outside a German prisoner Avandered, 

 asking an unintelligible question. He 

 had lost his wits completely during the 

 battle. He fumbled about aimlessly. 

 Sometimes he stood opposite the open 

 door of our cow stable, the tears on his 

 cheeks mingling with the rain. Wounded 

 men lay on the sopping straw. 



A dozen or so compact, sturdy, cheer- 

 ful little French soldiers dried their 

 clothing at the fire which smoked on the 

 dirt floor. A notably sullen priest stood 

 by. A peasant told the village story. 



"The Bulgarians were unkind to our 

 father here," said he, indicating the pope. 

 "Also they were cruel to us." The pope 

 sneered ostentatiously. I have never seen 



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