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The Seaforth News, 1938-10-13, Page 7THU'RSDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1938 • THE SEAFORTH NEWS PAGE SEVEN Duplicate Monthly Statements We can save you money •on Bill and Oharge Forms, standard sizes to fit Ledgers, white or colors. It will pay you to see our samples. Also 'best quality Metal Hinged Sec- tional Post Binders and Index., ., The Seaforth New, Phoma 84 THE DAIWN There is the old square,—lGod save the day,—and I am here to look up at the statue of old !King Sigismund on his high pedestal. Here is the (Praga bridge, and there the old royal castle. What history they have all seen; And up there !floating in the afternoon sun is a white 'eagle on a field of red. May it always rise there to gladden the hearts of men and women in this new republic of ours! And now I, Sigismund 'Karlinski, am the only one of our ,fancily in a hundred years to see that flag !flying without :protest. My great-grandfather Sigismund Karlinski was killed by Cossacks in the revolution of 1862'; my grandfather Stanislaus, exiled in Si- beria after that uprising, lived but a few years after returning home; my "father Thadeus was 'killed white fight- ing in the Legion in 11191113. On the filth of November in that year our ,beloved country was once again re-established, although the tumult of war continued. It was not until ,19LIO that we saw the Russians finally overwhelmed, driven back in confusion from the very gates of Warsaw. I was thirteen years old at that time, lacking one year of • the age ne- cessary to enlist in the army that arose to meet the Bolsheviks, but not too young to serve my country, for in those days women and children fought by the side of the men, or brought them clothing and food. The women and children first saved Lemberg from the Bolsheviks; it was Lemberg that hold 'firm during the great invasion, thus saving the day. Were you ever in a 'besieged city? It was a terrible feeling of helpless- ness that came over us as we waited in Warsaw, hoping that the advance of the enemy would be checked. A fresh army of Cossacks, followed by infantry, was advancing steadily upon us from the north. The fighting line ran west, eventually almost to the. Vistula 'River and the city of Thorn, but 'just east of Warsaw the line turn- ed to the south. The enemy was slow- ly closing in upon us from those two directions, making such progress each day that we expected momentarily to hear that a complete circle had :been formed. Morning ibul'letins showed the avenues of escape from the capital gradually closing; it was like being a fly in a S'pider's web., feeling the strands being wound about slowly' but surely. Before the Bolsheviks were near the city there was much discussion as to whether the garrison would hold out or not. As they approached, a kind of patriotic madness swept over all of us. All divisions of society were fongot- ten, all petty squabbles and quarrels went by the board. We knew only that our ;beloved country was in danger. So we all turned out to work. Our young sten had long since gone to the army. Our young women had joined the Women's Legion or were busy in the neighboring fields digging trench- es or stringing barbed wire, On the night of August S the city went into a state of seige. Tho feeling of resistance was growing more and more tense. It would be a battle to the death if the Russians ,broke through the outer lines and attempted to en- ter. We -loosened the planks of all the bridges, ready to sweep then' up when the 'Cossacks appeared; we planted 'cannon at every vantage point and machine guns in every square; we were prepared to fight; the search- lights were playing on the skies for hostile airplanes. Yet in spite of all this excitement and action •there was a constant .gripping at the heart to feel that out of the darkness there was approaching gradually, slowly, un- ceasingly from all sides a vast army that had no pity, no heart—that here we were with our Christianity, our love of law and justice, our music and our color, and out there were riding hordes that' knew only destruction and death for every noble heart and good impulse. In Warsaw I had joined the organi- zation called the Boy Scouts; we wore khaki uniforms after the English or R 1 • Grandma always was a keen shopper and quick to "snap up" a bargain ... but you'll recognize these BARGAIN OFFERS without het years of ex- perience ... you save real money ... you get a swell selection of magazines and a full year of our newspaper. That's what we call a "break" for you readers ... no wonder grandma says -"YOU'VE GOT SOMETHING THERE!" ALL- A 1L OFFER THIS NEWSPAPER, 1 YEAR A ANY THEE MAGAZINES PLEASE CHECK THREE MAGAZINES DESIRED ❑ Maclean's Magazine (24 issues), ❑ Rod and Gun, 1 Year. I Year. 0 Silver Screen, I Year. ❑ National Home Monthly, I Year. 0 American Fruit Grower, 1 Year. ❑ Canadian Magazine, I Year. 0 Parents', 6 Mos. ❑ Chatelaine, I Year. ❑ American Boy, 8 Mos. ❑ Pictorial Review, 1 Year. 0 Christian Herald, 6 Mos. ❑ Canadian Horticulture and Home ❑ Open Road (For Boys), I Year. Magazine, I Year. ALL FOUR ONLY 00 SUPER -VALUE OFFER THIS NEWSPAPER, 1 YEAR AND THREE BIG MAGAZINES GROUP B — SELECT 2 GROUP A — SELECT I ❑ News -Week, 6 Mos. ❑ True Story, I Yr. • Screenland, I Yr. • Judge, 1 Yr. • McCall's, I Yr. ❑ Magazine Digest, 6 Mos. ❑ Parents', I Yr. ❑ Christian Herald, I Yr. ❑ Woman's Home Companion, 1 Yr. ❑ Collier's, 1 Yr. ❑ American Boy, 1 Yr. ❑ Maclean's Magazine, 24 issues, I Yr. O National Home Monthly, I Yr, ❑ Canadian Magazine, I Yr. • Chatelaine, I Yr. O Rod and Gun, l Yr. ❑ Silver Screen, I Yr. O Pictorial Review, I Yr. ❑ American Fruit Grower, I Yr. ❑ Canadian Horticulture & Home Magazine, 1 Yr. ❑ Open Road (For Boys), 1 Yr. (31 THE SEAFORTH NEWS ALL FOUR ONLY 90 Gentlemen: I enclose $ I am checking below the offer desired witha year's subscription to your paper. 0 All -Family 0 Super -Value Name St. or R.R. Town and'Province SEAFORTH. ONTARIO. American style, and proud we were of them. In this crisis we were able to do much work, and helpful work, be- cause of our organization. We carried messages, ran errands, filled canteens —even went 'up to the very front, where we 'helped the soldiers, often 'bringing in wounded or !bandaging slight wounds. Two of my boy 'friends. were shot while carrying water to the soldiers wounded near 'Motilin, On August 112 I reported at our headquarters in the morning and was given an important task; at least I thought it important. It was to carry a number of personal letters to men and officers near IJ•ablonka, an army post twenty-seven 'kilometers from the city. As the regular postmen were all in the service, delivery of personal mail was impossible. We knew, how- ever, how good it was to get letters in war time, particularly from members of one's family, and we realized how much the loving messages cheered and encouraged the soldiers. These letters I dropped into a 'bag, which ,I strapped over my shoulder. .I tested my bicycle, found it in good shape and started. For the first ten kilometers it was easy riding, 'Had I not been held up many times Iby sentries I could have reached 'Jablonka by ten o'clock. As it was I got the letters to the head- quarters in that place at about eleven, Under the trees in the village men were sleeping with their guns for pil- lows. The fighting was going on to the north, where we could hear dis- tinctly the roar of artillery. Detach- ments were coming and going con- stantly; one that first took my eye was a group of Posen troops in green uniforms with 'high, old-fashioned square hats, They had been drawn from Lemberg in a hurry to throw into the counterattack that was begin- ning that very day. I also saw some French officers of the staff of General Weygand, who had been appointed commander in chief at Warsaw. They wore 'blue coats and red trousers, ter- ribly conspicuous as targets for sharp- shooters, I thought. I hated to leave, so high was the tension of excitement, but I had in mind more work in the city. So I started back at two o'clock. Just as I was leaving the town "I met a' body o1 troops corning back' for a short rest; few of them had shoes, and their feet were dirty and bleeding; most of them had not eaten for twenty-four hours; their eyes looked ,bloodshot and tired Their uniforms were in rags; they carried rifles of Russian, German and English make, •of all dates and des- criptions, the Left -overs from the Great War. One had actually an old flintlock; another carried, in lieu of a bayonet, the 'blade of a farming scythe. It was with such weapons as these that Poland rose to defend her- self, "every house being a fortress," as our song says, her sons guarding her honor with' bare fists and the butts of guns when ammunition failed. I thought little of this, then. I knew only that I had twenty-seven kilome- ters of riding ahead of me. I was a bit sore from making speed in the morn- ing and intended to take my time un the way' back. The road from Jablonka to War- saw runs through a wide expanse of sand dunes, the sand piled in such reg- ular heaps that you imagine that some time or other the Vistula must have been larger than it is at present and swept down to the sea over the sandy 'bed, about a hundred chiles in width. This is one of the curiosities of our country, visitors tell ute, this expanse•of sand that one finds'border- ing the fertile valley of the river. It is very disagreeable to passer. -by when- ever there is a wind, for the whole plain resembles the desert in a storm, The sand drawn up into clouds drives at a terrific rate across the road, blind- ing horses and 'Hell alike. These 'tamps are infrequent and do not last long, and you can always see then) coming from a distance and be on m uard. I was about fifteen kilometers out of Ja'bdonka when events happened so quickly that I was absolutely stun- ned. I had been riding along quietly, enjoying the stimulation of exercise, when, suddenly glancing ahead, ,I saw a man on horseback gallop across the road. He was barely two hundred me- ters away. As he disappeared in a clump of trees on the farther side of the way I hoped that he had not seen me and, endeavoring to ,pass unno- tieeed, threw my whole weight into the pedals. There was no mistaking that tall, round astrakhan hat, or the .grass -col- ored uniform, or indeed the squatti- mess of the horse he rode. It was 'un- mistakably a Cossack, No other Cos- sack followed him. With heart beat- ing hard 1 shot 'by that clump of trees so fast that the wield whistled in my ears. But I was not to get away so easily, There came a crashing through the trees and undergrowth, and he was galloping along beside me with his short guar pointed at my head. I slowed down and 'dismounted at his command, so stricken with fear in that first moment that I 'found trouble; in making my legs obey me. As I turned! round, still Meaning on my 'bicycle, I heard another clatter of hoofs as More horses scrambled up from the woods to the road behind me, and three more Cossacks came dashing 'up (n a cloud of dust. I cannot tell you how I felt. I was sick and weak in those first terrible minutes, but when I saw the riders talking among themselves .I realized that they were human and apparently did not mean to 'kill me instantly. Then my courage began to come back. They evidently formed a scouting party, It did not seem possible to inc that Cossacks in any number could be so near our city. They 'talked• for a long time among themselves as if arguing some .point. My own wits, clarifying as that first shook of fear lessened, told me that they were more or less confused as to direction. At length they reached some conclusion, for the man I had seen first, still cov- ered me with his riffle, demanded which way Jablonka lay, His ques- tion was in a peculiar Russian dialect such as one hears occasionally in east- ern Galicia, I don't know how I had the resolution to do it, 'but some an- gel of courage prompted me to paint toward Warsaw." 'Then you'll ride ahead of us in that direction," said. the Cossack, 'and if we find that you have misled us I'll put a bullet through your 'head. Get on your bicycle quicicly, and ride about fifteen meters ahead." •There were no more words, but I knew Cossacks well enough to know that he meaut'•business; so I jumped. to the seat and started. We moved on, not in the direction of Jablonka, but of Warsaw, and I knew that about five kilometers ahead lay barbed wire entagleunents and trenches full of men, Yes, I was leading them into a lion's den, I thought, but I was suffi- ciently apprehensive. What if the should meet a marching detachment or a Polish scouting party, or what if we should conte upon the trenches suddenly? My own life would be at once a forfeit, for the first act of the Cossacks, en learning of their betray- al, would the to shoot me. My fear be- gan to come hack after the had pro- gressed a few 'kilometers. . There I was in the lead, less than twenty meters distant from four rifles pointed at my back; a poor shot could hardly miss at that range, and Cos- sacks are not notably poor shots. They were accustomed on the steppes to shoot down with rifles birds on the wing overhead. \Vhat chance had I? 313' mind became very busy. I was still only a boy, butl had seen enough of life in all its phases to make me a man. I was badly frightened, but men have told the that in all such periods of terror there comes a cold, calm reasoning that directs our actions. I reasoned, I thought, 1 schemed, I prayed; once I forged a little ahead, only to be drawn back by a Russian oath, But a wild chance of escape had flashed into my mind. As I glanced ahead several !hundred meters, I saw that the road dipped sharply into al hollow, then mounted the next hill in a 'brisk ascent, and from the stimuli' sloped off out of sight. bzing shelt- ered by the brow for perhaps two or three kilometers. 11 I could only put :he brow of that bill between ole and the Russians for a very short Huta 1 would stand an exeollent chance of es- cape, I woeld require. I figure 1. shortstart, witiee a snddeu pinn.c 'town the first slope w0n4d give me. particularly if it teak the Russians 'n• surprise..1 would be out of sight for a Moment duriu.c that burst and I could taut a .good lead on the 3!ottn slope; this :meet of weed :eeuld carry me up the r' and '.111 e,mte .iis- tatice, with fnrioias 2edaiin„ hitt the dangerous point woul3 be the crest. I would be slowing down and unpro- tected, and the road was well within range, so that four bullets would be there to meet me as 1 tried to make the second slope. 11 would only ha for a second, hut that was enough. My bi- cycle could outspeed the horses on the down slope; the Cossacks would know it and simply wait at the top of the first descent and pick me off as my off as my bicycle slowed down at the top of the up-slope. The second hill- top was the problem, but with even the slight possibility- of success that the plan promised I would have taken it at any rate. Then, as 11 in answer to my prayers, there came to me a mira- cle of aid from 'a very unexpected quarter. The wind had been 'blowing rather stilIly inn the past half ,hour, and the sting of sand in my face made Inc suddenly ;glance off to the left. The body of a heavy wind storm was crossing the field at that very mo- ment not half a 'anile away: the sand hung in the air like a gray curtain, like a haze. I Hoped that the Cossacks had not noticed it or ,had mistaken it for mist or smoke. The wind was coming 'froth the left, the road dipped a bit to the right; this meant that a portion of the 'blow would be in my favor. But it was not the blow that counted; htropraetur Office — Commercial Hotel Electra Therapist -- Massage. Hours—Mon. .and Thurs. after- • coons anw by ,appointment FOOT 'CORRECTION by manipulation—Sun-ray treat- ment. Phone 227, 1 was the sand that I was looping for. We should have reached the sum- mit of the hill too- quickly at the rate we were going, for 'I wished to strike it at the exact second that the storm burst. So, shouting that d must tight- en my pedal, I got off my bicycle, covered !by the 'rifles, and fussed as long as I dared with wrench and 'bolt until the storm was close at hand. I had timed it well. With ten me- ters to spare I shot over the 'brow of the first hill just as the blinding howl- ing storm 'burst on us with the sud- denness of a thunderclap. I was blind; I could see nothing, only feel, and there I was dropping, dropping into space, with a pain in my eyes and ears that nearly took my spirit away. 31y ;hands where I held the handlebars stun;; as if a thousand needles were entering every pore, Down, down, down 'I fell, momentari- ly expecting the crash of a rifle and the thud of a bullet. But none came. The Cossacks were busy with their horses, which were rearing and plunging behind me, each rider too much occupied with his mount to fire. It seethed years !before I reached the little 'bridge at the foot; the shock of crossing (t nearly threw me from the seat, Then the ascent began, and I dug every ounce 01 strength into the pedals. As the speed slackened I knew that I was near the top, though the air was so thick with sand that I could not see. Little by little the pedals grew harder to turn. Then just as_I gave one final thrust three rifles rang out in quick succession: something wet that was not sand splashed from my forehead to my right hand, but I felt no pain..I knew that the combination of surprise, wind, sand and speed had had its effect, and then once again the ground dipped away beneath ane—I had crossed the second summit and was in the lee of the second hill, speeding' away for dear life, It was a ' down slope then for three kilometers, and my chief task was to keep the .bi- cycle in the middle of the road. It was well that I knew the way. After 'fif- teen minutes of this, during which I heard nothing of my pursuer,, the sand cleared as the wind decreased, and I glanced back. I was safe The Cossacks were not in sight. Aft 1 jlIST. ahead of Inc lay the welcome. tr..nehes of the 'Polish soldiers. The wound in my head was a mere scratch, but I was weak, tired and sore when I reached home, My mo- ther's loving care more than made amends for it all And then a few week. later I saw ear troop: returning victorious; I saw tile red and white flag floatinz la se- curity everywhere: I saw oar coon - 1 try. so long plunged by the :ears cat•, horrible poverty and Illi.:rt. ent,?rto from its distress, the .ch. . ,t, n: a, the factories ra-;.tat h. i "4 ti. . ,- selves on tile piles of ruin,. came at len h wiei it 1m.•• of a new. era. (e l )rani ,.. . ,1. a':ways continue and tlx aI may lite forever in :ree L'o: and Ine- ptness. R'.• have a new that: )1101 ..at;; now. but our children f.L- get the ',lark days win trand- fa:her. and ratite"' met toreteer to sing: .'titin Poland is trot vaugni-1: 1. While we vet have iife The Vegetable Crop In Western 'Ontario weather and tnoiseure conditions during the past month have been generally favoura- ble for good growth, with the excep- tion of some ,frost damage to vine crops in .the Bradford and South Sinz- coe districts. Heavy rains and humid weather earlier in the season In Es- sex, Kent, 'and Lanebton Counties caused considerable damage to the on- ion crop, resulting in 'heavy loss 'by skin and heart rot which tuay materi- ally affect the storing quality. The late potato crop is comparatively 'free from blight and quality very good. However, the tuber set is below nor- mal and production will the 'below ,av- erage. Tomatoes have improved 'con- siderably in quality. In Eastern 'Ontario .eonnatoes have yielded an average crop but quality` has been slightly 'below .aiorm'a1,'due chiefly to destruction of foliage by to- mato worms, and too much wet wea- ther causing cracks. 'Yellow ends have been very general also. Potatoes are expected to yield above average with quality good, bit !late cauili- flower;are below average.