American's Hectic Journey to the Chinese Capital Shanghai, Nov. 2.
"here was no groaning or complaining, even from the. sirctcher fasses Which were borne past by tired boy scouts; from beginning to and, this trip was a lesson it determination and courage," said an 'American sharily after his' arrival in Nanking a few days ago. He had made the trip from Shanghai to Nanking by train on Monday, October 22, not In the usual express time of ye hours, but In 44 hours of adventure and at times extreme peril, Including one beetle moment when Japanese aeroplanes flew over the train near Soochow.
This was two days before the evacuation of Chapel by the Chinese troops and up to that date, although the Jupanese had been making every effort to cut and bomb the railroad by smashing bridges and stations and machine-gun trains, a service was stilt doing maintained by the railway crews who repaired the lines og soon fs they were damaged and always Kept the trains running.
"The American reached the Shar hai West Slation, the only one then use, at 5 pin. to sind Toast 2000 refugees already waiting for the train, which was due to pick them up ax hour later, The organization, he. reports, was excellent, passengers delne Kept as far as possible from the station building in order 4o save them in the event of an attack on the station; he saw no disorder of any kind nor any victimizing or pro 'A. pillar of smoke, like a volcano, in eruption, was pouring up out of the Commercial Press building, and Dombing was being carried out in several sectors, A Mr. Wang intro~ duced himself og the station manager endeavoured to. relieve the tedium of waiting, eventually letting the few foreigners board the train first when It arrived shortly after 6 oclock, perfect for Bombing At 630 they yarted, a full moon making it almost os bright as day.
was perfect for bombing, and some of us were o bit nervous, but we had ood luck at first," he continued. All ftatlons passed en route were more or Toss in ruins, but business was going on as usual. A missionary in Hangchow told him that when the station there was burned passenger trains wore despatched from it even Wefore the fre was out, "Atter Kashing, however, the going of slower, and, owing to the presence troops ahead, they had to walt on siding from' 1am, to daylight, 'The train had hardly got going again when there came the dreaded shout "fet clit aeroplane)" and they fame to a sudden stop. People poured out of doors and' windows and flaneed upwards to see four aeroplanes coming down towards them, The ditches on either side of the railway Were filled with water, and there was nowhere to hide.
"mwas a helpless situation." and he found himself holding his breath og they drew near, continued the American, but "there was nothing to do but walt for the worst, They must have been ott of ammunition, for they left atter Inspecting us with= out so-much as fung a machinegun, Tt was not until they were out of sight "hat T noloed that three freight ears with their contents were burning on the next track, There were cans of white paint, iron cots, bales of burlap and military under wear scattered all over the promises We wore luckier than the previous train had been."
'The train remained where it, was for thirteen hours, "There were further alarms from time to time, but the Japanese "planes were too busy bombing Soochow, eight miles ahead, to take any notice of their train.' There was no food or water fo be had, and his lunch supply was running low. He crossed the Grand Canal, which ran parallel to the railway me, and found some Shops in a village not far off where hho bought some sesame cakes. drank tea in the shade of an. old ferry fanding above the canal," he went on. "The water was clear and green and restful. T was get ting sleepy when the keeper of the shop began to ask me. questions about myself. When T told him T was an American the crowd expressed Ins approval. One old farmer said: We, too, are men with a country now? was almost 7 pin. before the train got moving. again, with frequent delays while the railway line was repaired after the day's dozen or more aerial raids, In the moonlight, steel freight cars wore strangely' twisted and torn and several had been blown cally' some distance from the line—Dut trains were still running.
Thirty hours after leaving Shang-hal the train arrived. in Soochow, where the station was almost in dark: ness as a precaution against air raids. Seven ears loaded with wounded were
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.