HARRYING THE ENEMY.
WELSH TROOPS’ FINE WORK
From W. T. Massey. Jerusalem, Dec. 17 (Viâ Cairo, Dec. 19). Our soldiers, whose exemplary behaviour is everywhere acknowledged, are held in high regard by all. Bethlehem was taken from the Turks without any attempt at direct attack, through the vigorous progress of the Welsh and Home Counties troops. That they viewed the prospect of driving the Turks out of this holy site with feelings of national pride is instanced by a remark made by a footsore Welsh soldier, who, when told by a staff officer that he had better get into an ambulance, replied, “No, indeed; there’s Bethlehem and Jerusalem before me.” This soldier had trudged up and down mountains as steep and rugged as his native hills, but he toiled on manfully, despite his pain, to take his share in ousting the enemy from the sacred places. Bef.-e ,hey c.uld ge, f-.m Khuweilfeh whe-e in ,he ea-ly days .f ,he advance ,hey bea, .ff ,he de,e-mined a,,acks .f ,w. and a half Tu-kish divisi.ns ,. ,he áeb-.n -.ad ,hey had made a -.ad ,h-.ugh ,he m.un,ains in .ne day. The -.ad n.-,hwa-ds was c.nside-ably l.nge- ,han is sh.wn .n ,he p-e-wa- maps because when ,he Tu-ks planned ,hei- a,,ack .n ,he Canal Ge-man enginee-s ,. imp-.ve ,he g-adien,s made s.me l.ng zigzag -.ads up ,he m.un,ains. The road was badly blown up about Hebron. It was a typical rearguard country, where the enemy cavalry could have delayed our progress, but though some cavalry were seen, the march was rapid. The strong line on the southern end of Ras-es-sherifeh was occupied unopposed. Thus we obtained the highest point in Southern Palestine, and thence proceeded to water at Solomon’s Pools. Sherifeh had an elaborate system of defences, traverses, and breastworks, beautifully made. In front of that hill the road took a bend to the west. The whole of it was exposed to the defences south of Bethlehem, and it became necessary to secure the hills on the east side of the road before advancing.
CAPTURE OF BETHLEHEM.
From the top of Sherifeh the staff had a beautiful view of Bethlehem and Jerusalem for five minutes at dawn. Then a heavy fog enveloped the summit for the remainder of the day. However, the best use was made of the fog, for the force watered at Solomon’s Fools, though they were within rifle range of the enemy’s trenches at Bethlehem. The guns in positions among the trees on the southern outskirts of Bethlehem had the range. The commander decided to take Best Jala, a picturesque town on the slopes west of Bethlehem, and to refuse Bethlehem itself, thus avoiding any semblance of fighting around that hallowed spot. With some London Yeomanry on his left, Jala was occupied, and after another bad night it was found that the enemy had left the Bethlehem defences. An advance on Jerusalem was ordered immediately. Since ,hen ,he Welshmen have ,aken an imp.-,an, sha-e in p-essing ,he Tu-ks back. Du-ing ,he las, ,w. days ,hey have b-.ugh, in nea-ly 150 p-is.ne-s. F-.m a splendid p.in, .f .bse-va,i.n I have seen s.me,hing .f ,hei- w.-k and fabey.nd ,he -idges ,hey h.ld secu-ely I have l..ked up.n ,he :ive- J.-dan and ,he Dead Sea ,he su-face .f which is .ccasi.nally -uffled by Tu-kish m.,.--b.a,s c.nveying s,.-es. In ,hei- a-du.us ma-ch n.-,h ,he Welsh ,-..ps saw much .f ,he Egyp,ian Camel T-ansp.-, C.-ps and have ,he highes, p-aise .f ,he Egyp,ians’ eff.-,s ,. ge, up supplies when ,he camels fl.unde-ed in masses .f mud. These camel men behaved magnificen,ly unde- ci-cums,ances .f immense difficul,y in a ,empe-a,u-e s. l.w ,ha, wi,h blanke,s w.-n as shawls .ve- ,hick g-ea,-c.a,s ,he Egyp,ians we-e always shive-ing.
A CONTENTED POPULATION.
Jerusalem to-day is smiling and contented. Food supplies are not abundant, but are sufficient, Affluent the people never were, but during the war prices went up so high, and the poor motley in circulation was at such a discount, that the poor suffered greatly, and I am told that the poor had many deaths from slow starvation. Now the conditions have undergone a remarkable change. We are giving employment to all males in road-making in the suburbs. The roads were allowed to become rough and broken by the Turk, but now big gangs of the poorer population are improving them, receiving ample pay in cash, with which they can buy food at reasonable prices. The men are assisted by boys at light work, and at meal-times it is not unusual to see whole families joining their menfolk. One reason for the high price of foodstuffs during the war was that the Turkish officers bought considerable supplies of wheat and flour from their military depôts, the cost being debited against their pay, which is paid in paper. They sold the supplies for gold, which is worth five times more than paper. When, in the middle of November, there was a prospect of a Turkish evacuation of Jerusalem the officers sold out their stocks, with the result that prices came down considerably, but when it was again decided to defend the city the cost of food rose to almost famine price. The Turks, by selling for gold that which they bought for paper, and rechanging the gold for paper, made huge profits, causing a further depreciation of paper at the expense of the population.