by Russian refugees and Czecho-Slovaks, but some of them have been 
     
     taken by the Japs. They are next door to us now: I have been observing 
     
     them today. They strike you as comic opera soldiers but on close 
     
     observation you see they are better equipped than we are and just as 
     
     smart but I will tell you more of them later. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Well today I was skating. Being Saturday, it was the wish of the 
     
     QC. that some of the men should get a chance to go down so I went 
     
     down with them. So we were down on the bay. It was a strange 
     
     experience, skating in this godforsaken land. The natives stared at us, 
     
     particularly the Manchurians and Japanese, and nudged one another 
     
     though the Russians seemed in no wise put out. But it certainly was 
     
    
   
   
    
     unique. 
     
     Strange to say, this country is different from what I expected. I 
     
    
   
   
    
     thought it would be like Vancouver or Victoria but instead it is like 
     
     Southern Alberta-all bare rolling hills with a light growth of scrub, and 
     
     the climate is quite dry and not at all maritime-quite bracing and not 
     
    
   
   
    
     unpleasant. 
     
     Stuart 
     
    
   
   
    
     260TI—I BATTALION, 
     
     CANADIAN RIFLES 
     
     CANADIAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCE 
     
     IN SIBERIA 
     
     JANUARY 25, I919 
     
    
   
   
    
     It was a glorious but cold morning and we soon were out to the 
     
     fine military road that runs almost in to Vladivostok. The first few miles 
     
     was through the open country. We could see the immense stretch of the 
     
     Bay of Amur on our right and the hills that overlook Vladivostok in 
     
     front of us. There was very little snow but it was cold. About 12 
     
     o'clock we climbed the last hill and there below sprawled the city 
     
    

    
     It was a wonderful sight down, down, down through the most 
     
     bewildering scenes, catching a glimpse down side Streets full of