wards looked very cool. An up-to-date impression was given by the
individual patient charts, with the headings for the different diagnoses
printed in Turkish and French. The doctors were mainly Armenians. The
occupants were all suffering from malnutrition, and there was a great deal
of starvation in the town.

I did not wish to return to Baghdad until I could be certain that we were
not going to advance upon Altun Kupri. The engineers patched up the
bridge, and we took the cars over to the other side and went off on a
reconnaissance to ascertain how strongly the town was being held. The long
bridge from which it gets its name could easily be destroyed, and crossing
over the river would be no light matter. The surrounding mountains limited
the avenue of attack. Altogether it would not be an easy nut to crack, and
the Turks had evidently determined on a stand. What decided the army
commander to make any further attempt to advance was most probably the
great length of the line of communications, and the recent floods had made
worse conditions which were bad enough at the best. The ration supply had
fallen very low, and it seemed impossible to hold even Kirkuk unless the
rail-head could be advanced materially.

I put in all my odd moments wandering about the bazaars. The day after
the fall the merchants opened their booths and transacted business as
usual. The population was composed of many races, chiefly Turcoman, Kurd,
and Arab. There were also Armenians, Chaldeans, Syrians, and Jews. The
latter were exceedingly prosperous. Arabic and Kurdish and Turkish were
all three spoken. Kirkuk is of very ancient origin--but of its early
history little is known. The natives point out a mound which they claim to
be Daniel's tomb. Two others are shown as belonging to Shadrach and
Meshech; that of the third of the famous trio has been lost. There are
many artificial hills in the neighborhood, and doubtless in course of time