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Show Civilians Flee Ahead Of Retreating Boches; Thousands in Holland By Aimlitid Pr. AMSTERDAM. Oct. 30. When the German retirement in Belgium began it was expected that 250,000 refugees would seek safety in .Holland. Up till Saturday night, however, only a small fraction of this number had arrived. At that time about 7000 had passed through the wire gates marking the Dutch-Belgian frontier. On Friday alone 4996 arrived. All but thirteen were French people from the districts of Valenciennes, Douai, Cambrai and Le Quesnoy. The stream of refugees began -to trickle in slowly. At first several hundred arrived each day, but the. number now has increased to thousands. However, there has been time to organize at fron- tier Centers food depots In chant of committers cooperatlna; with the Dutch Hed Croas. Doctora and nuraca also war sent to tha border. Bo far ihcre Tiava hem two mam atreama. aome thirty ml Ira apart. On point of entry la where tha THitch prnvln?ea of Brabant -and Ilmtourc meet and the other la acroaa th Meuae river Into Maastricht, th capital of LlmhourK province. At theae polnte th fuultlvea ar renlatered hy th military mili-tary aulhoritlea and must undergo a phyalral examination. INTENSE SUFFERING. The spectacle of tha weary, travel stained war vlctlma tolling- through the mud and rain waa affecting, and' the sufferings of the old and Infirm men. ., j-hllHr-n on tboJ.5Q "J" 1 1? tramps wer intense. Most of the Ktench cIvlllanaTiad been on tha road a month; other alx week or two months All tha French apok of the klndneaa of the Belgian people, who ahared their food with them. Th fatigue of th journey war too mi.rh f..r aome of the travelera. The weaker onea died on tha way and a few others - euccumbed aoon - after reaching Holland. Many of the refugees are Buffering from grlpp and bronchial bron-chial affectlone. MOTHER CLINGS TO BODY. Many pathetic Incidents occurred dutins the march. Among th refugee refu-gee reaching the Dutch border waa a young mother with the body of her alx montha' old bahy claaped to her breast. Th baby had died four day prevloua-ly. prevloua-ly. but tha mother refused to bury the baby In soU held by th enemy. An old woman of Camhral traveled for three week In a chair tied on a cart. Hcarcely had aha reached neutral Boll when th cart overturned and th woman waa killed. REFUGEES DISTRIBUTED. To distribute the refugees In Holland Hol-land tha government laat week ordered the burgomaster of le venter, A seen. Zuthpn and Arnhem and other provincial pro-vincial towns further north to arrange to accommodate refugees to the extent ex-tent of per cent of the population of tho towns. To theao renters the fugitives fugi-tives now are being taken on fourteen special trains carrying 1000 persons. The Dutch villagers on the frontier have rendered efficient first assistance to the refugees, although food Is not plentiful. At Maastricht great crowds welcomed the refugees by singing the ''aiaiweiUaW and th 'Brabncoain,M and loaded them with food and dainties. The French minister at Ths Hague has been Investigating ths possibility of repatriating ths refugees to Krance through the liberated section of Belgium, Bel-gium, but ths plan Is not yet feasible. Meanwhile, a scheme for repatriation by sea Is being considered. British Engage in Patrol Encounters By Arose la ted Prose. leONPON. Oct. SO. On ths British front In Francs Field Marshal Halt announced an-nounced in his statement today there has been no srtlvtty ogcept patrol encounters en-counters in which tha British troops advanced and raptured a few prlaonera The, statement reads: "Apart from patrol encounters In which ws mads progreaa and secured a few prisoners thers Is nothing to report. ' |