illed and fifty wounded.

Again the opposing sides resorted to delay and sparring for openings. At
Chekuevo the Americans strengthened the defenses of that important road
junction and kept in contact with the enemy by daily combat patrols up
the valley in the direction of Kaska, scene of the encounter. It was
during this period that one day the "H" men at Chekuevo were surprised
by the appearance of Lieut. Johnson with a squad of "M" Company men who
had patrolled the forty miles of Obozerskaya road to Chekuevo looking
for signs of the enemy whom a mounted patrol of Cossacks sent from
Obozerskaya had declared were in possession of the road and of Chekuevo.
They learned from these men that on the railway, too, the enemy had
disclosed astonishing strength of numbers and showed as good quality of
fighting courage as at Kaska and had administered to the American troops
their first defeat. They learned, too, that the French battalion was
coming back onto the fighting line with the Americans for a heavy united
smash at the enemy.

A new party of some fifteen Cossacks relieved the eighteen Cossacks who
returned to Archangel. The force was augmented materially by the coming
of a French officer and twenty-five men from Archangel.

The same boat brought out the remainder of "H" Company under command of
Capt. Carl Gevers, who set up his headquarters at Onega, October 9th,
under the new British O/C Onega Det., Col. ("Tin Eye") Edwards, and sent
Lieut. Carlson and his platoon to Karelskoe, a village ten miles to the
rear of Chekuevo, to support Phillips.

Success on the railroad front, together with information gathered from
patrols led Col. Edwards to believe the enemy was retiring up the
valley. An armed reconnaissance by the whole force at Chekuevo moving
forward on both sides of the Onega River on October 19th, which was two
days after the Americans on the railroad had carried Four Hundred and
Forty-five by storm and the Bolo had "got up his wind" and retired to
Emtsa. Phillips found that the enemy had indeed retired from Kaska and
retreated to Turchesova, some thirty-five miles up the valley.

Phillips occupied all the villages along the river Kachela in force,
sending his combat patrols south of Priluk daily to make contact. Winter
showed signs of early approach and, in compliance with verbal orders of
Col. Edwards at Onega, Phillips withdrew his forces to Chekuevo on
October 25th. This seems to have been in accordance with