s Under White North Star--Wonderful
Aurora Borealis.

We left "F" Company in the winter, swirling snows guarding the many
points of danger on the long lines of communication. They were in
December scattered all the way from Archangel to Morjegorskaya. For a
few weeks in January, Lieut. Sheridan with his platoon sat on the Bolo
lidtilters in Leunova in the lower Pinega Valley and then was hurried
down the Dvina to another threatened area. The Red success in pushing
our forces out of Shenkursk and down the Vaga made the upper Dvina and
Vaga roads constantly subject to raiding parties of the Bolsheviki.

Early in February "K" Company came up from Archangel and took station at
Yemetskoe, one platoon being left at Kholmogori. "F" Company had been
needed further to the front to support the first battalion companies
hard pressed by the enemy. Nervous and suspected villages alike were
vigilantly visited by strong patrols. On February 12th Captain Ramsay
hurried up with two platoons to reinforce Shred Mekhrenga, traveling a
distance of forty versts in one day. But the enemy retired mysteriously
as he had oft before just when it seemed that he would overpower the
British-Russian force that had been calling for help. So the Americans
were free to go back to the more ticklish Vaga-Dvina area.

From here on the story of "F" Company on the lines of communication
merges into the story of the stern rear guard actions and the final
holding up of the advance of the Reds, and their gallant part will be
read in the narrative related elsewhere.

Mention has already been made of the work of "G" and "M" Company
platoons on the isolated Pinega Valley lines and of "H" Company guarding
the very important Onega-Obozerskaya road, over which passed the mails
and reinforcements from the outside world. The cluster of villages
called Bolsheozerki was on this road. Late in March it was overpowered
by a strong force of the Reds and before aid could come the Bolshevik
Northern Army commander had wedged a heavy force in there, threatening
the key-point Obozerskaya. This point on the line of communication had
been guarded by detachments from the Railroad force at Obozerskaya,
Americans alternating with French soldiers, and both making use of
Russian Allied troops. At the time of its capture it was occupied by a
section of French supported by Russian troops. The story of its
recapture is told elsewhere.

The trail junction point Volshenitsa, between Se