Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-10-30
FOR JESUS
Two Thousand Demented Rus.
sian Fanatics Abandon
Homes in Manitoba
CHILDREN DIE ~ THE wAys.DE
While Their crazed and lnhuman Pa
rents Are furnishing and Freezing in
Their Search for tho Christian
Army Of Crazy Dukhobors At the
Gates Of Yorkton.

Gates Of Yorkton.
Winnipeg, Man., Oct. 30.-A special
dispatch says 1000 Dukhobors have
marched on Yorkton, and the town has
capitulated without firing a shot. The
spectacle presented was a lamentable
one. The Dukhobors camped the night
before without shelter, the thermome-
ter indicating IA degrees below the
freezing point. The mob consisted OF
men, women and children, including In
fants in arms, and one born last night,
the mother marching in the procession.
Some of the sick were borne on litters
A few were barefoot; many wore rub
Der boots and others coarse sandals
made Of binder Irvine. E
Simeon Tcherninkov, wh-talks little
English, and whose bare, brown feet
bore witpess to his insane zeal, ex-
plainedSt they were looking for
new light-"lookinE for Jesus. When
asked where were his boots, he held up
his naked foot and cried. Jesus bobts,
while the Pickering light of lost reason
cleaned fitfully from his eyes.
Agent Speers succeeded in getting
the sick women and children housed In
immigration sheds and other buildings,
much against their will. The mothers
deserted their babes and allowed them
to be taken into the shelter, refusing to
follow them until forced along. They
have now gone to pray, and say that II
God tells them to go back to their farms
they will do SO; but If not, then they
will continue as they are. The bodies
of infants who died on the march were
found lying by the roadside.
Another contingent Of 400 has just
arrived. and Immigrant Agent Speers
is hunting for shelter for them. Cor
poral Nugent, NJ. r.. stopped them on
the street until arrangements for shell
ter could be made. The smiles of the
bystanders were answered by the reci-
tation in Russian OF the twenty second
psalm They that see, laugh me to
scorn; they shoot out the lips" etc.
A long, lean ascetic, with unkempt
beard. disheveled hair and bloodshot
eyes, stood at the head of the halted
procession and prayed. He was pro-
tected from the wind by long frieze
cape reaching from his shoulders to
the ground, while many Of his followers
had not SUFFICIENT clothing to prevent
their perishing in q snow storm, and q
lowering sky augurs Ill for tomorrow.
Children Denied Food.
A sympathetic citizen offered glass
OF milk to blue and paliid baby, whose
mother split the milk to prevent the
child drinking 1t. Soda biscuits offered
to children were forbidden to be used.
It is, significant that among the few
villages unaffected by the craze are
those at Devils Lake, where the trus-
tees cha school district sold their cattle
Tor taxes last year and had their lead
ers fined for assault before local JUS
ttce of the peace.
Early yesterday the party tramped
to their last nights camping ground In
the bush about three miles from town.
With no shelter except the bush and
warmed by little campfres, men, wom-
en- and children. young and old. aged
and infirm. had bivouacked. All night
Dukhobors had strayed thru the scrub
isfy the cravings OF their hunger. No
labor Of animals had helped to produce
this fruit, and they could eat it without
sin.
Their prophet had informed them
that upon their arrival at Yorkton their
babies would be taken from them. and
they gave them up willingly, for was
not the voice Of their prophet the voice
OF God?
Hitherto the Dukhotors have not
been propagandists; they have not
sought to extend their faith among
their Canadian neighboIs. Now they
are missionaries and have invited OUT
siders to join them, thus offering the
outsiders chance to homestead the
fertile lands reserved for their exclu-
sive settlement.
A later dispatch from Yorkton says
the situation now looks worse. The
Dukhobor men declare God is telling
them to release the women, children
and infants, who are imprisoned in the
immi gration hall and other buildings by
the dominion immigration agents, and
special constables are oeing sworn in
and the riot act will be read IL neces-
sary.
Yorkton's telephone system extends
for miles In every direction turnout the
country over which aid can be called
in an emergency One hundred and
fifty Italian laborers are employed OH
railway construction in the vicinity.
but unless the Dukhotors' mania be-
comes more violent the aid of these will
not be necessary. "
Contingent Of Fanatics.
It Is reported that 700 more fanatics
are camped In the neighborhood of
Pollock's bridge, seven miles out.
These are more rampageous than the
rest, being exalted with the exaltation
OF starvation. They are rolling on the
prairie in the "whirling deryish" stage
OF religious frenzy. One woman had to
be held while her furnishing babe was
given draught of milk, which she en-
deavored to prevent.
Many people are fearful Of the out
come. With all their gentleness, the
Dukhobors. tho they would not shed
blood, vet tell without a qualm of hav-
ing buried alive priests of the Russian
church, and they may be moved by a
similar spirit in their present insane
condition.
WHO THE DukHoBoRs ARE.
Strange Scot Of communistic Russians
Their immigration TO Canada.
The Dukhobors are Russian sect