The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1904-12-28
A CHARMED LIFE.
a Folder Who Was Shot Seventeen
Times in Battle
AND LIVES TO TELL TIE TALE.
In Fact He Will Soon Be Entirely
Well Again and Ready to
Take the Field Against
tho Japs.


KiIenchenko, probably the most
thorougbly:sshot to pieces man whc
has survived thespresent war, arrived
recently from Harhin, where, after
weeks in the hospital, the doctors ex.
tracted seventeen bullets from him,
amputated one leg and discharged
him as cured. He gave his expert,
ences in quick, matter Of fact way,
and one can hardly do better than
quote his own words. He said:
1t was at Lao Yang that I got
put out Of commission for good. On
the evening Of September z we had
been ordered to attack some Of the
japanese trenches. We had to cross
a good piece Of open ground under a
heavy cross fire and there were men
falling every step from the time we
broke cover to the minute we rushed
the trenches at the point Of the bayo
net. Nothing happened to me until
re were close to the japanese lines,
when I got bullet in my right foot
that brought me down. From that
time was no more good except as a
target, but I must say I drew good
deal of Japanese ammunition if that
counted for anything.
"Our fellows went on and carried
the Japanese trenches on the lett in
hand to hand fight, for We can usual.
ly whip those fellows If we can get
close enongh to them. But there was
a long Inc on shooting. They were
the people who did for me. I was on
the ground with my teeth chattering,
mostly with pain. Scared? O, course
I was. I guess anybody would be
scared under the circumstances. It
seemed to me when those fellows
foand I was not dead they did not
take aDy interest in shooting at any.
thing but me. That probably was
not so, but that was the way it seemed
at the time.
Any how I made up my mind to
get out and crawled along toward the
trenches where our men had gone
over the top. AS no one came back I
thought they must have captured
them. I had no more than started
going until a bullet in my right
shoulder rolled me over again. I got
my gun il my left hand then and kept
on crawling. Then I got shot in the
left leg just above the knee. Then
two or three bullets got me in the
right leg. I dropped my gun and
helped myself along with my left
hand. But they must have thought
was having too easy a time OF it for
I got shot through the left shoulder
and that brought me down fat. There
vas nothing for it then but to wrig2le
along like q snake on my breast and
stomach. kept on getting shot in
my right leg, but all the feeling had
gone out Of it so I did not mind that
much. The last time I recollect get
ting hit was again in the lett shou-
der.
1T was just dawn by the time l
got to the trenches and when finally
Wriggled over the top I thought they
were full OF japanese. But 1t hap.
pened what Japanese uniforms I saw
there were on corpses and the live peo.
pie were talking Russian, SO I yelled
for help. The men took me to a
oandaging station two miles away
and the doctors did not think was
much good keeping. I had ]3 bullets
in my right leg and side and four scat
tered around other parts Of me. But
they tied me up and sent me on to
Harbin and there they cut my LETT
left off. 1t was not fit to keep. S.
here I am, crippled, but that is bet
ter than being dead or prisoner.