The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1904-03-27
! SOLDIERS or the CAR
Their Training for Worst of
Hardships.
DANGER Is A PLEASURE
How the Life Transforms the
MeekeSt Into SavageS.

A writer in the New York Evening Pos
says:
There are no soldiers in the world VIII
8 get a finer training for the rough gam
of war than the Cars officers who ar
scattered over thousands of lonely out
posts throughout Russia Asia. Siberia
the Caucasus, Central Asia. and Manchu
ria are four vast training grounds fo
the Cars legioas. The number of gar
risons. large and small, distributed ovel
those immense territories runs well int
the thousands. AT some important points
like Jrkutsk, Khiva, Blagovestchenk, Pc
trovsk, Hardin, and Aska bad, large bodies
of troops are kept, and the life of the
officers and men is much like that OF sol
, diers in other military posts, for garrison
life is practically the same everywhere
1t is at the small posts, where a couple Of
officers and fifty or hundred men are
stationed that adventures occur almost
as regularly as the rising and the set
ting Of the sun; and it is there that the
finest training is gained.
Imagine a remote outpost in the center
of a desolate steppe, where the monotony
of rock and sand is unbroken for several
days journey, save by the skeletons OF
horses, camels, and men who have per
fshed in trying to cross it; or in the midst
of a dense forest thickly clad in ice and
snow for the greater part Of the year,
and haunted by fiocks of ravenous wolves
and still fiercer men-convicts escaped
from the lead mines, who would dare any
danger and commit any crime rather
than return TO the chain gang and the
knout 1t is the sport Of the officers at the
outpost to slay the wolves, though the
quarry, numerous and starved, is more
terrible than the fercest Bengal tiger. 1t
Sc their duty TO track down the escaped
convicts. and their pride to try to capture
them single-handed without the help Of
their men.
The lonely, adventurous life they lead
makes daredevls of even the quietest Of
these men. I knew a lieutenant who com
manGed at a remote post on the banks Of
the Amur He was q student at the mill
tary academy with me, and 4 Quieter,
more studious fellow could hardly be i'm
agined. His nose was always in his books,
and he could seldom be induced to join in
the field sports and athletic exercises in
which the rest of us delighted.
Years afterwards I visited him at his
outpost and found him changed man.
The dreamy look had s0nc rom his face;
he had the eye Of leader of men, the
eye of the man who had looked death in
the face a hundred times without finch
ing. There were hardly a dozen books in
his quarters. but there were plenty of
guns. saddles, fishing rods, and hunting
knives.
After dinner. as we sat over our cigars
and vodka. we heard the bowling of
great pack Of wolves in the forest, which
stra gsIed to get within half mile Of the
post My host had been interested in my
light chatter about friends in St. Peters
burg and Moscow. but when he heard
the wolves he became strangely excited
and could hardly listen TO what ! was
saying. At last he rose. and said, ITS
no good. my friend; 1 cannot resist.
must go 90 them" and he shouted TO his
servant TO harness the dogs to his sleigh
Are you mad?'' l cried surely you
are not going out to the wolves in the
forest?"
Il can't help it," he replied in the most /
matter-of-fact tone whenever I hear |
them bowling it seems to me a challenge, |
and every nerve in my body is on edge !
70 respond. Last winter they killed my /
best sergeant. and since then ! have gone |
out 10 kill 4 few OF them whenever ! have /
heard them bowling like this at night. |
Pardon my rudeness in leaving you. /
Will be back in a short time-possibly. /
If yot want anything, ring for Ivan"
Imagine the madness of ii. OF course. I /
couldn't let him go alone: so I picked out /
a rife and revolver from his armory |
and insisted on, taking my place in the /
sleigh beside him.
He drove over the snow-clad meadows |
to within a hundred yards of the outer
edge of the forest Then he pulled up the /
trembling dogs and waited. Pretty soon
we saw dozens of shadowy gray forms
skulking out from the blackness Of the
trees on to the moon-lit snow. We fired
at them. and almost before the reports of
our rifles had died away the whole pack
was upon us.
Quick as lightning. my friend dropped
his gun. shook out his reins. and fogged
The dogs until they literally few towards
home. fear squirting them far more than
the whip. The foremost wolves OF the
pack We're within few feet Of the rear
Of the sleigh. and although we shot them
down as fast as we could fire our rifles.
the rest We're not halted by massacre
They gained on Us rapidly. and as we
neared the fort they were swarminc
around the sleigh. and had actually pull
ed down one OF the leading dogs. But q
crowd Of soldiers rushes out with torches
and rifles and fired a voley which put
them TO fight in time to save our lives.
Does your master often do thise' 7
asked my friends servant
Yes. sir he replied He generally
goes out Whenever ne hears the wolves
at nisht. Look here sir" And he oren-
ed cupboard and showed me rows uron
rows of wolves tails. There were sixtv-
eight Of them. He killed all these this
winter" the servant added
In the frosty Caucasus on remote sta
lions near the Kurdistan border. The Off
GERS have rare sport hunting byigand'
when they are not out after the Csrca
sian bison. bears and ether big game.
The kurls are fond Of raidirc over the
border line. and have no objection Il
stray Cossacl1 when they can reach one.
one officer taught them a lesson Tie
made vow to XIII ten Kuris for eve-v
Cossack slain in his command. When
Prince Daclido0 the famous Caucasian
hunter. visited that post ne found that
the score was seven CosSacks and sew
enty Kurds. We don't have much trou-
bic with them now" the officer ErImIy
remarked "a his visitor
Although their life is 50 fun Of adven-
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