Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-07-15

the remark that he had noted d null
titude of incidents in the same remark.
able line during his service at Vyernoe
(between Tashkent and Omsk) where,
In 1887, the whole tow, was instan-
taneously destroyed by an earthquake,
and deaths and survivals appeared to
be absolutely arbitrary, not explaina.
BILE upon any conceivable theory ex-
cept that of preordained fate. At Port
Arthur" Arthur" as it is .affectionately
called for short-a presentiment Of
coming doom was often present.
Take the death Of General Kon-
dratenko,'' he said. "He had been de-
pressed, had spoken of forebodings,
and talked a great deal on the fatal
day about his family. He was sitting
in casemate which was divided into
two parts by board partition. A shell
fell into the empty part exploded, and
teen of the people who we're with the
general in the other partition The
general, who was sitting with his back
against the partition, was not wounded
not even scratched, but he fell dead,
either from the blow of the partition
on the back of the head or from suffo.
bomb The doctors made no autopsy
that was not necessary, so the cause
of his death was not determined.
"Then there is another case where
fate, not content with bagging the
man. actually pursued him after his
death, so to speak. An officer Of en-
gineers named Plisovsky built himself
an extremely strong bomb proof, leav-
ing an entrance just wide enough to
enter, rather long and turning at an
angle. One day. when some of the la
dies had gone to the firing line and
were shelteripg themselves behind his
bomb-proof, shell entered that mar.
row, winding corridor, burst, killed
Plisovsky and injured no one else in
the slightest degree. His body was
carried to his quarters and placed on
the table as is customary In Russia.
That night shell entered through the
ceiling. exploded under the table and
flung Plisovsky's corpse to the floor,
injuring none of the other persons
present Fate seemed to have spite
at Plisovsky!
quite as curious case was that
of German civilian forget his
name for the moment. He was very
timid and constructed bomb-proof
in the cellar of his house, barricading
the walls with all the iron gratings,
beams, wooden joists and bags of
earth he could accumulate. In one
corner the safest of all apparently, he
placed his bed, which stood at foot
and half or so above the floor. The
cellar was to be used during lombard
ments by several other men who lived
in the house. One morning just as
they were drinking coffee firing be.
gan. The German and one other
promptly retired to the cellar in spite
of the jests of their companions, who
suggested that the bombs would spare
them until they had finished their cof-
fee. But the German was firm and
ordered his coffee to be sent to the
cellar after him. On reaching the eel
lar the two men saw that considerable
water had collected on tile. floor and
they summoned Chinese boy to swab
1T up. The German lay down on his
bed. The other man, impatient over
the water, returned upstairs for his
coffee. AS the, Chinese boy was lust
| finishing, a she'll entered a tiny spot
about foot square, where there was
no earth bag-the sole unprotected
spot-crashed against the opposite
wall burst, and sent one splinter over
the back of the Chinese boy, which
killed the German in his bed.
A Case Of Prophecy.
Most curious of all, perhaps. be.
cause OF the sort of prophecy attached
to 1T, is the case Of Jew connected
with the ambulance department One
day shell burst in the town, and
splinter flying through the glass in one
OF his Photographic portrait Zone in a
group of three persons) on the oppo-
site wall. The man himself attached
no Importance to 1t, but several of his
comrades laughingly declared that 1t
was an omen-that he would be killed
by wound in the head. Months
passed, nothing happened, although
the man Travelled constantly, in the
discharge of his duty, back and forth
between the town and the front, over
very dangerous roads, often a number
of miles in length One day on start
ing to return to town, he babe the men
at the front a last farewell, saying that
he was sure he would be killed that
day, as he was unable to get the i'm
preston out Of his mind for several
hours past. He reached town safely,
and as his own quarters were pretty
well wrecked and in the line of fire,
he Joined ten other men, who had
come to live together for similar rea-
sons. They all slept in one room.
During the night shell came through
the roof, dropped on this mans head
and killed him. without exploding or
injuring any one else. Do you wonder
that we came to believe in fate?"
| Not at all; and should think that
1t had been a great help in that direc-
ton.
Terrible Disaster Averted.
The terrible disaster of nervous
breakdown, caused by dyspepsia, is
averted by Electric Bitters. soc; guar