The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1905-03-27
BRAVE RUSSIAN AMAZON
Nine. Smolka's Scouting Expert
ences In Manchuria.
HOW SHE FOILED A BANDIT BAND

By Her Vigilance and knowledge of
the Chinese Tongue and Customs
She Saved Some Frontier Guards
From Death-Incidents of Her Life
In the War With Japan.
The attention of the crowd of people
thronging the railway station at Har-
bin, in Manchuria, was attracted re-
Gently by a Cossack with rosy cheeks
and whose beardless face and woman's
voice told clearly that the soldiers
garb was being worn by woman, says
the st. Petersburg correspondent OF
the London Globe. The Russian anna
zon was Nine. Smolka, and member
bin has gathered from her own lips and
from some Of the inhabitants the fol.
lowing highly interesting details con-
corning the life Of the heroine:
Helene Mikhailovna Smolka, the
daughter Of a Jewish soldier Of the
days of Nicholas l., was young girl Of
seventeen years Of age when during
the disorders in China she resolved to
enlist in the ranks Of the frontier
guards. AS she had lived from her
girlhood at Nikolsk- Ussuriisk in the
company Of Chinese and Koreans she
had a perfect knowledge both Of Chi
nese and of Korean, and she hoped
that she could be of use during the
trouble with China. Having clothed
herself as a man and having taken the
name Of Michel Nicolaievitch Smolka,
this eccentric and brave girl passed
with great distinction the examination
as interpreter held at the school Of in
end Of 1900 the girl was serving as in
terpreter and frontier guard at the sta
ton Of Ninguta, in Manchuria. She
had taken part in all the scouting and
skirmishes and had learned how to ham
die her rifle and sword. In 1901 SmOl-
ka was sent at the head Of about a
hundred frontier guards to reconnoiter
at Kaiga. Overcome by hard days
work, the men went to sleep in peas
ants house. The chunchuses were not
far off, and the traiterous Chinese told
them that the Russians were resting
for the night The chunchuses resolved
to profit from the night and their great
er numbers and to attack the house in
which the Russians were sleeping.
However, they had overlooked Smolka's
vigilance. In moving among the Chi
nese Smolka had got wind Of the plot.
She aroused the frontier guards in time
to let the chunchuses approach the
house Then, as the latter came near,
the Russians rushed out and fired upon
them and put them to flight. During
that little skirmish Smolka received
her first wound, which was on the right
arm close to the shoulder.
As reward for all the services rem
dered by her during the campaign in
China Smolka received a silver medal
and sword with a silver hilt and
bearing the inscription, ITO the inter
prefer Smolka for courage displayed
at Kaiga."
Immediately after the outbreak Of
war with Japan Smolka sent request
to the commander Of the forces to ask
him to allow her to be enrolled among
the volunteers. Without waiting for a
view Of supporting her request at the
hands Of General Volkoff, but she did
not receive the desired permission.
Then this brave woman disguised her
self as man, hung her medal round
her neck and sought a favorable op-
portunity for undergoing all the risks
and perils involved in serving with the
army in southern Manchuria. At that
time railway tickets were given only
to such persons as had special au-
thority to travel by rail. Still Smolka
was undaunted, and she resolved to
reach LiaOyang at all costs. So she
slipped into cattle truck, and In that
way she reached the headquarters of
the army, where she met many Of her
former comrades. Thanks to their aid,
she managed to get enrolled in the
scouting detachment Of the Second
Cossack regiment Of Nerchinsk, under
Lieutenant Vichniakoff, and once more
she was able to bestride her charger.
She accompanied the detachment
when it was sent out to reconnOiter the
outskirts Of the town Of Kuangensian.
Again, owing to her knowledge both Of
the Chinese language and Of Chinese
customs, she was able to find out in
good time the approach Of consider
able body Of Japanese and to warn her
comrades thereof, with the result that
the detachment had to defend itself
while rejoining the main body. After
that expedition report Of the affair
was drawn up and handed to General
R., and this led to Smolka being en-
rolled in the Second regiment Of
Nerchinsk as volunteer interpreter
under the name Of Michel Nicolaievitch
Smolka. Thenceforward she took part
in many dangerous pieces of scouting,
but she was wounded only once slight
ly in the foot.
During all the time that she has been
on active service Smolka has shared
the privations and hardships Of her
comrades in arms. She used to go to
sleep without taking off her clothes.