Los Angeles herald., 1908-03-22
NAKED AND
HUNGRY; 90
TO MESSIAH
IN STATE OF NATURE DOUKH0-
BORIS TRAMP SNOW
MEN AND WOMEN MlNGLE IN
MARCHES
Sell All They Have and Are Reduced
to Direst Poverty-Eat Only
Simple Veee-
tables

~ river bed the police captured a
~ Russian who gave his name as
Stephen Gerosemovich. The man was
poorly dressed and his clothing was of
the lightest material and only enough
to cover him.
Gerosemovich explained to the police
that he had simply stopped in the river
bed for few minutes in order to take
a bath and that he was then going
north on his way to join his friends in
Manitoba, Canada.
Gerosemovich when searched at the
station had number of photographs
of nude men and women marching
along a country road, and he stated
that they were DoukhoborS, of which
he was member, and that 1t was to
join them that he was Journeying
northward.
The pictures were confiscated by the
police, but he was allowed to resume
his Journey on his promise to leave Los
Angeles at once.
Gerosemovich has unusual intelli-
gence and related a great many facts
about these strange people. partial
reproduction of the photograph of his
people on the march and some OF the
facts about this strange class Is mere
reproduced. Gerosemovich in talking
said of them:
Are Russian Quakers
"They live in northwestern Canada,
these strange fanatics. Only a little
while ago they were Russians-Quak~
ers In reality. Like some of the earlier
English Quakers, they were forced by
persecution to leave their country and
flee to North America. Their English
prototypes came to Pennsylvania more
than two centuries ago; the Russians
went to Canada in 1898. They settled
near Lake winnipeg, and there they
are now, where 100000 acres are re-
served for their colonization.
"As dissenters from the orthodox
church of Russia they had gone
through some terrible sufferings for
their faith.
"The real official designation of the
Doukhobors is the "Christian Commu-
nifty of the Universal Brotherhood,
and is based on Christ's command to
love ali men, They believe in absten-
ton from physical violence; indiffer-
ence to personal fate; life of purity;
love for their prosecutors and will
ingness to suffer for the good of man.
kind, but not as lawbreakers.
"Their name-'Doukhobor' orig
inally given them in derision; the
word means spirit wrestler and was
intended to ridicule them.
"The origin of this strange doctrine
of the Doukhobors dates back for CEN
turtles, but the first real organization
of the sect took place about one hun
dred and fifty years ago. AS time wore
on two branches were formed, one
submitting to the government and
temporizing, upon such matters as sub
hitting to military duty and eating
meat, while the other rigidly adhered
to the faith of their fathers and held
together despite cruelties almost un-
surpassed in history They kept fast
to their three cardinal principles
vegetarianism, communism and IN
ternalism and finally the Rus
sian government allowed them to mi
CRATE to Canada ten years ago.
Some Are Fanatics
"They are there now, nearly 10000 of
them. They are not animals or degene :
rates. They are not drunkards or law
breakers. But some of them are IA
natics.
peter Veregin is their patriarch and
leader. And this time the march is
unparalleled. 1t bids fair to drive all
the Doukhobor communities out into
one vast pilgrimage unless somebody
can stop it.
"The Doukhobors slaughter the sheep
and cattle more for their hides than
for their flesh.
''They have peculiar dances, drink
their sour mash vodka or vinegar
LIQUOR. They are great lovers of music,
and their singing makes one feel like
crying, it is so sad and earnest and pa
thetic.
$50 far does their fanaticism take the
Doukhobors that often they believe
Themselves the chief characters of Holy
Writ come to life again. l asked the
commandant what the man who
thought himself Jesus and his disciples
ate. and he said: You see 1t all before
YOU Then he went on to say that they
have great difficulty in getting them to
cat anything at all. They are just like
overgrown children. and we dare not
appear to be cross, or say harsh words
to them for fear that they will refuse to
cat anything, and like women are some
times said to do, simply die of broken
heart
What They Eat
"Rut each and all must have diff
ferent kind of food. Some of them live
entirely on fruit; Adam likes peanuts,
but the man who calls himself Jesus is
tie best one of the lot. John the Bap-
tist. you will notice, is coarser looking,
CAMTED THDEn