Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1911-03-30
THE REVENGE OF
a RUSSIAN SOLDIER
BY Waco H.pfer.

copyright. 1904, by w. r. Hearst.)
The corporal was a gigantic, broad
shouldered Russian peasant. with a
great blonde beard N two good ma
tured melancholy blue eyes. He was
slow n heavy in his movements, and
so awkward that it seemed as If he
could only move in straight lines. In
his ears were great heavy silver rings,
which CAV his broad. impassive coun-
tenance a peculiar expression, remind
ing n of the giants we read of in
fairy tales.
But no man had a better heart than
he. Nowhere nav 1 found a truer
friend, and many a night when the heat
and the suffocating ordor of I'VE hun
dred pcrspiring human beings asleep
near us made me sick and kept me
q he would come to my side and
talk to me as a mother to her child,
his very presence soothing and Quieting
me.
me this story:
mo. my boy, you have no reason to
complain yet. You should have come
into the army fifteen years ago, when I
did and when we had to fight those
fends OF Tscherkesses, then you would
have had something to tell"
1T was on a hot day just like today.
" v SsN 0SSAA O0G " q IA Itdku IIlOIuS
ing drill, n were resting in our tents,
where 1t was SO hot that l thought
the very air would catch fire and my
shirt stuck to me like a postage stamp.
stamp.
Then, all at once. we heard shots
and before we knew it the Tscherkes-
SEES were In our camp.
Like monkeys they swarmed around
us on horseback. and fired at us and
cut us down. At first l was paralyzed.
then my blood began to boil and / be-
came like a maniac.
1T was as fire vas flowing through
my veins. and still I had never felt
as strong and free. / rushed around
like a young colt which has Just been
turned out on pasture the first time,
and while l used my sword and gun
as fast as I knew how, I had only one
~fear-that the affair might be over too
soon. Just as when you are having q
pleasant dream, and at the same time
rear that 1t may only be a dream.
And suddenly it was all over-the
Tscherkesses turned their horses and
disappeared at the sight Of a sotnia of
Cossacks coming to our assistance.
Ihen my senses came back and !
began looking around me.
HOLY Virgin! What a sight! OF
our ninety men, seventy were lying on
the ground dead, slaughtered and
hacked to pieces.
Il saw n man who held his bowels
In his hands. and others had had arms
and legs chopped of and the air was
rent with groans and cries.
Outside one OF h tents l saw my
nrother Yusap,y the finest boy that ever
lived. lying dead, a long, broad knife
still sticking in his chest, buried to
the hilt. =
Then l became furious once more.
ana swore v to rest until I had
done the same thing to a Tscherkess.
drew out the knife. kissed the bloody
we looked everywhere for those
black devils. but could not find them.
They were as blown away, but the
same day q Tscherkess told us Of their
hiding place for eight roubles.
They were only two miles from our
camp. N e little valley. the sq$rance
OF which was completely hiddGa& from
view by q big rock. We 2ced =
strong guard outside and nifty M
oneaked Into the valley.
y sat ON my horse waiting-one min.
ute, two. three. four, Ave minutes. and
not q sound. My heart beat aRainst
my r1bs U q sledge hammer.
b at once q yell like q hundred
demons n cries AZ IL a thousand piss
were being killed, and the sound a.
q fail. u
"a crowd of Tscherkesses on horse.
back came dashing towards ua-fheu
were all finally killed by our men-but
I did not move. ! was perfectly calm
and cold a. ice. My hand clasped the
hilt OF the knife. and before my eyes
I saw my brothers bloody body.
Tscherkes0 comes STRAIGHT "a.
ward me. ! raise my gun, take aim.
hre and down goes his horse.
" : 9 ! am on the ground.