Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1915-04-30
RUSS SOLDIERS
P|LLAGEO AND
BURNED A CITY
WAR HAD BEEN LITTLE MORE THAN
RUMOR FOR MEMEu FOR OVER
SEVEN MONTHS.
CZAR'C FORCES SUDDENLY SWEPT
.IN-NO FIGHTING, But WRECK
AND DESOLATiON WAS LEFT.

been niue more imam - fultol Tor ne III
habitnts at the little city of Mcneil,
tucktd away in the northernm"~ Last
Prussia on the Baltic. Beyond the mob
ililatinn of Gnu oi the "landA urm -
take the place of THE regular troops
things had gone on much the same a.
usual.
Then. suddenly on the II Of March,
there came the report that the cuSsarkN
were coming from the North aud the
East. and Mcmcl began a. set H. first
direct impression al the gigantic con
ilict. In the days tlIa, followed II Was
"a get other and more terrible impress.
sicns.
While officials franticallN appealed
for help from the military authorities.
the lliilc band 81 LandStrum slowly Tell
bach from one defensive position "a am"
Their before the unCuming russians made
one final but Ineffective stand 40 the "ft
living village uf Althof, and on Thurs
day night. March -. were forced - let
the Russians enter.
burning and piilaeing ~ they went.
The Russian troops swept into Mrmcl.
As terrified villagers gazcd from their
windows. the SnldIcrS marched through
Mcmcl'si main street. smashing "a the
store windows. stopping only long
enough "a help themselves a. tobacco.
liquor aud food
Memcl. however. had had = hours no
ticr and had utilized he time for par
.ial flipht. Terrified Villagers from Inc
QUILTING districts haI come painting ~
t. Town With stories Of dwellings looted
aud burned. relatives aud friends SEIZED
anI borne un "a Russia hy Russian a.
N.ls..- null I.IIau tar the N.4La All the
soldiers and ~ the atrocities too terri.
hlc to mcnliun.
Eight thousand OF the towns pupuli-
ton. thanks a. one final stand 81 IN
Land>turm IA The kari>lrucrhc with =
machine gun, succeeded in getting out ~
Mcmrl. with 4 i"N belongings. AMI nntn
the long Strip 81 >and dune known rs
The "huri>chc NrhrIng hat rams 40 =
rurNing direction southwark toWari
kocnigSbcrg.
Few of the fugitiNr> had had time AZ
bring amy food. and on The narrow strip
81 SAND Their, WAS nothing uu whIrh hrt
could Suh>i>t. The bitter winter weather
= that had made The iieht >o Terrible how
ever. proved a. a. heir salvation Tor ID
irrze the sheltered water between th'
and aud tho mainland ~ that supple.
could u" Siedgrd across ~ sufficient quai
tits to keep soul and body Together.
Ignorant of The fate that might hiv,
bcfallcn Those Nv, had bad lrit hrhiul
suffering terribly iu he bitter Wcathtr
the fugilivc> waited. hoping ~ur-rwrltriN
that the rcinfurocmcnt~ for which tirA
mad appealed 50 earnestly hId arrived
Ia drive the Russians n. There the,
remained for Il week. 80 ior tuur dtt.
aiie rthc invaders had been ~rNpcllc,
with great losses.
Fur three DAYS the Russian trnrp-
camped ahout the town. Their >vopI
on Nemcl seemed a. have been iu~piIrv.
hN NO tactical reasons. for The, did nn.
sink the ships ia the laud lu,kcd hat
hor. nor %fortify themselves.
Gcrmany's threat hat Russian town,
would be- DESTROYED II they continued t
burn down German villages H. believed
10 have restrained them irrm drstrpt
Ing Mcmcl.
Instead they cleaned out virtually 9Th
cry dclicatcSScu store. ever, provision
market and ever, Vine ami liquor r-
Establishment ia Aicmcl. Individual sol
dlcr>. proving AFRO nl entered ihf
homes of inhabitants and added tn their
fear ~ their dcprciatiot> and their
threats.
On SUNDAY the German reinforcement
began Ia arrive. and thp Russians began
60 leave. A few hours Later ~ trail ~
dead bodies from The center 81 "a" ~ ,
tn Althof W. itS rrmnau \ told ihr
. story Of the departure. Whrn the last
Russian had gone and the inhabitants
vrnturrl ut, ut their homes. l1l corn,
Scs We're picked No and piled together
preparatory to burial iu u common
grave.
This gruc>umc work was still III prng
reS> when an N~>ociatcd Press corrr>
pondcnt rca he'd Mcmcl.
One nf thr first ~ reach the scene was
bhcr rrc>idcF Won liatorki of the prov
incc of East Prussia. aud a. began ~
once 10 sill ont the truth from the mass
oi rumor and h~car>ay regarding the IA
va>iun. shortly h. determined that ~
tween 500 aud 6n persons in the Mcmcl
part Of the province had been carried
ol Ia Russia. hat H. civilians hld been
killed. that one Woman took poison when
she was attacked ~ the l;u>>itn 81.
dicr~ and that another died from Snrl
an at. ark. that the second MAYOR uf the
city Ind been dangerously and perhaps
fltally wounded by a hayonct stab in
The abdomen. aud that l6 German sol
dicrs had been killed ia diSpcllin. the
Russians.
The Associated Press correspondent
WAS able Ia rctrace the route taken by
the Russians ~ they advanced on Me
nrl from the nearby border. 10 the north
and Ia the east. and Ia see a panorama