Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1917-08-07
TO DIE BY POISON .
If TAKEN BY FOES
Russian Women Soldiers Garry
Cyanide Dose For Quick Use.
TELL OF THE FIRST FIGHT

q German-Number Of Women In All
Armies on Eastern Front u Believed
to Be. Growing Steadily. TIA
Russia's women soldiers have pledg.
ed themselves to take their own lives
rather than become German war pris.
oners. Each woman soldier carries q
ration of cyanide Of potassium, to be
swallowed in case of capture. r'4 -
The members of the women regi-
ments, now constantly increasing,
agreed that death was to be preferred
to the fate they would probably meet
at the hands of the Germans.
The Legion Of Death" fighters are
good Killers From woman's lips
a correspondent heard how she had run
a German through with her bayonet,
firing the rifle at the same time. From
others he heard how these women and
girls, fresh from comfortable homes
and universities, went leaping over
mangled bodies in the charge, with
enemy shells bursting all about them. ,t
To Sec Il Through.
But these narrowing experiences Of
the women fighters have steeled them
and hundreds of other girls to a new
determination to see 1t through. Girl
soldiers drilling in the streets are now
a common sight In Petrograd. Huge
crowds gather daily about the engi-
neers' school, where 1000 girls are
drilling preparing to 60 to the front.
In Moscow 1000 men are training,
while Kiev and Odessa have smaller
bands. Premier Kerensky has also au-
thorized the formation Of women ma
rine detachments and has promised to
assign them to ships. The new women
commands attempt no sort Of decora-
ton. Their heads are shaved, and they
wear the regulation uniform, including
the heavy, ugly army boots.
The five women fighters at the hos.
pital were partially paralyzed by shell
shock. One Of them, peasant girl,
smiled joyously as she pointed to a
German helmet on the bed beside her.
1t was the first war prize Of Russian
woman. -
at Was His Life or Nine"
II saw a German in front Of me as
I ran forward with the others in the
charge" she said. 1T was his life
or mine. I raised my rife. plunged
with all my strength. l stabbed him.
The bayonet went deep into his body.
At the same moment pulled the trig
ger. He dropped dead. Then took
his hat as a souvenir"
The girl soldier smiled with delight.
what was the battle like" another
OF the legionnaires was asked.
II was very nervous just before the
charge" she replied. 1--WE knew the
order was coming, and naturally we
We're Just n little scared. But as soon
as the orders to go forward came we
forgot everything else in the advance.
II could hear our girls yelling and
shouting throughout the march for
ward. None Of us were afraid once we
got started. We were in the midst Of
a great fusillade of shots. Then ter
rifle big shells began breaking all
around us.
Stories Of the Fight.
eve were again frightened little
when we first saw dead lien about,
but before very long We were jumping
over the dead and quickly forgot all
about them"
1--WE couldn't tell what was going on
said a third girl In describ-
ing the final stages Of the battle.
Commander Bochkoreva was every
where, urging us to fight and die like
real Russian soldiers"
Then the girl told how the legion
took its first prisoners.
"As we ran forward we suddenly
came upon a bunch of Germans imme-
diately ahead Of US. 1t was only Sec
ond until we were all around them.
Germans Surprised.
"They saw they We're caught and
threw down their rifles, holding up
their hands They were terribly fright
ened.
"Good God Women they ex-
claimed.
1--WE saw wounded German soldiers
raising themselves on their elbows and
interjected another wound
ed girl. Eve just forgot ourselves en-
tirely. We were simply Russia, fight
Ing for her life.
1.-The loss of Lena, the most popular
Of our company, was keenly
felt by all of u.s." she added soberly.
During the battle Lena heard that
Commander Bochkoreva had been kill
ed. She hurried forward into the shell
fire, saying she was going to find her.
We saw her go through one space lit
orally strewn with exploding shells;
then through the smoke and flames We
saw her blown to fragments.
1--WE also lost Sonia. She used to be
a musician with the Romanoff concert
she was killed by ma
chine gun fire."
Five of the German prisoners the