Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1918-06-27

cry train and usually there is &
fight, but fortunately we came
through unmolested.
We reached Baku on March 25
my birthday and we celebrated thu
event with a whole box of choco.
lates which are worth theil
weight in gold in this country. w,
intended to celebrate further b.
attending some very good opera
which happened to be in the city
but suddenly changed our minds
We opened the street door and
man tried to crowd past us a.
though frightened to death. Whel
he saw us he ran into stor,
next. to our house. Then we no.
ticed that people were scurryins
in every direction and that Their,
was heavy firing going on. WE
decided it was no place for us
and very promptly went back w
stairs. Carl went back down IL
see what it was all about. The
firing practically died down but
every once in a while some crazy
would bang away just to heal
his gun pop exactly as Harry
Boics and his gang used to do or
the Fourth of July and the guns
had real lead in them too. We
acme to the conclusion that we
did not care for Grand Opera any
way and would much prefer ou1
little old up. stairs rooms with
their good thick, brick walls.
The trouble seemed to be be-
tween the Russian Tartars anG
the Armenians and Bolshevists.
Things were quiet the next day
until 5 O'Clock when they began
all over again with more noise
than before. Even the gun boats
in the harbor joined in. The fight
lasted three days and was more
severe than the Moscow revolu-
ton. The Armenians and Bolsch-
visits won. 1t surely was an in
sight to see the Modem
led by carrying house
hold goods on their backs. Many
women and children were taken
along as hostages and they look
ed so spooky with their wells
drawn over their faces. We both
watched these lines of prisoners
all one morning. Everything
seemed very quiet until suddenly
there was tremendous shooting
right near us and | made a bee
line for our room.
Carl stayed to see the excite
ment. Some prisoners tried to cs-
cape and were shot. Carl saw two
men take aim and saw the VIC
TINS fall in front of our house.
Another fell just little way up
the street. Later some wealthy
Tartars Were brought into our
house for protection as the Arme-
mans and Russians were hunting
them to kill them for the purpose
CT plumber.
The Whites and DR.. Reynolds
were stationed in beautiful
iinrf which was rec'.ld as Il bar
- de so they W., compelled "a,
leave in the midst of heavy firing
for hotel. They took only small
hand bags with them and that
Light their house was burned and
they lost everything they possess
ed. When the fighting finally cea-
sed Carl and | ventured out to
see how the others had Jared. AS
we walked along the street Carl
would say, Don't look here and
don't look there because there is
a dead man lying there OF
course, couldn't help looking
more or less because there were
dead men everywhere. lost
my nerve and did not go out
again until assured that the
had been cleaned up. A
great many houses were burned
and the Bazaar was all DESTROYED
so ii became very hard to buy
food. notwithstanding all this ex-
citement we We're delighted with
Baku. 1t is a very nice city with a
fine park on The water front. The
oil wells are interesting and we
found a great many English and
there.
After two weeks of patient wait
ing we We're at last able to char
ter a boat for Astrakhan. All the
accommodations we had was the
hold where the men stayed, a cab
i'm where the older women and
children held forth and the deck
where all good natured people
found refuge. Five nights Carl
and | slept on the deck on top of
a chest. 1t was very cold part of
the time and we never could get
inside where it was more or less
protected. We ate and slept and
dressed on that same old chest.
We cooked our meals on the
same stove with the ships crew.