The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1918-10-03

I Germans treated our intention wifi
contempt, because we We're poorl,
4 equipped even for a short campaign
I But in Il short time we had more
rifles than we could use; In fact in
many cases three to the man. We
bought rifles from the Red Guards al
from ten To 30 kopeks apiece. We
got machine guns from them for what
in your money would be 80 cents. One
| Of our regiments acquired 300 machine
guns In this way We bought three
1 inch guns for ten rubles each. TO do
| This we had money OF our own, which
we had saved up from working. Later
we received financial aid from Il $20,-
100000 loan which was floated We
were thus able to buy what we re-
quired, whether in arms or food.
"Soon the Germans ceased to treat
our intention 10 make our way across
Siberia and thence from VlaGivostok
to France as joke-after we had
. four days fight with the Germans
ut Baclmach, Il station on the railroad
about 100 miles from Kiev, and de-
feated them. We now found our
selves recognized first by the Austrian
emperor and then by~>tlle Germans
themselves, who had said that we were
nothing and had no real existence as
an organization.
Word was sent TO us in the name
or The Austrian emperor that II we
would cease fighting and surrender,
the autonomy Of our country would
be recognized. We answered that we
knew no such person as the Austrian
emperor and no such country as Aus
tria- Hungary, and that we were de-
telmined to cross Siberia to Valdi-
vostok. Then the recognition that we
were Il force to be considered came
from the Germans in this way. The
German general asked us for 48-hour
truce.
Fifty-Seven Days on the Road.
ave We're about ten DAYS getting
ont Of the UKRAINE into Siberia. When
ever we needed food we bought it.
and we found enough TO supply our
needs. We came one day upon beau
fiful train at station, one evidently
that had been used by the car or one
of the grand dukes. We were told it
was occupied by the Red Guard com
mander. | was one of the group of
officers that visited him.
How large a force have YOU in
your comnlandY one of us asked.
Two corps, he answered.
How many men are there in them?'
"SiX hundred he had to admit.
Cribs will give an idea of the ridicu-
lous character of the Red Guard organ
ization at that timc)
Il was on the advance train, which
led The way across Siberia, and which
we had taken for our use. Other trains
we usually got hold of in this way.
Wherever we found out there was Il
train, we got hold of locomotive and
put ten or fifteen of our boys, armed
with machine guns, on it, and sent it
TO meet the train. We told the boil
sheyiki that we would shoot il the
train was not turned over to us, and
that was all that was necessary. Then
we would fill the captured train with
our troops.
THE train in which | was took 81 |
days to make the Journey from pcnza
TO Vladiv0stok. Everywhere along
the route the German agents were try
ing to get control of the railroad hy
German soldiers in the
Red Guard organizations, and but for
our troops they would now control
this vastly important strategic line
from one end to the other"
Says Kerensky Is Stupid.
"Why did you not assert your fight
ng power under Kerensky and pre-
vent the collapse Of Russian" e
"Kerensky is stupid" answered Cap
ain Hurban, "and" he continued, as
4 sign that he is picking up slang Eng
ish, "a bad actor lie is not seri-
ous-minded man. We wanted to organ
re our forces under his government
IS we >did under the car. The czar
would not permit us to organize into a
"A sc LOAN DttuuSt we were ToNOlU-
ionary against our home government.
tut the Russian generals who knew
What good fighters we were permitted
is, without legal authority, to form
mail units along the front. When
came into power we wanted
Q bring these units together and join
With the rest of our soldiers who had
to Russia TO escape from
and to get on the
ide of the allies. There were 100000
# us in Russia at that time. But
[erensly said that we were chauvin-
sts. and would not permit us to form
me large army. But when he saw how
ve fought in small units, in the drive
which he undertook against us in July,
917. he came to us and was ready to
,iss the earth under our feet.
"But il was too late then. Who will
lot say that an army of 10000
'zecho-Slovak troops may not have
prevented the total collapse of Russia?
Ne kept a neutral position in the
truggle between Kerensky and the
olshevikL When the bolsheviki came
nto power we offered to help them
galnst the Germans. but we soon saw