Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-02-23

standing at long tables IN our bar
racks. The huts we occupied had been
used by the soldiers from petrograd
AT the mobilization of the Cars army.
The discipline of the camp was eX-
planned to US and our training began.
II ran through a period of six weeks.
for those of us who remained the full
time. ! do not mean that any of us
went away, rclinquishing our vows.
There weif several thousand women in
the whole camp and not one quit her
duties or.provcd unworthy. Before our
taining was over some Of the women
who had BECOME most efficient in drill
were selected TO take the places of
wounded men at the front That Is a
tragedy Of which | shall tell Some
returned. manned and wounded and
disfgurcd. Others remained to a tate
of dcath---or worse.
That was more than Ecrcnsky could
tolerate. lie glorlfied our spirit Of sacri-
hc", but he said: 1T is too much to
pay. II must be ended No more OF
the women Of thc Death Battalion must
go to the trenches" And 80 we, willing
and anxious were held back. We were
not allowed to 60 seeking our baptism
of blood Yet We received it--and in the
streets Of retrograd The riots against
kcrenSNy. when the dcspcablc and cow
ard,y and SraltUrous Bolshcvfkl rose
brought il to us. And of that | shall
tell.
Our TRAINING BEGINS
II was the month or May when We
began our training Therefore we had
not the difficulties which might have
come from winter weather. We lived in
hutS In which there were hunks. three
high and about twenty-five women in
each hut our pay was that of the
ordinary soldiers which was raised from
twenty-SiX cents "a monlh to S6 a month
at the beginning of tn" war. Sentries
about our camp We're changed every two
hours night and day.
! never saw a man in the camp except
the drill scvgcants who were sent in the
daytime to train us. No one could enter
the camp without a pass from head
quarters, and il was necessary to Lave
the permission of the general command
ing the troops in Pe.rograd in order To
have conversation with any soldier Of
our battalion. We arose AT > a. m. for
ron call and were then given fifteen min
utes to dress. .\fter that there were
prayers according to the ritual OF the
orthodox Russian church. After prayers
We had breakfast consisting of tea and
black bread Usually we had Il littlc
sugar with our tea. though sometimes il
was lacking, We lad Grill In tho tactics
Of the infHn,ry. beginning after break
fast and lasting until noon. We were
divided into platoOns, a drill scr teant in
charge Of each. We were taught how to
load. aim and fire rifles such a. the
Russian soldier carries. and We had
elaborate and careful instruction in bay
An1nliinit
rifles was issued to us, but We were for
hidden TO keep our weapons loaded e%-
cept when on sentry duty.
At noon We had a dinner consisting
of bortsch (soup). meat and bread
There was no white bread, Of course,
That is almost unknown in Russia now.
From II until 3 We were free, and
there was usually speaking during that
me by leaders of the revolutionary
movement In the quadrangle in the
center of our camp. From ? TO 6 we
drilled again and after 6 We were free.
our commander, Nine. Eatchkalova.
was authorized to issue passes for us
to visit Petrograd at night, and she
encouraged us to use them. She said
that she had no fear that any soldier
OF the Battalion Of Death would misuse
the privilege aud she wished the peo-
pie Of Tetrograd to sec MS in our uni
forms and TO Judge Of our carnestness
by our conduct. | went often to Pet.
rograd to sten TO the speakers in the
Nevsliy Prospekt or TO attend the NOV
ing picture theatres. Nearly always.
Nussa went with me and there was
usually a party of SIX or seven OF us.
Though there We're no orders about II,
It became an upwritten law that We
should always 10 IN parties. Then We
had no temptation to do anything
which might be considered unsOldierly
and were less likely 10 commit any
mistake VIII oh might reflect upon our
organization. We always walked to
the city and back. about three miles
each way. 1t made me laugh. when
arrived In San Francisco. to zee Ameri-
can soldiers riding on street cars.
never saw a Russian soldier ride on
street car.
once there was a girl in our party
who lived in Petrograd Both Nussa
and | knew her when we were students
in the gymnasium. She did not belong
to our COMPANY but 10 one of the com. !.
panies composed of girls from the city.
We had known her In the gymnasium
as an advanced thinker. she often
shocked as with her theories and ideas
about life. She said she would have
been an anarchist but for the fact that
anarchy had no means to a proper OBJ
iective She was entirely frank about
her affair with a young man. who had
been student with her until he went
into an architects office. At seventeen
she had become his mistress, and their
affection, she said. had lasted and
grown warmer because each knew that
the continuance of their association de-
q, f,,, t,.. Al