The Washington herald., 1919-04-14
The Amazing Story of
Maria BOtchkarepa
Leader of the Russian Battalion of Death

the Ekaterina Hospital. ward No. -
was lonely IN the hospital where
spent nearly three months The
other patients would have their visi.
tors or receive parcels from home. orrf
( nobody visited me. nobody sent any
thing to me. March. April. Nav can1s
and went In the mon0Iouy Of ward
No. %. Finally. one day IN the b.
ginning OF June I was declared NJ
again to return to the aEhtlnE line
My regiment was just then being
transferred to the I.Utzk front On
June the s0th ] caught UD with g. The
. reception accorded me even surpa Ssel
. that Of the previous year. was
showered with fruit and sweetE The !
soldiers were iu > happy mood The
Germans had just been driven b. RS 20
this sector by Gen. Brusflov for scores
OF versts. The country was cr.s
crossed by their evacuated position
Here and there enemy co-pses VeIs
still unhuried. our men. though over
joyed, were worn out ~ forced
marches and the long pursuit
Il was midsummer. and the heal
was prostrstinE. We msrchel on
June %lst a distance OF fifteen vorzts
and stopped for rest There wers
many prostrations among Us and We
felt too faugued 10 90 on. but the
commander prayed US 10 keep going
promising rest In the trenches. %
was twenty versts to the front linz.
and we made It on the same ds-.
As we marched along We on~orv,sr
on both sides OF the road that crop
that had not been DESTROYED b, ID.
swaying armies were rlperiuE The
fighting line ran near 2 village raI'od
x
neighborhoOd a manor hastily Iert
by the Germans. The estate was rUH
OF cattle. fowl potatoes and other
food. That night we had feast
royal
We occupied abandoned German
trenches. II was not the time
for rest. The artillery opened VI
early in the evening and doomed
ceaselessly throughout the night II
could mean nothing but an immediate
attack. We were not deceived. Al
in the morning we received word that
the Germans had left their positions
and started for our side. Al this mo-
ment our beloved commander. Grishs-
ninov, was struck 70 the ground. ne
was wounded. We attended TO him
quickly and had him despatched to the
rear. There was no time TO waste We
pested volleys. and when they ap-
preached our positions we climbed out
and charged them with hxed bsyonets
Suddenly a terrific explosion deaf
ened me, and ] fell 10 the ground 4
German shell had come my way, a
shell 1 shall never forget. as paT1 Of Il
l stil carry in my body.
l felt terrific pains in my back. !
had been hit by fragment at the end
Of the spinal column. Ny agony laStea
long enough TO attract a couple OF sol
diers. Then I lapsed into unconscious
hess. They carried me to a dressing
station. The wound was so serious
that the physician in charge did nor
believe that I could survive. was
placed I'm an ambulance and taken tn
LU'zk ] required ELECTRICAL treat
mcnts. but the Butzk hospitals were
not supplied with the necessary arns-
ratus II was decided TO send me -
Kiev. My condition, however. was So
crave that for three days the doctors
considered Il dangerous TO move me
In Riev the flow OF wounded was 50
great that / was compelled TO lie lu
the street on a stretCher for couple
OF hours before l was taken to q hos
pital. i was Informed. after an N-rsy
examination. that a fragment OF shell
was imbedded in my body and asked
II / wished an operation 10 have IL Re
moved. 1 could not imagine living
with piece Of shell in my flesh, and
so requested its removal Whether
because OF my condition or for some
other reason, the surgeons finally de-
cided not 10 operate, and told me that
1 would have TO be sent either 10 Pc
trograd or TO Moscow for treatment
As ] was given the choice. ! decided
on Moscow, because ] had spent the
spring months Of the year ia the Eks-
ter4na Hospital there.
The wound in the spine pRralyzed
me to such an extent that ] could not
move even a finger. I lay in the McS-
COW hospital lowering between life and
death for some weeks, resembling
log more than a human body. only
my mind was active and heart full
of pain.
Every day 7 was ma asssEed. carried
on a stretcher and hathed. Then the
physician would attend me, probinE
my wound with iodine, and treating u
with electricity, after which ! was
bathed again and my wound dressed
This daily procedure was a torture
that could not he psralleled, in spite Of
the morphine injected into me. There
was little peace i'm tire ward iu which
pied by serious Caseg. and the Erosns
and muUus must hay" reached Heaven
CTQ be continuedl
foopuuaxnt lsls, by fred-1cs A. stos<s 49,
pazx Al Rls1ts AAszvpS