The Washington herald., 1919-04-12

struggling his shoulders. at il match
alstuvo' (officiaIdom).
My arm pained and could not re-
main in the front line. The medical
assistant of our regimental hospital
had been severely wounded, and I
was sent to act in his place, under
the supervision OF the physician.
stayed there two weeks. till my arm
improved. and attained such prof.
cheney under the Doctors instructions
that he issued a certificate to me,
stating that / could temporarily per-
form the duties of a medical assis-
tant.
The autumn of 1915 passed, for us,
uneventfully. Our life became one Of
routine. At night we kept watch,
warming ourselves with hot tea,
boiled on little stoves in the front
trenches. With dawn we would 60 to
sleep, and at in the morning the
day would begin for some of us, as
that was the hour for the distribu-
ton of bread and sugar. Every SOL
der received ration of two and a
half pounds OF bread daily. 1t was
often burned on the outside and not
done on the inside. At IL O'Clock,
when dinner arrived. everybody was
awake, cleaning rifles and repairing
things generally. The kitchen was
always about a verst in the rear, and
we sent messengers to bring the din
ner pals to the trenches. The aver
age dinner consisted of hot cabbag ge
soup, with some meat in IL. The
meat frequently was spoiled The
second dish was always kasha,
Russia's popular cruel. Our daily
ration of sugar was supposed to be
three-sixteenths OF a pound. BY the
time our dinner got to us 1t was cold.
so that tea was resorted to again.
After noon We received our assign
ments, and at 6 in the evening
supper, the last meal. consisting only
OF one course, arrived. 1t was either
cabbage soup or kasha or half a her
ring, with bread. Many ate all their
bread before the supper hour, or II
! they were very hungry. with the
first meal, and thus were forced to
beg for morsels from their comrades,
or go hungry in the evening
Every twelve days we were relieved
and sent to the rear for a six days
recuperation. There the baths OF the
Union of Zemstvos, which had al
ready extended its activities in 1915
throughout the front. awaited US.
Every divisional bath was in charge
OF physician and hundred volun-
teer workers. Every bath house was
also a laundry, and the men. upon
entering it, left their dirty underwear
there, receiving in exchange clean
linen. When a company was about
to leave the trenches for the rear
word was sent to the bath house OF
ft1 linz l., .
the soldiers welcomed so much as the
bath house. sc vermin-ridden were the
trenches, and so great was their suf-
fering on this account
More than any body else did I suffer
from the vermin. l could not think
at first OF going TO the bath house
with the men. My skin was eaten
through and through. and scabs be-
gan to form all over my body.
went to the commander to inquire
of my condition. The commander
sympathized
But what can do Yashka?" he
remarked, II can't keep the whole
company out to let YOU alone make
use OF the bath house. Go with the
men. They respect you so much that
I am sure they won't molest you"
l could rot quite make up my mind
for awhile. But the vermin gave me
no rest, and I was nearing the point
of desperation. When we were re-
lieved next and the boys were getting
ready TO march to the bath house |
plucked UP courage and went up to
my sergeant, declaring:
TN go to the bath house, too. l
can't endure it any longer"
He approved of my decision, and /