The Washington herald., 1919-04-13

and now they were confirmed in a
Cursed Their General
Gen. Walter paid a visit to the front
line. He was known to be of German
blood. and his harsh treatment OF the
soldiers won for him the cordial hatred
of the rank and file. The general ac-
companied by a considerable suite of
officers and men, exposed himself on
his tour of inspection OF our trenches
completely without attracting a single
enemy bulletl 1t was unthinkable to
US who had to crawl on our bellies to
obtain some water. And here was this
party in open view OF the enemy who
kept such a strange silence.
The general acted Queerly. He
would stop at points where the barbed
wire was torn open or where the for
ti1cations were weak and wipe his
face with his kerchief. There was a
general murmur among the men. The
word treason" was uttered by many
lips in suppressed tones. The officers
were indignant and called the gen.
erals attention to the unnecessary
danger to which he exposed himself.
But the general ignored their warn
ings, remarking. ''nitchevo"' Ot is
nothing).
The discipline was so rigorous that
no one dared to argue the matter with
the general The officers cursed when
he left. The men muttered:
He is selling US out to the enemy,
Half an hour after his departure the
Germans opened a tremendous fire II
was particularly directed against
those points at which the general had
stopped. reducing their incomplete de-
fenses to dust. We thought at first
that the enemy intended to launch an
offensive, but our expectations did not
materialize. He merely continued his
violent bombardment. wounding ana
burying alive hundreds. The cries OF
the men were such that rescue work
could not be postponed. While the
shelling was still going on I took
charge and dressed some hundred and
fifty wounds. II Gen. Walter had sp-
peared in our midst at that moment
the men would never have let him get
away alive. so intense was their feel
ing.
For two weeks we worked at the re-
construction of cur trenches and alto
gether extracted about 500 corpses- l
was recommended for and received a
gold medal of the second degree for
saving wounded from the trenches
under violent fire" Usually medical
assistant received a medal OF the
fourth degree, but 1 was given one OF
the second degree because OF the spe-
cial conditions attending my work
We were then relieved for the month
and sent fifteen versts to the rear. 10
the village of Senky. on a stream
called Uzlianka. An artillery base
~ On
to the place our life was eased. But
getting there was no easy task; the
road was frightful. We were IA
tigued and exhausted. and most OF US
fell asleep without even eating the
supper that had been prepared for US.
There was no work for a medical
assistant in the rear. and besides my
arm had fully recovered, so ] applied
to the commander for permission 10
return TO the ranks. He granted II,
promoting me to the grade Of corporal,
which placed me in charge OF eleven
men.
mother Writes Her
Here l received two letters, one
from Yasha, in reply to mine, written
from Yakutsk, in which ! spoke Of re-
turning to him at the conclusion Of the
] II. L
iterating my promise. on condition
that he change his behavior toward
me and treat me with consideration
and love. The other letter was from
home. Mother wanted me to come
back, telling Of her hardships and suf-
ferings.
II was October. This month, spent
at the artillery base, was one Of Jolli'
hcation. We were billeted in the VII
lage cabins, and engaged almost daily
in sports and games. II was here
that / was first taught how TO slgr
my name and to copy the alphabet
had learned to read previously, Nasha
having been my first instructor. The
literature that was allowed TO circu-
late at the front was largely made VI
of lurid detective stories, and the name
Mick Carter" was not unfamiliar tc
me.
There were other pastimes. also.
remember one day during a downpoul
l sought shelter in a barn, where
found abouty forty officers and mer
who had also sought protection there
from the rain. The owner of the barn
a baba of middle age, was there with
her COW. / was in a mschievous mood
and began to fiirt with her, TO thu
general merriment of the men. l paid
her some fattering compliments anc
/ declared that she had captivated me
The woman did not recognize my sex
and professed to be insulted. Encour'
aged by the uproar OF the men, per
sisted in my advances, and finally
made an attempt TO kiss her. The
baba, nnaddened by the laughter Of the
soldiers, seized a big stick of stove
wood, and with curses threatened me
and the men.
Get out of here, you tormenters oi
a poor babav' she cried.
/ did not seek TO provoke a fight ano
exclaimed to her:
why, you foolish woman, am q
peasant girl myself.
Volunteer Scout.
This only further infamed our host,
ess. She took IL for more ridicule and
became more menacing. The officers
and soldiers interfered, trying to per
suade her of the truth Of my words
as none of us wanted TO be put oui
into the rain: However, II required
more than words to convince, so was
compelled to unbutton my coat
Holy Jesusr' the woman crossed
! herself. "A babs, indeed" And i'm
mediateiy her heart softencd. and hel
| tone changed into one Of tenderness
aha broka out into team. Her bus