Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-06-01

Korniloff, the famous Russian
general who tried to keep Russia
from ruin, is dead and his body
ground to atoms and scattered to
the four winds, according to one of
his comra es-in-arms, who has Just
escaped to Paris from southern Rus
STA, bringing with him one Of the
most hldeous narratives that has yet
emanated from that land of blood
and misery and horror.
kornilof, it will be recalled, was
one of Russia's heroes in its war
against the Teutons, and subsc-
quently the arch opponent of ker-
ensky, who believed in tcmporizing
with the bolsheviki after the fall Of
the car in 1917. But kerensky man
aged to get the upper hand. his pol
icy of seeking to placate the reds
with fair speeches continued and the
result was his speedy overthrow and
exile to foreign lands. Kornilotf,
however, remained in the field as
the sworn foe of bolshevism and OF
all those who sought to deal with it
except at the point of the sword.
Reports of his death repeatedly
reached the outside world. but none
had the ring of authenticity. For
more than a year the exact fate of
the doughty hero of the Carpath-
ians, the leader of the last desperate
Russian offensive against the Ger
mans in July, 1917. remained mys-
terry.
Saw General Killed.
Now, however, that mystery is
solved. if the report of his comrade
in Paris is true. This man. former
ly one of his officers and subse-
quently under the orders of General
Denikine, another of the uncom-
promising opponents of the bolshe-
wiki, has managed to reach the
French capital by way of Greece,
after all sorts of adventures. 10 a
representative of lie Petit Parlsien
of Paris he declared that he knew
positively that Korniloff had been
killed in battle. He declared furth
ermore that he had actually been
an eye witness of the outrages to
which the bolsheviki subjected the
generals body when they at last
found where it had been buried and
delivered it over to the mercies of a
blood frenzied crowd.
Still wearing on his breast four
crosses of St. George, testimonials
to his bravery as an officer of the
car and the anti-bolshevist Rus
SANS, Korniloff's comrade-in-a arms
told his story in Paris in these
words:
During the last few weeks of his
Life korniloff seemed haunted by
the presentiment of his death. Those
who spoke with him intimately said
that he despaired of victory. Like
the Russian patriots of Archangel
and Siberia, he had pinned his faith
to allied intervention and, seeing the
days go by without any aid from
the allies, he had lost his hope
Nevertheless, at the beginning of
last autumn he once more spurred
himself to belief in ultimate sue
cess and resolved to assume the
offensive.
His army of volunteers began
the fighting with vigor and won
some initial advantages over the
bolsheviki korniloff's troops drew
near to Ekaterinodar and prepared
to take possession OF that place.
Catastrophe Came.
Then came the catastrophe. The
fighting was going on between
Ekateninodar and the Cossack vii
lage of Elisabethinskaia. Korniloff
was at the latter place, in a little
house, standing at one of the win
dows scanning the battle through
a pair of field glasses.
"Suddenly a stray shell-the boil
sheviki were not bombarding in that
direction-fred by an inexperienced
gunner, exploded right in front of
the house. Korniloff. struck by one
of the pieces. was instantly killed.
The death of the general, who
was looked upon by his men with
sort of superstitious veneration,
sowed panic in the ranks of his SOL
diers; their leader having fallen they
believed that all was lost.
The retreat began at once. 1t
was terrible retreat, for that VOL
unteer army consisted not only of
men, but of women, children. sick
people-an entire horde of terrified
souls who hung on to the marching
columns for protection and shared
their hardships.
Retreat Turns Rout.
While the retreat was becoming
rout some faithful comrades took
up the body of Korniloff and buried
it. leaving upon the corpse the gen.
erals full military garb. But they
took care not to show the location
of the grave where they had laid
their venerated chief by so much as
a cross or any other sign. They
hoped that when the fortunes of
war brought them back to Ekater-
inodar they might find the body
again and give General Korniloff a
burial worthy of a man who had
won such boundless admira ton
from his fellow Russians.
Behind the retreating army the
bolsheyiki rushed in and their first