Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1920-10-12
INDIANS ARE WORLDS CHAMPION
JAPANESE. INVADERS
MASSACRED BY REDS
More Than 5000 Nipponese And Whit" Russians
Killed In Nikolayevsk- Mason Gives
Details of Slaughter

in the ice, killed the prisoners, and
chucked their bodies through the
hole. Not one survived.
had gruesome personal evidence
of this as | leaned over the Erivan's
rail soon after we dropped anchor
Something came to the surface 20
feet away. 1t was the bloated body
of an unfortunate. That afternoon
three bodies came up. Next day,
seven. One morning, eleven. Then
daily, five on the average. In all
there were 80 coming up in a small
area near the ship.
We had unwittingly anchored at
the scene of the butchery. The air
became so tainted the ships anchor
age was changed.
After killing the Japs Trepetzin
announced (at Nina's instigation, it
is said that every "White" Russian
who had aided the Japs would be
punished, first by seeing his entire
family destroyed, and then by dying
himself. A reward was offered in
formers. Anyone who had a spite
against his neighbor had only to re-
port that neighbor as a Jap sympa-
thizer, The neighbOr and all his
family disappeared.
Hundreds of Russians thus met
death during the last days before
Trepetzin's retreat. His distorted
idea was not aimless murders how
ever, for he took with him 800 Rus
sian civilians, at time when his
inadequate transport facilities were
sorely overburdened.
Applies Torch to Town.
Finally Trepetzin applied the
torch to the town, thus hampering
its re-occupation by the Japs, who
arrived June 2.
So Trepetzin fled. Where he is
now, it is impossible to tell.
How many human beings he ex-
ecuted will never be known, exactly.
First accounts ran as high as 5000,
but this included all missing. Only
AZ greeted the arriving Japs. Thous-
ands of refugees have reported since.
From available facts, I estimate
the towns population, just prior to
the massacre, at about 13,2O0. This
included 4,200 Chinese. All the
Chinese were removed safely by the
Chinese gunboats to Mago, 20 miles
up river-except about 100 killed
by stray bullets.
The Japanese officials estimate of
their nationals, soldier and civilian,
was slightly under 1000. All dead,
except is or 16 rescued by the Chi
nese.
The Russian population was about
5000, of whom some $500 are ac-
counted for, either saved by the Chi
nese at Mago, or sheltered in the
forest, or already taken by Jap ships
to Vladivostok. Net result-about
1885 fatalities.
No words of praise and admira-
tion can fifty describe the steadfast
heroism of the Chinese consul and
the men on the little Chinese gun
boats. They saved thousands-not
alone their own people.
Their reward has been internment,
disease and slow death-at the
hands Of the Japanese.
Lacking provisions for the living,
and medicine for the dying, they
have, for months now, been refus-
ed permission to depart on their own
gunboats. They were there on a
lawful mission ,and belong to a
friendly, neutral nation.
In violation Of the laws of nations
and of humanity Japan virtually
holds them prisoners, but death re-
leases them one by one.
(What the Jap "relief'' expe-
dition did to Nikolayevsk, and more
about the plight of the Chinese, will
be told in the next installment of
Mason's report.)