Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1920-06-24
RED NIGHTMARE
IN SIBERIA CITY
Survivor Paints Picture of Almost
Incredible Atrociousness.
PRECEDED BY 5-DAY BATTLE
Homes of Wealthy Citizens PIundered,
Houses Set on Fire and Families
Left In Burning Buildlnos-Drunken
soIsheviks staooer About Streets
Appauding Each New Horror.

For sheer horror and almost in
credible atrOciousness the report of
the affair at NikOlaievsk, Siberia, just
made public at Tokyo. surpasses tic-
ton of the most lurid kind. The
story was brought to Admiral Kawa-
harn, commanding the Japanese naval
forces at Vladivostok, by a public sur
vey"r from Nikolaievsk, who made
his way overland disguised as Chi
nesc pilgrim.
Fifteen thousand bOlsheviks COM
priSrd the attacking force. After cap
turing the town and killing such strag-
glerS from the evacuating Russian
army as they could find the reds be-
gan pillaging.
They first plundered the homes Of
the wealthy citizens. The owners
were tied with ropes, the rooms strip
ped of all valuables. and the houses
set atire. The families were left In
the burning dwellings.
Insensate Crimes In Streets.
The bolsheviki then turned their at
tention to the ''lntelectuals" or bour-
geOise. These unfortunates were
. dragged into the streets, their fingers
chopped off, and their arms hacked
from their bodies with hatchets.
Ropes We're then fastened to their
ankles and tied to horses. The horses
We're driven in opposite directions,
pulling the victims limbs from their
bodies.
Drunken bolsheviks staggered about
the streets, watching the atrocities by
the light from the flaming houses and
applauding each new horror as 1t was
perpetrated.
The japanese residents, the survey
or's story says, were aghast, and hur-
ried to their consulate for safety.
They sent hurry calls for help and
protection of the Japanese troops
camped outside the city. The soldiers
promptly responded escorting native
and Nipponese citizens to the con-
sulnte, about which they threw a cor
don.
The reds Immediately looted and
burned the vacated Japanese quarter,
the owners simply retreating to the
consulate without protesting. The
Japanese tried, the report says, to
avoid clash.
Finally, the bolsheviks entered all
streets leading to the consulate and
began firing on the japanese troops
and covering refugees. The battle
Immediately got under way.
Reds Slaughtered In Fight.
Natives and japanese men, women
and children aided the soldiers in the
defense of the consulate. Several
pieces of light field artillery plowed
great gaps through the closely packed
red ranks, while machine guns cut
the bolsheviki to pieces. But they
were .outnumbered fifteen to one.
Soon there was not japanese I'M
wounded among those left alive. The
grounds about the consulate were
strewn with bodies of women and
children. All through the night the
desperate fighting continued.
And this kept up for five days and
nights! At length, when their NUM-
lions were exhausted, the wounded
Japanese soldiers threw themselves
into the flames Of their own consulate,
rather than suffer capture at the hands
of the bolsheviki.
The remainder of the Siberians and
Japanese civilians, who were either
too weak from hunger or dying from
wounds and unable to kill themselvee
hoisted the white flag.
When the surveyor made his escape
the last thing he saw was the bolshe-
wiki racing forward to the consulate
grounds for the kill.