THE RUSSIAN SOLDIER

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXVI, Issue 5288, 28 May 1904, Page 11

THE RUSSIAN SOLDIER

HIS STUBBORN COURAGE. The courage of tho man behind the Russian guns has been amply proved time and again. No nation can point to heroic d j cds of its fighting men which cannot bo paralleled from tho annals of the Russian service. Englishmen are justly proud of tho degged pluck of Moyso, Sir Francis Boyle's “drunken private of tho Buffs,” who, having fallen into the hands of tho Chinese during tho opium war, was ordered, on pain of death, to perform the ‘'kotow” to a mandarin. He refused, saying that he would not prostrate himself before any Chinaman alive, whereupon he was immediately knocked on the head and ais body thrown on a dunghill. That incident has an almost exact parallel in the behaviour of a soldier of tho Pereslaff Dragoons, who was captured during the Khivan campaign, and ordered to kneel before tho Khan, to whose ‘'kibitka" (audience tent) ho was taken.

“I only kneel to God and the Emperor,-” said the Russian. “Take him outside and* flog him with leather whips," commanded the Khan.

It was done. After IOC? strokes the non fainted. He was revived, and taken back k to the “kibitka,” but again ho refused to kneel or pay any kind of reverence to the enemy. Then the Khan, mad with rage, subjected him to a favourite Turcoman pun ishment. A sword was plunged into a brazier until it was white hot, and then* passed in front of his eyes, at the distance of about 2in.. burning away his sight for ever. Still the blind hero, in his agony, adhered to his resolution, until at last the Khan drew a dagger, and stabbed him to tho heart.

To teach them to bo ready to sacrifice themselves cheerfully, for the Czar, they are told of tho heroic conduct of a company of infantry In thev Khokandcse campaign. The artillery was badly needed at tho front in one of the battles, but its advance was stopped by a deep ditch. Instantly tho foot soldiers threw themselves into the ditch and filled it up with their bodies so that the guns could gallop over .them and engage the enemy.—‘'Boston Globe."