The extreme cold did not allow much sleep; long before daylight they were
on their feet. It was a morning of desolation, as always.
von Brandt now describes the characteristic phenomena of the landscape; the
words are almost identical with the description Beaupre has given of the
Russian landscape in the winter of 1812.
"I could not march, the pain under my shoulders was very great. I felt as
if all at this region of my body would tear off. But I marched all the
same. Many were already on the road, all in haste to reach the supposed end
of their sufferings. They seemed to be in a race, and the cold, the
incredible cold, drove them also to march quickly. On this day there
perished more men than usual, and we passed these unfortunates without a
sign of pity, as if all human feeling had been extinguished in the souls of
us, the surviving. We marched in silence, hardly any one uttered a word;
if, however, some one spoke, it was to say how is it that I am not in your
place; besides this nothing was heard but the sighing and the groans of the
dying.
"It was perhaps 9 o'clock when we had covered half of the way and took a
short rest, after which we resumed our march and arrived before Wilna
toward 3 o'clock, having marched ten hours, exhausted beyond description.
The cold was intolerable; as I learned afterward it had reached 29 deg.
below zero Reaumur (36 deg. below zero Fahrenheit.) But imagine our
surprise when armed guards forbade us to enter the city.
Pages:
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175