Two Russian peasant soldiers would then take hold, one at each
leg, and drag the dying man with the head over snow and stones until he was
dead, then leave the corpse in the middle of the road. In the woods they
would practice the same cruelties as the North American Indians, tie those
who could not rise to a tree and amuse themselves by torturing the victim
to death with their lances. And, says Schehl, I could narrate still other
savageries, but they are too revolting, they are worse than those of the
savage Indians. Fortunately, Schehl himself was protected from all
molestations by the peasants by the two Cossacks of the escort. He was even
taken into the provision wagon where he could ride between bundles of hay
and straw. On the evening of the first day's march the troops camped in a
birch forest. Russian people are fond of melancholy music; Schehl played
for them adagios on his clarinette, and the Cossacks gave him the best they
had to eat. His comrades, now reduced to 400 in number, received no food
and were so terror-stricken or so feeble that only from time to time they
emitted sounds of clamor. Some would crawl into the snow and perish, while
those who kept on moving were able to prolong their miserable lives. The
second night took away 100 more, so that the number of prisoners was
reduced to less than 300 on the morning of October 31st. During the night
from October 31st. to November 1st. more than one-half of the prisoners who
had come into the camp had perished, and there were only about 100 men left
to begin the march.
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