£10,000 REWARD.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 6, Issue 251, 16 February 1917, Page 4 (Supplement)

£IO,OOO REWARD.

THE MAN HINDENBL RU FEARS. It is not the Grand Duke Nicholas, nor General Erusiiloff, who is the grimmest foe of the new Chief of the German Staff. It is a man who has slipped like a wraith in among the German lines and done more damage than any of these generals. His name is Earless Peter, the guerrilla king, and the Kaiser has offered a reward of £IO.OOO for his capture, dead cr alive. Peter is said to be supernatural. He is able to he everywhere at once. N'o sooner had the German army discovered his depredations In one quarter, and thrown a cordon around a district, than he reappears in another locality and makes thing 3 as uncomfortable as ever for the Teuton forces. All alcng the 1.000mile front between the Baltic and Btikovina ho ranges, busy with raids, cutting wires, tearing up roads and railways, spying—and always escap ing in the nick of time. Altogether there are 50,000 guerrillas organised In about 300 brave bands with grim and relentless leaders. Bravest is the band of Earless Peter, and grimmest, most releijless of leaders is Peter himself. Earless Peter is in Russian Pietr Uesukhi. Both of Peter's ears exist and are painfully somd. Peter, is fact can hear, smell, see, and feel with the abnormal intensity of a Pawnee. He is "earless" merely because he is deaf to appeals for mercy. Earless Peter's two brothers were killed at the battle of Krasnik, the first stiff fight between Russians and Austrlans; and to-day Peter gives no quarter and asks for none. He slaughters no prisoners, but he refuses to take them. If an enemy wants to surrender, Peter gives him a fair fight, which often ends in the enemy going under, for Peter lolerates In his band only picked fighters. Peter ii; caieful about his men's fcod. clothes, arms, accoutrements. Having private* fundr, hft outshines In these details the hard-up rival guerrilla chiefs. He punishes ruthlessly any of his men who shirk or offend. In general, lie shows himself as earless to Russian weaknesses as he does to the cries for quarter of German and Austrian foes. Peter obtained money from liis rich father a manufacturer of Smolensk. The father was in despair at the loss ol Ito o* h 1« three sons who were killed in battle, and he gave their intended fortunes to Peter on condition the money should be spent in fight'ng Russia's invaders. Peter was much attached to his brothers. Ha went to Smolensk, prayed on his knee", with his father, and vowed that he would slay 2.000 Germans and Austrian? for each brother kille-i. This was a big order for a hand numbering eighty. Peter began in winter near Dvinsk. His eighty men were in white uniforms or covered with sewi sheets: their boots were covered vith white fur. and their rifles painted white, so that nothing hut dark eve-slits showed. » Before the year was cut Earless Peter and his gallant band had accounted for near upon 4,000 German troops. But is not invulnerable. He nearly lost his life, the account goes On to sav, when he began the New year with an offensive in Galicia. His band was cornered and surrounded by one of Austrians with superior numbers, and thirty of his men were? killed. Peter escaped, as he has always escaped, but with an ugly wound in his thigh. This, however, only served to make Peter turn cavalryman. for he declared that his illh'ck was due to his slow lees, and seeing that the majority of those left of his band were hoj'semen, he decided to recruit only those who ecu Id ride well.

This extraordinary young man. who was less than two years ago a merchant lending a quiet life in a provincial town, has acquired all the habits and weaknesses typical of the Slav outlaw.

He is religious, a drunkard, charitable, fierce, grim, frivolous, and pleasure-loving. He has dene no military service, and as lie conld not get taken as a volunteer he started a guerrilla corps of his own.