THE MAN HINDENBURG FEARS.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 6, Issue 268, 20 April 1917, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE MAN HINDENBURG FEARS.

It is not the Grand Duke Nicholas, ] nor General Brussiloff, who is the grimmest foe of the new Chief of the German Staff. It is the 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 guerilla king, and the "Kaiser has offered a reward of .£IO,OOO for his capture, dead or alive. Peter is said to be supernatural. He is able to be everywhere at once. No sooner has the German Army discovered his depredations in one quarter, and thrown a cordion around a district, then he reappears in another locality and makes things as uncomfortable as ever for the Teuton forces All along the 1000-mile front between the Baltic and Bukowina he ranges, busy with raids, cutting wires, tearing up roads and railways, spying—and always escaping in the nick of time. Altogether there are 50,000 guerillas organised in about 300 brave bands with grim and rolentless leaders. Bravest is the band of Earless Peter, and grimmest, most relentless of leaders is Peter himself. Earless Peter is in Russian Pietr Besukhi. Both of Peter's ears exist and are painfully sound. Peter, in 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 Austrians; 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 tolerates in his band only picked fighters. Peter is careful about his men's food, clothes, arms, accoutrements. Having private funds, he outshines in these details the hard-up rival guerilla chiefs. He punishes ruthlessly any of his men who shirk or offend. In general, he shows himself as earless to Russian weaknesses as he does to the cries for quarter of German and Austrian foes. Peter obtained money from his rich father, a manufacturer of Smolensk. The father was in despair at the loss of two of his three sons who were killed in battle, and he gave their intended fortunes to Peter on condition the money should be spent in fighting Russia's invaders. Peter was much attached to his brothers. He went to Smolensk, prayed on ms knees with his father, and vowed that he would slay 2000 Germans and Austrians for each brother killed. This was a big order for a band numbering eighty. Peter began in winter near Dvin.sk. His eighty men were in white uniforms or covered with sewn sheets; their boots were covered with white fur, and their rifles painted white, so that nothing but dark eye-slits showed. Before the year was out Earless Peter and his gallant band had accounted for near upon 4000 German troops. But Peter is not invulnerable. He nearly lost his life, the account goes on to say, 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 toe declared that his ill-luck was due to his slow legs, and seeing that the majority of those left of his hand were horsemen, he decided to recruit only those who could ride well.

This extraordinary young man, who was less than two years ago a merchant leading 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 done no military service, and as he could not get taken as a volunteer he started a guerillo corps of his own.