A BALKAN HEROINE

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 10713, 3 January 1913, Page 7

A BALKAN HEROINE

; GIRL IN FIGHTING LINE THROAVS BOMB. PROM I SKI) DYING FATHER TO TAKE UP ARMS. , The women of Servia, proud as they [arc of their victorious 'soldiers, arc. prouder still of Sophia Yonanovitch. Though only a slim, daintily-form-ed young lady, she is destined to he numortaTi<-vd in the history of Servia. as the first heroine, to enter the held against the Turk. "T was horn," said this lady .soldier of nineteen year? to a Press representative?, "at Belgrade on January 2<>th, 1893,' and my parents wero eomforfcahly well off! My father and his parents .at one time owned a gveat deal of land in Macedonia, and had suffered much, at th» hands of the Turk. "He was keenly interested in any political movement which might help to achieve hip ideal of a. Free Servia. 1 "My .father'* one sorrow was that lie had no son (o whom he could hand his rifle. "When he was en his deathhod in September, 1911. he called me to his fide. and. placing my hands over his heart, asked me to swear by his memory and our name that if ever the occasion arose T would take the place of a son in fiditinsr the Turk. "T swore that T would do so. and ever after that oath there was .something huniing in my brain. "After passing examinations at a Belgrade secondary school, 1 obtained a post as correspondent, first of all in a hank, and then at the office? of the State railway. After my father's death, however. I opened a dressmaking business, as f like houwc and women'* work better than office work. "When, there wa-s talk in September lak of a possibility of war with Turkey 1 twice wrote to the' Committee of' Public Safety and begged them jto obtain for me an audience of the I King, as 1 wished to join the: army. j They" replied that the King was ver> hu-sy, and that they could do nothing for me. "I was eating my heart out with I grief, but of course, could do nothing. Then' one day T had a happy idea. I , would approach the King direct, T , waited until King Peter opened *ho Skupstina, and then approached His iMaiesfv implored him to . LET MR SERVE WITH HTS SOLI ' DIERS.

"The Xing was very kind. He told me to see Onera! Yankov- '.now commanding the Third Army), and the next day ] received a letter to take to the general. Ev the time 1 got to Nish. where the General had -preceded me. T found that he had gone father on, hut had left instructions for me. T was sent to Procupie, and there \ was tanght how to' use a rifle, and was made a memhor of a. o.omitatio. "After a fortnight's stay w P moved on to Yrania. T then had my fr'" cropped quite short. T am aFj-ny that T did mourn the loss of my hair of which T had always heen so proud. "<U Yrania we waited for a few dav,s for orders, and a day before the declaration of war we crossed the frontier. Tim comitatie at Pmcupje had onlv consisted of twenty-tour members, hut hv the time we got to Yrania we were fifty strong. Uhe fortv-nine men were just like so.many l>ig brothers to me. hut of coiuf' f d:d mv share of the work. "The commander of our hand was l Theodore Sdioba.rawitz, I "Our first fight Was. on the day he- ' fore the declaration of war atVeyaglave (Yeva's head), when a hand of Albanians attacked us. We entrenched ourselves hehind a garaul (some blockhouse) when the enemy fired on us. At the word of command T took aim ",nd fired.

"Afterwards T was hoisted on to the ton of the blockhouse, and threw a bomb at the cnamy. There is something fascinating: about the sound of rifle firing.

"Th-> next clay w ! e marched on to O/.ornatchouka. and then wo bad a severe struggle against the Albanians. T?oiu<r town bn<?d, I suffered a groat d-vil in r-!iml)iti"C over hill?, and at rv.o n i:>tc.honka T sprained any foot. This did not. however, prevent mo fmin taking part in the combat. "Rnioe thou the hand wihie.li is attached to th" Crown Prince's army Cfirst omiy) has t'°en busily occupied in activur as an advance guard-again.»t Albanians."