The Great Trek of the Russian Mennonites to Central Asia, 1880-1884, Fred Richard Belk, 1976

on the trail. Muddy roads delayed its departure from the German Lutheran village of Gnadendorf the second day out, and after passing through a countryside dotted with German and Russian vil- lages, the sodden procession pulled up at the district capital, Novo- Urensk, where they spent their first rainy Sunday. Notwithstanding the inclement weather, the pious pilgrims observed the Sabbath with their accustomed enthusiasm. A temporary pulpit was constructed, from which Jacob Toews delivered the sermon and J. K. Penner led the music. All songs were from the hymnbook Die frohe Botschaft (Glad Tidings) used throughout the journey and their favorite hymn became ‘Our Journey Leads Through the Desert.’’"” The following Sunday, J. K. Penner once again led the music and prayed that God would bless them as they broke the way for others to follow. And indeed, Mennonites all over the world were following with interest the progress of the trek.'* A contemporary German newspaper predicted that many Mennonites would follow the example of this group. Unaware of this distant interest in their progress, the brethren on the wagon train were far more interested in their unfamiliar surroundings. These parochial people were fas- cinated by the camel caravans that made their horses shy and ap- palled by the squalid Russian farms where pigs rooted in the front yards of the unusual adobe-type homes. Arriving at Orenburg, the group was strengthened by the un- expected arrival of several young men and some influential leaders, 92 The Great Trek of the Russian Mennonites and a host of letters from home helped to dispel the gloom atten- dant to traveling in the rain. Hermann Jantzen and Cornelius Quir- ing from the Trakt and Dietrich Peters and Peter Quiring from Molot- schna arrived in camp at the same spot where the previous wagon train had stopped — midway between the city and a Cossack military post along the bank of the Ural River. They had come from St. Peters- burg, where they had just received discharges from the army in order to join the trek to Turkestan. The arrival of Elder John Wiebe and relatives of Jacob Toews, who came from the Trakt to bid them fare- well, cheered the travelers even more. The last mail had delivered scores of letters from each family of the group.'® ' Unlike the first wagon train, which had turned south at Oren- burg, this band continued eastward to Orsk by way of a good road with excellent bridges and a telegraph line running parallel to it. Haystacks dotting the countryside and fields of oats ready for har- vest made these Mennonites homesick for the Trakt. When they ar- rived at Orsk, the weather was pleasant, Kirghiz natives were very hospitable, and supplies were purchased for the long trip to Kasalinsk. A camel caravan was hired to carry supplies, including four tons of oats for the horses. Following the mail road, they arrived at Fort Karabutak near the end of September, still in “goo