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

the bek, however, they brought the dreadful news that on the following day 2,000 soldiers would come and shoot all the “‘impertinent’’> members of the wagon train! Later that day, however, they received word that the bek had decided on a more merciful course: the Mennonites would merely be bound hand and foot and sent as prisoners to Samarkand. The little band of pilgrims waited for the inevitable punishment and tribula- tion. But as the days passed, no one came to harm them." Ebenezer: A Refuge The Mennonites believed they were on the neutral ground of the lease agreement, which lay only eight miles from Serabulak. Despite the uncertainty of their position, they had to make provision for the coming winter. They meticulously laid out a village site and began constructing sod houses on a high steppe they named Ebenezer.'® While the construction was proceeding, however, many in the group became ill with the same massive diarrhea that they had contacted in Tashkent. Jacob Toews’ wife, J. K. Penner’s mother, and Martin Klaassen were the most critically ill.'* On November 24, the beloved Martin Klaassen died. But the distraught emigrants were not even given time to bury their dead. The sorrow and mourning for Klaassen were interrupted by the sound of hoofbeats. A detachment of Bukharan soldiers arrived with another order from the khan demanding that the Mennonites leave his country and return to Serabulak. He cared nothing for the Samarkand lease agreement nor for the promises of his subor- No-Man 's-Land: Between Khan and Czar 12] fee “ 5 us Preacher Jacob Toews and his wife. He later served as minister at First Mennonite Church, Newton, Kansas. dinate, the bek. The soldiers had brought 100 native carts to assist the families with their belongings. Victims of so many conflicting promises and orders, the leaders of the settlement stalled for time. Hermann Jantzen, the chosen mayor of Ebenezer, did his best to 122 The Great Trek of the Russian Mennonites entertain the soldiers, and for two days the khan’s troops ate with the Mennonites, camped on their street, and allowed their horses to eat their feed. In the meantime, Jantzen and others tried to reason with the commander. They must be allowed to remain at Ebenezer until spring because of their sick children, the coming winter, and their lack of food. The only concession allowed by the commander, however, was permission for four men to petition the local bek, who in turn would contact the khan. But the bek was inflexible. The pe- titioners were returned to the camp with their hands tied and under guard. Shortly thereafter, the bek himself arrived and ordered that the dwellings be destroyed and the village obliterated. The khan’s orders must be followed to the letter. Driven from Ebenezer While some soldiers laboriously dammed the village water supply, others began tearing down the sod dwellings. The glass windows, which Mennonite