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

ence if they con- tinued to follow Epp.* Before they could make any further plans, an opposing faction of ten families withdrew completely from the group and crossed the border to settle illegally at Ebenezer on April 21, 1882. They believed the end of the world was imminent, and while their action was against Bukharan law, it was not against the 125 Between Khan and Czar No-Man’s-Land Anna Toews (nee Wiebe) and her mother about 1875. 126 The Great Trek of the Russian Mennonites “higher law” of God, who was sending His Son soon to receive them.” This small group of radicals referred to themselves as ‘‘the elect” or “‘the righteous,’ and they decided they could have no more to do with a sinful world, including their former brethren. No ordained minister was with them, and so they placed great emphasis on the priesthood of all believers; weddings were no longer encour- aged because in the kingdom of God there is no need for them; com- munion was held every Sunday because the end was at hand and communion between God and His faithful, they argued, was absolutely necessary. Young Men Drafted The day this small group left for Ebenezer a notice came from Samarkand that since Mennonites were living on Russian soil, young Jacob Jantzen, who remained in Serabulak, and Cornelius Quiring, the other possible draftee, who was with the ten families at Ebenezer, were to be drafted. Learning of this notice, the families that had arrived at Ebenezer called this coincidence a “‘sign from God.”” They were glad they had left and vowed not to return.*° Jantzen, now the lone draftee within the reach of the Russians, sadly went to Katakurgan to the conscription authorities. Here he learned he would have to go to Samarkand to be formally tested and inducted. For this trip it was decided that two of the brethren would accompany him as moral support. When they arrived at Samarkand, they learned from officials that they must go all the way to Tashkent and see the governor-general himself if they desired to petition for exemption. No guard accompanied them, and Jantzen was on his own honor. After they made this arduous journey, a physician of the governor-general ruled that Jantzen had very bad eyes; instead of military service he was ordered merely to undergo four months’ treatment in the Tash- kent army hospital, after which he would be given a certificate of dismissal from the service!?’ Even though there was joy among the Mennonites because of Jantzen’s apparent good fortune with the military, there was growing fear about what the group would ultimately decide to do. Since they could not gain the khan’s permission to stay in Bukhara, and they could not return to Russia, what were they going to do? Further- more, they knew the millennialist brethren still in European Russia ‘BWWOTIp 1194} U9}zY SIay sdeysod pue syuel tay} [Jams UOOS pynom puke ueYy} UIof 0} BurWIOD aIaM ‘seadde pjnom jsuyd UeYyM Mo