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

in Khiva. Some of those receiving letters did not yet believe, they knew, but they would in due time because the last days were drawing near.‘ The Mennonites of Serabulak then turned their attention to more The Khivan Refuge 15] ; * > ee a rs as sata Heinrich H. Wiebe in Turkestan — brother of Anna immediate problems at home. Ten families still lingered at Ebenezer, harassed by Bukharan officials but persistent in their refusal to go with the rest of the group. Also, young Jacob Jantzen was still in 152 The Great Trek of the Russian Mennonites Tashkent, and the group did not want to leave him behind. Then, two miracles occurred. They were informed by a letter that Jantzen was now free and was planning to join them in their migration to Khiva.> About the same time the ten delinquent families were brought back to Serabulak by Bukharan soldiers who were ordered to send them on to Khiva with the rest. The ten families explained that they had stubbornly remained at Ebenezer only because they feared that Cornelius Quiring would be drafted if they touched Russian soil. Though encouraged by the news concerning Jantzen and the generous Khivan offer, they still had difficulty in arriving at a defi- nite decision.® For the ten families were not of one accord. Hermann Bartsch, one of the men of the group, stated firmly that he could agree neither with the Khiva plans nor the theology of Claas Epp. He and his family then abruptly left for Tashkent. Another man and his family said they could not undertake still another journey and decided to re- main in Serabulak. The remaining eight families still regarded Epp ‘‘a wolf in sheep's clothing,” but were urged by friends and relatives to moderate their attitudes lest they show themselves more radical and uncompromising than Epp himself. Meanwhile Epp made it plain to these recalcitrant brethren that they must ask forgiveness for their stubborn pride or God’s judgment would come upon them. Here Epp was put into the unusual situation of trying to persuade a group to compromise and moderate their views because they had followed his teachings literally! Mennonites in other communities were amused at this strange turn of events and even more amazed when Epp suc- ceeded in convincing them to moderate their attitudes. The B. Janzen family and the seven others finally decided to follow Epp to Khiva. They sincerely hoped, however, that this would definitely be their final journey and warned their leader that he had better be right this time.’ The Johann Drake Affair While these events were transpiring, Jacob Toews was busily collecting money to support the entire group en route to Khiva. Toews was to act as a central receiving agent, and the people were to help each other through him rather than on an individual basis. However, these diligent preparations were temporarily interrupted by an unusual turn of events. Johann Drake, a lanky young German