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

who had fled his homeland to evade the draft, had come from the The Khivan Refuge 153 Trakt with Epp and had moved in with the Jacob Toews family at Serabulak. The first Sunday of his stay, Toews found the man missing Then he discovered his best stud horse and several thousand rubles were also gone. The locked desk drawer of his living room had been forced open and the money belonging to the entire group taken. Sev- eral angry Mennonites hurried to Katakurgan where they were told Drake had been seen heading for Tashkent. In Katakurgan, they had a special prayer meeting and asked God to show Drake what he had done to their plans. After the prayer session, they decided not to follow him to Tashkent, but let God deal with him. A week later, a letter came to Toews from the repentant Drake asking forgiveness. In his reply, Toews promised that if the young man would return and explain the reason for his wicked action, he would be forgiven. Upon Drake's return, he explained the reason for his absconding before a solemn meeting at Toews’ home. He told of being refused by a girl he was courting and of joining the Epp train in his despondency. On the journey to Serabulak, he learned of the death of his mother in Germany, and his unhappiness and homesick- ness became too much to bear. When he learned of the funds Toews held in trust, he stole the money and ran away without thinking of the consequences. After selling Toews horse in Tashkent, he rented a room for the night and went to buy a railway ticket for Ger- many. Here, a mystifying incident occurred. A stranger at the station called him by name and asked where he was going. Then the stranger brazenly called him a thief and asked him to return to Sera- bulak. Drake ran to his room wondering whether he had encountered an angel or a devil. He began contemplating suicide, but instead prayed to God for pardon for his crime. Then he wrote Toews. Toews and the others, even though they knew the story included unusual embellishments, were impressed with Drake's apparent sincerity and granted him their forgiveness. Perhaps Drake’s confession would have undergone closer scrutiny if other events had not claimed their attention.’ After the Drake affair, the attention of the group turned to the journey itself. The delegation to Khiva had explored the Bukharan terrain, and considered it quite impassable for horse and wagon and even dangerous to their lives if they happened to stray from a caravan trail. Consequently, Heinrich Jantzen wrote General Dreech for advice as to the best route across that barren land. Dreech replied with the offer of an escort of soldiers to accompany them through Bukhara to 154 The Great Trek of the Russian Mennonites the Amu Darya, where they would meet boats and float downsteam. The general also agreed to obtain permission from the khan of Buk- hara. Wagons Depart from Serabulak, August 1882 With these preparations finally compl