Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 23, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 January 1915 — LEADS HER GIRL WARRIORS IN BOLD EXPLOITS [ARTICLE]

LEADS HER GIRL WARRIORS IN BOLD EXPLOITS

Eighteen-Year-Old Polish Maiden Wins Officer’s Rank in Austrian Army. ALONE ROUTS 50 OF FOE OMtew's Tent Plundered as He Sleeps —Saw Her Brother Executed — Collapses Only When a Retreat Is Ordered.

By HARRY HANSEN.

{Correspondent of the Chicago Dally News.) Vienna, Austria.—This is the story of Stanislawa Ordynska, Just as it has come to me, with scarce the change of a word. If it reads more like a page out of Dumas than out of the book of human * xperlence, If it seems improbable that so much that is thrilling, dramatic and adventurous should have been crowded into the soldier career of an eighteen-year-old Polish girl, then I have only to commend you humbly to Dr. Ralmund Schwarzwald, physician In charge of a temporary Red Cross hospital in the Sensengasse, who was the first to care for the little girl after her nervqus breakdown on the battlefield, near Ivangorod. And if this evidence will not suffice I beg you to inquire of the Archduchess Maria Theresia of the house of Hapsburg, now a simple, sweet voiced, Red Cross nurse, in the dainty blue and white uniform, or to lead you to the cot of the little patriot herself In the hospital of the Stadthalterei, Just a step below the Hofhurg of the sovereign. Wins Three Stars and a Bar. She is only a frail creature, this girl of eighteen years, but with dark eyes that keep asking questions of the walls and the windows and the gray, colorless morning Just beyond. On a chair beside her cot lies a gray Austrian uniform with three stars and a bar across the collar —the insignia of a “feldwebel” or sergeant as we should say in America. For that is the rank which this girl has attained in the few months of the war, and today she Is eager to don the uniform once more and to give vent to the feeling that burns like an unceasing fire in her heart —to fight for Poland against the yoke of Russia. Stanislawa Ordynska was born In Warsaw, but her father was an Austrian Pole from Lucka, near Zakopanl. He removed to Warsaw to take charge of iron works and there his spirit revolted against the methods of Russia. Trains Daughter for Fight. As a young man he sympathized with the revolutionaries of 1863, and for years he told his three sons and his one daughter that one day they would be called upon to strike a blow for Poland. "You must fight for Poland with your last drop of blood, with the last breath you draw,” he said. Much of this was vague to Stanislawa. Three years ago she joined a Polish society in Warsaw and soon she understood the deep current of international feeling and hatred that ran through the minds of the Poles. Father Sent to Siberia, i Ordynska’s feelings were not unknown to the Russians. In January of this year there was a roundup of Polish sympathizers in Warsaw, jbrdynska and his eldest son wera seized and sent as criminals to the mines of Siberia. Ordynska had just time to give 3.000 rubles each to Stanislawa and her two brCthers and ad vise them to flee. The mother deter mined to stay in Warsaw. Stanislawa and her brothers went to Cracow and immediately joined a body of 2,700 Russian Poles, among them 200 women and girls, who daily exercised in the art of arms at the Oleanderplatz. When war was declared the Poles

enrolled enthusiastically for service. Three Polish legions marched out of Cracow August 7. .Among them were 36 young women, Including Stanislawa, who had volunteered for reconnoiterlng and patrol duty. In spite of the fact that, they were fully aware of the terrible fate that might be thblrs should they be caught by the Russian soldiers. Every girl carried a saber and a revolver, and in each saddle bag was the costume of a peasant woman. Under Fire in Regular Army. At Mnfechow the girls came for the first time under fire; they pushed forward bravely with the legions. At Kielce their experience was repeated Here they became a part of the army of Dankl and took the oath of allegiance to the emperor and the flag of Austria.

They were detailed to accompany the command of Field Marshal Lieutenant Durski. For days they had a share In the fight waging at Kielce, and when the Austrians pushed the Russians back step by step until the enemy was forced to evacuate Its position a feverish enthusiasm seized the little soldier girls. *‘l threw myself down on the earth and tried to embrace it with my arms and kissed the dear, old fatherland again and again," said Stanislawa. Saw Brother Executsd. Then she suddenly became grave. '■That night I crept up close to the Russian lines,” she said. “They were executing prisoners on all sorts of pretexts. I saw my brother there. I saw him fall. I wanted to cry out, but something choked me. I ran back thinking of what my father used to Ray: Don’t hesitate! Don’t waver! Don’t give up! Fight on for Poland!” At Jendrzejow Stanislawa received her first star for effective work as a scout. Riding out over swampy land, she was able to make a valuable report on the condition of roads to her commander.

Second Star for Daring Act; She won her second start at Fotmalgoszcze. This time it was for a much more arduous and' dangerous exploit. The commander asked Stanislawa to discover the whereabouts of the Russians and to signal their position by means of an electric Stanislawa took twelve young women scouts with her and rode out into the night. Proceeding as far as they dared on horseback, the girls dismounted and pressed forward on foot. Soon they had located a large group of tents. Everything was quiet, so Stanislawa and several other daring girls determined to inspect the tents at closer range. .They crept forward on their hands and knees and frequently lay full length on the ground. As they neared the tents they heard snoring. Soon they espied what they believed to be an officer's tent, set apart from the rest. The girls crept onward. They came so close that they could distinctly hear the heavy breathing of three men within the tent. Softly Stanislawa lifted the canvas, inch by inch, then signaled to her companions and crawled into the tent. Three men lay stretched out on a carpet. Several swords and a carbine lay beside them. Stanislawa took the carbine. Then she stealthily unfastened a map from the coat of one of the men. She found other papers, and a general 5 staff map. With these in her possession she retired and- crept back as stealthily as she had come. With the other girls she made her way back to the horses. Within an hour the Austrian soldiers fell upon the camp and annihilated it. Woman's Dress Comes In Handy. At Malgoscsze Stanislawa won her third star —and hter exploit was more daring than any that ’ ad gone before. While out scouting she and twelve other girls lost their way in the swampy region and found themselves in danger of being surrounded by Russians. Stanislawa hastily led the girls to the heart of the e.wamp. r.egioik- Thensjieput on her peasant dress and went on foot to discover a safe road out. For several hours the-girl acted as if she were gathering mushrooms. She

met crowds of Russian soldiers and exchanged pleasantries. Then she crept back with her apron full of mushrooms and a good knowledge of the road. The girls waited until dusk, then led their horses out of the swamp and soon found their way back to their command. For nine days and nights Stanislawa and the girl scouts participated in the march on Ivangorod. During this time they could not remove their heavy boots. Half the time they were compelled to live on carrots, turnips and uncooked potatoes. One day Stanislawa rode forward alone. Pressing into new country, she left the legions far behind. Suddenly she heard hoofbeats and her practiced ear recognized the approach of a troop of cavalry. She hastily pushed into a clump of shrubbery, crawled around a bend in the road and peered out. Fully fifty Russians on horseback were coming toward her. She looked quickly to the right and left. To remain hidden now might mean discovery later; to flee would mean pursuit. “I remember my mother had told me to pray to the virgin when in dire r need,” said Stanislawa. “So I appealed to her with our old Polish prayer: ‘0 mother of God, I come to you; protect your child.’ “Then I took my signal whistle In one hand and my revolver in the other. When they got fairly near I shot off my revolver and blew my whistle furiously. My bullets hit three horses;, they reared and threw their riders; the others, fetfrlng an ambush, turned and galloped down the road.”

Stanislawa called on the three men to throw down their arms. One by one she collected the weapons and keeping the soldiers covered placed all three on her horse and forced them forward in the direction of the Austrian camp. When she arrived she fell ih a dead faint. Upon recovering consciousness she found that the little bar which made her. a “feldwebel” had been added to the three stars on her coat collar. Two days later, while on a reconnoitering expedition, she was accosted by a courier. "Back at once; the right wing is in retreat!” cried the courier. “Retreat?” she exclaimed. “When half of Poland is ours? Why retreat?” "That’s none of my business,” said the courier. "We are ordered back, that’s all.” Stanislawa refused to believe the news. She sent her horse across the plains to the left wing. This also was in retreat. She felt her beloved Poland being given over to the enemy. The thought overwhelmed her and her nerves gave way. She was taken to the rear and conveyed to Cracow and finally to Vienna for a good rest. “I’ll be better soon,” says Stanislawa. “I must get better, so that I can be with our troops when they march into Warsaw!”