Page 109 - The Legacy of Abraham Rothstein - text

Recruitment
No matter how brave a fellow tried to be, he would feel like he
was standing in the shadow of the gallows. Quite a few Jewish boys
had come from Pelcovizna to the recruiting with their brothers and
other relatives. Everyone felt badly, and sympathetic too, and the best
one could do when his heart was full and his eyes swollen with tears
was to take a drink of vodka. After another and another drink with
this and that fellow, one loses his senses and does not feel the bitter
grief, especially one who can’t take more than one drink, and that
included me, the very gloomy host. My friends took the trouble to
keep up my spirits and filled me up with vodka, more than my
constitution could stand.
My father and mother were dejected. They sent my younger
friends home so they would not suffer from the sight of me, and then
my parents went home alone. The bunch of older boys got me in
with their gang in a brichka and we started for home. I was then in the
“lion” stage of intoxication, feeling as mean as my stomach did from
that alcohol, and I remember everything that happened on that trip in
the wagon. I cursed the police, the czar and his family, and the whole
army. We had to travel through the whole city of Warsaw to get to
Pelcovizna, and every policeman at a crossing was met by my curses.
I carried an old pocket knife with a white bone handle, and I waved it
at the police and threatened them, but everybody knew how in the
recruiting season the recruits take to drink and carry on out of disgust
and disappointment, so the police did not take it seriously. I did,
however, become vicious to the point of running after a Polack and
trying to stab him; one strong-armed man on the wagon ran after me
and carried me back. It was close to twilight, and I was wet with
muddy shoes when we reached the house. I was sobering up, but
could hardly walk. Talking and cursing—but not looking at
anybody—I went into the house, fell on the bed in my overcoat and
boots, and fell asleep.
The ten days between the drawing of the numbers and the
physical examination were the gloomiest in our house. There was no
escape from the service except by crippling myself, but I was in a
rebellious mood. I rejected all suggestions made by my father and his
confidant Yosel Yakirs to have myself crippled, by rupture, or
contract yellow jaundice. I did go with my father and Yakirs several

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