evidence: They were marched to the Amur (or Heilongjiang) River, the border between the two countries. Stragglers were hacked down by axe-wielding militia or ridden down by Cossacks. At the river, raging in summer torrent, they were ordered in. When the first drowned, the others refused, and then the shooting began, until the last few survivors were forced in by a bayonet charge. It was not the only massacre. "Regarding killing the Chinese . . . you must be mad to keep asking permission each time . . . when you are ordered to kill them, then you should get on and kill them without any further discussion," the regional governor wrote.