Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1865-01-13
A LONG AGONY.


.al a LONG AGONY.
On the 23l of August, 1850, between five
and six O'Clock in the morning, some peas
ants in going to their work near - il
Russia, discovered the hleless body Of Isaac
Narga lying at the entrance to n footpatt
branching from the high road Filled witt
terror at the discovery, they FASTENED TO the
starost to tell him OF what they had seen
and the official returned with them to the
spot to draw up an account Of the circum
stances Of the murder, Oor it was evident
there had been a murtter,) for transmission
to the higher authorities.
Isaac farga was the balif or land stew
ard of a Russian noble--not very rich ore
for the total number OF tho male serfs on the
estate did not exceed seventy. lie had made
himself obnoxious TO these Icy his excessive
harshncss during several years, and it seem
cd that the feeling Of hatred toward him haG
grown and strengthened till il culminatvd IL
his murdcr. As soon as the starost could
disw up a report Of what had happened, h,
sent it to the nearest magistrate, who at once
instituted an inquest in order to ascertain
the perpetrators. Every iuhabitant of th,
village, old aud young, was examined but nc
evidence whatever could be obtained, Though
il was all but certain that the murderer o,
murderers was or were included among theil
number. The announcement Of what had
taken place reached in due course, the pro
prieor Of the estate at st. Petersburg who
with the least possible delay, sent another
baililf to take the place OF the deceased -
The man whom he selected loi The post wa,
a stern, almost savage looking man, and hi,
character was in harmony with bis countc
nance indeed, il may be presumed that thi,
was one iuduccment for his selection. Or
his arr ival in the village he assembled the
ssris, and in the presence Of the starost he
notified to th,m the fact that he was the
representative Of their owner
kccnly as he scrutinized the faces OF the
slaves, for in point of fact they were at tha,
time nothing better. he could detect nothing
like expressions in their sto.id c0untenauCGs
neither HIKING nor hatred, nothing but ,
blank, meaningless mask, from which hung
mass of tangled hair. Perhaps the new
steward thought that the best way Of pre-
serving himself from the fate Of his prcdo
ceSsor was to act with greater severity; OF
he was Influenced by the same feeling which
induced a captain in the navy to say that cv
cry man in it owed him a pint Of blood, be
cause the crew OF one ship, commanded by
his brother, had mutlnied and thrown him
into the copper. From The evidence that was
obtained subsequently, it was abundantly
proved that hc was not only severe, but even
brutal in his treatment of the scrfs. lie was
never seen cut of doors without a whip IL
I,fg h,,l ~ tsl in l,,cifn fnt, III
" on the persons Of both male aud female
Not word of remonstrance did these offer
they knew that to do so would only hin.
on them additional brutali,ics nevertheless
.h2 starost of the village, a fnnctionary tha
the scrfs themselves elect, with whom h,
sometimes spent the evening, gave him al
indirect warning Of what might happen tC
him if he did not adopt 4 different course
10y telling him Of an occurrence which haC
happened in the naighboYhool not long DO
fore his arrival, and a. the truth Of the mar
ratiTe is indispntab'c, relate il here tt
show that, long suffering as the Russar
peasant is, he may be goaded into taking
frghuul vengeance.
The relation Of the starost was as fol
lows: -.
Count Pierre Stelschkine, Russian noble
had wife and three children, two boys o
thirteen and ii'tecn years Of age, and tn,
third an infant. His treatment Of his scrf.
was the subject Of conversation throughou
the province, among the MOBILES as well n.
other classes. lie systematically diSrcgardeC
their rights, and whenever lie required theI
services, he exacted them as though thsi
whole time was bis own. Nor was this th'
only thing of which they had to complain
he was cxtortIonate as well as oppressive
and cruel bcsides. Our cUuntrymcn, as OF
well know, will bear great deal under tht
influence Of the fear of beng sent to serv,
in the army, or in verse place, 50 tina
Stalscbkine heard no m,irmurs, and perhap
had no idea Of the Intense hatred towarC
himself which his tyranny had engendered
Among the seris on his estate we're three wh'
were noted for their ierocI;y, and these or
ganIz2d conspiracy among the others. On
night they met al Stalschkine's house bring
ing with them bundles Of straw and faggots
which they heapcd up against the door ant
windows, and then set il on fire.
The Count was soon awoke by the flames
and jumped ont Of the window, followed by
his sons. The Count was cut down with al
NAc, diit tIilOHll Ddth iiitO iliS HOHst, hiIu bi
innocent children tossed into the flames. II
the meantime the countess had been let dow
from the window at the back Of the hous
by the nurse, and her infant child after her
after which the nurse let herself down.
They thea went to the end Of an orchart
and sheltered themselves under a wall. Tn
night was intensely cold, and while shiver
ing here the countess heard several piercing
shrieks. She asked the nurse what il was
but the latter told her to keep qnet and no
speak word. Presently they saw a gigan
tic figure approaching, upon which the nurs
| snatched the infant from her mistress arm
and ran away tits probable the COUNTIES
had no suspicion Of evil, but the wretch VIII
| drew near and took her in his arms had n
mercy. He carried her back TO the house
and there, in the presence of the villagers
ard without one Of them daring to interfere
he threw her Into the fire, and faggots wcr
heapea upon her TO prcven. her From raog
ing.
But if Isaac Vargas fate did not deter th
new steward from following in his steps,
was not likely that a statement Of what lfa
happened at a distance would DO so, nor di
| il. So far from being molified by the suL
mis- siveness of the wretched scrfs, this onl
seemed to encourage him to deeds Of create
violence. But experience has shown that
community Of individuals, whether Few 0
many, when once II has taken upon itself
ayenge its wrongs, acts with less and les
reluctance on every succeeding OCCASION.
wax so IN this inslsnra. tho saua pnrsou