Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1873-08-02
kBIyAN CAPTIVES.
The Story OF a Captured Russian.

1he following extract from letter to
the New York Herald details an inter-
view with released Russian:
In 1869, in the early spring, we were
at Ak-Djulpas, post station on the Aral
Sea, north of fort No. /, in order to fur
nish the beef to the soldiers. A small
post had been established there, and my
father and latter his DEATH 1 had a con.
posts in this district with beef At this
time there was great deal of dissatis-
faction among the Kirgheezes, for the
Government was establishing some new
regulations, and among other things
made the taxes three roubles on a kibit-
la, instead of one roublc and a half, as
it was before These Kirgheezes had been
worked on by men sent from Khiva, and
were very discontented, and when finally
they rebelled against our government,
they asked aid from the Khan.
The Khan sent word he would
send them an army, but that first they
must deliver up all Russians who were in
the county. Somebody gave information
that we were at Ak-Djulpas, and the
Kirgheez chief was ordered to bring us
to khiva. We had been there about
three weeks, for we dared not GO farther
south, and we were trading in small
wares with the Kirgheezes. Besides my
self and this young fellow, Zotoff, there
was another man who was sent back to
Russia year ago. Well the Kirgheezes
came on us in great number and took
us. The tw1 Cossacks who " ere at the
station ran away aud got off, but after
ward Colone. Rakim was killed there.
We were put on horseback and had to
travel night and day for four or five days
around the west end of the Aral Sea.
The Kirgheezes treated US well enough,
as they wanted to bring us in alive; but
we had very little water, and were al
most starved. We were all worn ont
with riding SO far. When we got there
we We're put up tor sale, and many peo-
pie came and looked at MS, and felt of US
TO see FIVE were strong. Finally the Khan
himself sent and bought us for $50 tillas
apiece, or about 500 roubles We were
then sent to one of the summer palaces
of the Khan, and set to work in the gar
dens. There we found several other
Russians; some as gardeners, others as
carpenters, and doing what they were
best fit for. At the beginning they
shaved our heads and cut off our mus
taches, and wanted to force us to become
Mohamedans. Bat finally the Kahn said
we ought to do as we chose, and need
not be forced, so after that we were left
in peace.
The Khan himself is young man, %
years old, very mild and good natured,
but he is very weak, aud controlled by
an Afghan, who makes him do very bad
things. The government is very bad and
despotic. and il the Khan had his own
way he would have released us long ago.
He often used to walk in the garden, and
sometimes talked to us pleasantly. He
does almost nothing, and rarely goes
hunting, but amuses himself with his
wives and dancing boys. We were not
very badly treated, except at first, and
often went into the city and to the ba-
Ear. We had the same food as the Per.
sian slaves, and in general lived much
as they did. | should think there were
$4,000 Persian slaves there. We dressed
like the lest of the people, and no one
ever troubled us when we went out. Of
course If we had tried to run away We
would have been hung at once. But if
we could manage to save money 1t was
possible TO buy ourselves; that is, we
must buy another slave to take our place,
and then we could be free, but we never
could leave the country. There were
some Russians there who had been there
for a great length of time. Some
had become Mohammedans and had mar
ried several wives, and there was one
old Russian who had been taken on Per
ofsky's expedition, Many Of these Raa.
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