The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1879-04-17
A Battle in a Printing Office,

A letter from st. Petersburg to the
New York Herald gives details of the de-
scent by the police of Kief upon secret
Nihilist printing Office at that place and
the fearful struggle which followed The
letter says: The policemen went in by
the way indicated for the use of the in
mates of the house, but were fired at the
moment, they made their appearance.
Seeing themselves in the midst of some
dozen resolute and armed youths the DO
licemen thought it prudent to retire, and
went to the nearest police station for re-
Inducements. The Nihilists had no time
to remove anything and did not choose
to give them over to the police cheaply.
They lost no time in getting up plan of
action and of defence against the OK
pected attack. Thirty-four policemen
returned. Some were stationed around
the house as outposts and the rest went
directly in by the gates of the yard,
which had a two-storied house on the
right hand and one on the left. All the
windows ofthe second floors, as well as
the roofs of the two houses, were occu-
pied by armed students, who welcomed
the police with a sweeping volley of
bullets. Three policemen fell dead on
the spot; the rest retired for consulta-
ton. They determined to enter the
house, intending to fall upon the Mill
lists who remained downstairs in charge
of the boo ks and the presses And
here, in Il large room, was enacted a
fearful scene. The fight became gene
ral, and the result was as follows: On
the side of the police four men received
light wounds, three were seriously in
jured and four killed on the spot. The
losses on the side of the Nihilists were,
it seems, still greater-four young girls,
students of the university, and three
students killed, while all the others
were wounded and finally arrested by
the police The police seized the print
ing press and great number of inter-
dicted books of foreign publication.
How many people were arrested in all
| do not know, as the number of DO
litical prisoners is not fully given by
the official reports.
But the affair did not end here. Sim
ultaneously two other girls and several
men were arrested in the neighborhood
Of the printing office. Then Mile.
HerZfc!d was aTTested-a daughter of n
General Herzfeld, who occupies high
position in st. Petersburg, being a
member of the State Council. The
young and renowned Countess Panin,
belonging to one of the Oldest Russian
families, was also taken. Her step
mother is reported to be still one of
the ddlleS dhonncur of tie empress,
and her great grandfather was the sec
Ond Chancellor of State in the time of
Catherine the Great. l am told that
both young ladies were taken in the
act of firing at the police with their re-
volvers. 1t is not to be wondered at
that girls of high families are found in
volved in such disturbances. The wo-
men of Russia have repeatedly taken
part in the manifestations of national
aspirations, as for instance, Martha
PosSadnizo, of Novgorod; the Princess
Sophia, Peter the Greats enterprising
sister, and Others. Russian ladies in
the olden times of domestic seclusion
could not be kept wholly from taking
an active part in popular movements,
and nowadays they take lively share
in all that concerns their husbands and
brothers, and are quite ready to sup
port them when the occasion comes.