The Benton weekly record., 1880-09-17
4 z4zs s,F,s HegsHsteN-HEOazsE
.zsEae 'a.saeEts with W EazcEs aTae, VII
zsaEzsfs saa-t. Treated.

\ shoftaecolnf. ef the celebrated ease
mates Of the Fortress Of st. Peter and St
Paul, iii which the Nilfilists. are confined
Immediately after their arrest, will,
] doubt not, be Iernseei with interest b,
your readers. The writer, st. Peters
burg correspondent, obtained access to the
easements by q special order from one o
the Grand Dukes. whose name he natural
/ " supp1esses. Tile sight Of the order
when presented was by no means .accepta
=blr to the eoninEuIei:t1it of the fortress, bu
as il was peremptorE he had 40 alternative
but to comply.
fle c.ssemates, it appears, are holloWeC
out under the NeY:l, and directly under the
ramparts. Their only window, Il LITTLE
square hole, protected by Il thick barred
grating, rises but few inches above the
IleselSof the river. \ staircase ofabout ter
steps leads down 70 them, and, rs the aid-
tle-can1p who acted as guide remarked, in !;
Iioculal tone, Many go down, but few
come up AGAIN. It would seem that the
climate is not favorable 10 reyolltionists
I At stated distances there are iron doors OPP
ening into halls filled with sentines, who,
Wit. loaded rifle and fixed bayonet, keep
watch and ward over the unhappy tenants
| Of the cells which open upon them. The
doors Of the cells, also Of iron, arc very
low.
As toi the tiny prisons, they are very
narrow quarters, square, with stone walls
and floors, and fearfuIly damp, the water
Econst;ntty dropping abo.rin all directions.
\ clair, atable, and i pallet Of white
wood form the only furniture. One of
/ the pallets was found to be covered with a
/ bed OF straw horribly foul, but even this,
poor luxury as it was. must be considered
an exception. The prisoners, the writer
learned, were fed on d soup made Of salted
cabbage and black bread; On grand occa-
E.sions, however, they We're sometimes treat
led to Il bit Of meat and q tcharka, or glass
ful Of brandy.
/ The visitor was allowed entrance to a few
/ Of the cells. Their tenants were pale they
rose as he entered, according to order, but
regarded him with a fixed look of despair.
On some Of the walls characters had been
traced with Il pointed instrument. One of
the phrases ran thus:
My poor mother. you doubtless know
that your innocent sou is buried alive in
this vault.
The guide ntelfercd and prevented the
writer from reading more. He was shown
the famous cell i'll which was inearcerated
the Princess Tarakanoya, daughter Of the
/ Empress Elizabeth, who fell Il victim to her
rival, the Empress Catherine H., grand
mother Of the present Gar. This Enhap-
py woman perislcd in the cell under the
most dramatic circumstances. The Neva,
swollen by the melted snow, suddenly rose
Eslnd the rushing torrent, dashing with oy-
#erWheIming strength against the tiny Win
dow, broke III and filled the cell with wa
ter. The princess was drowned.
The cells Of the great State criminals are
fined with mattresses, and rings Of iron are
placed in the walls, to which many Of
them are bound when they are not strait
Waistcoated. The guide informed the Wri-
ter, among other things, that these unhap-
apY= men were asked every quarter Of an
hour if they We're present. Whenever they
failed to reply, they were barbarously pun
isl1ed. He=also states that in the wall Of
the EInperoT's room there is an Invisible
door, communicating with q little pas sage,
very narrow, and leading toa subterranean
gallery, hollewed out under the Neva.
The gallery leeds to the fortress, and, in
case ola revolution or Of: imminent peril,
the Car could disappear: in d few seconds
from the Winter Palace, and in few min
utes after find himself in perfect safety in
the Fortress of St. Peter and ST. Paul, the
guns of which in a short time could reduce
st. Petersburg to ruins.
The palace of the Gar Paul l., which is
now the Engineers. School, was similarly
provided; but when the assassins entered
his room he had not time to flee, and was
struck down at the very moment when he
was about TO disappear behind the secret
door, which was already open.