The Osceola times., 1881-05-07
VICTIM OF A GAR.
Fourteen Years without Light-Covered
with Hair and Bent Double by Tor
New York Mercury.

ENtN ibih htiNuis.
While the world is thrilled with the
details of the assassination of Alexander
of Russia, one of the 100000 victims of
Russian tyranny has been living in pow
erty in this city, presenting in his own
person wonderful and pitiful spectacle.
This man, whose name is Rudolph Ivan
owsky, is almost bent double though
still comparative young man, and his
body, from head to foot, is completely
covered by growth of thick hair. His
eye is still bright, and his face is that of
an energetic man. For fourteen years
Rudolph Ivanowsky never stood upright
or lay down at full length, but worked
crouching, and slept cramped. in the gold
mines of Siberia, many hundreds of feet
underground. And for fourteen years he
worked and slept completely naked
which fact, combined with the warm
dampness of the great depth of the earth
in which he lived, accounts for the phe
nomenon of the hairy growth, which
makes him marvel to his more for
tunate fellow-men. Rudolph Ivanowsky
subsid IS at present with wife and five
children in a small room at No. Is Gin
ton street. There the family eat and sleep.
the head of the family himself receiving
So week from museum as SHOW"
Yet he was of gentle birth, and received
a liberal education, and the only "crime"
of which he has ever been accused was
the being one of forty-two men.
most students, who formed debating
club in Poland in 1868 and talked of
"liberty and independence" lie was
born in Wan in Warsaw, his father be-
ing analogous to what in England is "a
gentleman farmer" or Squire, owning a
considerable property, while his mother
was the only daughter of one of the
same class. He was educated at the
University of Warsaw and studied med
icine. One day he and group of stu
dents, professors and priests. drilted into
discussion on history, and the charac-
ter of Brutus was freely commented upon
and admired. In the course of the dis
cussion some remarks were made regard
ing Alexander ii. of Russia OF rather
uncomplmentary character. One of the
students listening TO this discussion was
relative of high Russian official, to
whom he reported the conversation.
One by one the participants in this dis
cussion were arrested and were imprison-
ed in the Citadel on the Weiksel river at
Warsaw In this citadel there is sub
terranean prison in which this Rudolph
Ivanowsky was buried-literaly "buri-
ed" He was placed in an opening in the
ground about his own height, into which
light and air were admitted through
slit guarded by Il sliding iron lid. Twice
a day through this openining a bayonet
was thrust, and some black bread was
forced down his throat. The opening in
the ground being only large enough to
admit his body, being in fact nothing
more nor less than an earthen coffin or
grave, only placed in an upright instead
of the usual horizontal position, did not
admit his using his arms, which hung
cramped and useless at his sides. Twice
day water was poured down his throat,
and that was all. The rest of the long,
weary twenty-four hours he passed in
almost perfect darkness and when he
slept he fell asleep standing up; for of
course he could not move or lay down.
In this living grave he remained some
weeks-it may be months; he lost all
note of time. Then he was taken ont
one day, his ankles ami wrists were
chained toge her, and thus doubled up
he was dumped into a big black box,
perforated with holes and carted of 10
Moscow. Here he was placed in a sec
ond earthen coffin, a little larger than
the first, and remained there till he was
sent, with drove of some six hundred
other unfortunates to Siberia. lie re-
garded himself as lucky" in being al
lowed to live to reach Siberia, several Of
his fellow students having already died
from their suiierings, or having been
put out of the way" by being drowned
in the river Welksel, which flows under
the earth-coins of Warsaw. No record
is ever made Of these cases of drowning;
it is merely reported in the official
newspapers, that so and so, the victim,
has "absconded" to Paris, America, or
elsewhere. Their very families never
know their fate. Rudolph Ivanowsky
was chained to another Pole; two Poles
were chained on each side Of this chain,
and thus the four victims walked four
thousand miles, in the snow, at the rate
of about twenty miles a day, being
whipped by the mounted Cossacks ifthey
showed any signs of fatigue. Finally he
reached his destination at Toboisk,
where h. was stripped naked, taken down
a thouss nd feet or so into the earth, and
for fourteen years he worked harder than
galley slave in the gold mines OF ST.
IBERIA, for fourteen years he worked seven
days in the week, and twelve hours to the
day, the name-day of the Gar being the
only holiday allowed him out of the $50.
He was fed twice day on black bread,
water, kapusta, (cabbage) and karska
(barley.) He was not allowed to speak
word, underline penalty of being whipped
by the Cossacks in charge tand some Of
his fellow laborers were whipped TO death
before his eyes, For fourteen years he
never saw any other light than that of
the mine lamp, and the only change
from the working mines was the sleep.
ing Mines" where, in utter darkness,
damp and dirt. he slept as best az he
could, and suffered all the time.
At last, in 1877, on the feast of the
name day of the Car, the only holiday
in the whole year. Rudolph Ivanowsky
escaped. On this dav the Cossacks all
got drunk in honor of the Little Faith
err" and taking advantage Of the confu-
sion, he and several of his companions
fed Disgusting themselves in the gar
ments of the drunken Cossacks. For
eight months the fngitives walked all
night and hid all day till they reached
China. Here they fell into the hands of
compassionate missionaries, who gave
them the means of reaching Gibraltar.
From Gibraltar he came to Paris, and
from Paris he sailed for New York,
where to-day this educated Polish gem
tleman, with the wife that remained
faithful to him although she knew not
whether he was living or dead, and
raised her family under infinite difficult
II.