The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1881-08-03
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falls directly upon the working classes 1t is
| struggle between them and the government
you see. Therefore, to gain liberty you must
practically annihilate the governm ent"
Are means still used to make the people
ripe for revolt?"
1--WE are endeavoring all the time to educate
them Dy means OF pamphlets, treatises and
| other documents. The party that has this
| work in hand is much greater than the ex-
tremlstS or terroriSts- 1t is my purpose to pub
lish soon in this country secret government doc
| mentS showing the difference between the laws
| OF Russia and the actual administration of them
| Here is an example: Certain laws were made
concerning public schools, but the minister Of
public instruction sent out secret circulars
that directly prevented the laws from being
In lconclusion Hartmann said he wished
everybody to understand that he did not in
TEND TO organize any Socialistic or Nihilstic
party in this country. All he desired to ac-
compiish was to make known the condition Of
the people in Russia in the hope of enlisting
intelligent sympathy. While this was his
plan In general, he had not, as yet, arranged
the details. Meetings would be held in this
city aud other parts of the country, and he in
tended to publish number of articles His
stay here, no said, he did not think would be
long.
HARTMANN's DESCRIPTION OF THE PLOT TO
BLOW UP THE czAR.
The New York Herald prints long letter
purporting to come from Hartman sgiving
some description of his dangerous enterprises
in Russia. large part of it is devoted to the
mine under the railroad track by which the
Gar was to travel. In the course of his nara
tive he says:
"Sophie Perovsky did not show the least
sign of lasstude or suffering, but she was
growing daily thinner. and what she suf-
fered you could see in her eyes, though her lips
never uttered one word OF complaint With
almost superhuman efforts we succeeded in ad-
vancing seven feet in three days The end Of
the shaft was already near the first pair of
rails; we had yet 20 dig fifteen feet. But here
the trains passing overhead, by the commotion
they occasioned, rendered all further advances
impossible. We resolved therefore, to pierce
the last fifteen feet with a large steel bore
which bought in the city. 1t would be vain
to attempt to describe the efforts we made the
last days of our work. Nothing seemed now
impossible to us. The shaft was now barely
large enough for a man to crawl into it on his
stomach or on his back. And it is thus we
worked, lying at full length in the icy water,
crawling over each other like serpents, think
ing no longer of the constant danger which
threatened us of being buried alive-the last
part of the shaft not being roofed-and bent
only on Ou6 purpose, TO 0nlSn the mine III time
for the passage of our deadly foe.
At length we found ourselves under the
track. For assuring the success of the explos-
ion it was, strictly speaking, necessary to dig
out seven feet more, but our time and our
strength both failed us. We had to risk the
matter as it was. AT this stage Of our work
the lower story OF the house was naturally in a
state of great disorder. Heaps of earth shoy-
elled out of the mine, spades, axes, lanterns,
boards, large rolls of rope, all these were lying
qhOnt m a mr. enc fao1 ..x.Is4
have betrayed the truth to any one who looked
in. In order not to excite suspicionlwe had
not closed the shutters of the windows on the
first story, which, as have mentioned, was on
level with the street. The danger was great
and constant, but we had to risk it. To close
the windows would have been still worse. We
had even now some trouble in appeasing the
curiosity of our neighbors, who were anxious
to know for what purpo-3 we wanted such an
immense quantity of boards. This crcum-
stance nearly betrayed us ALL One night after
work locked the door leading from the
lower story into the upper. The lock was
however, fs it turned out afterward, spoiled;
the key turned in its socket without locking.
After rising the next morning went out into
the yard about o'clock. My comrades were
busily at work in the pit, and nobody had seen
our former lodger, a watchman of the very
section OF the railway which we had under
lower story of the house. Entering the latter
L found the man standing before the entrance
OF the pit, his eyes wide open in astonishment,
looking at the strange scenery about him.
"Ah, it's you! he said when he saw me. Not
finding you in the sitting room 1 came here,
finding the door open. Excuse me; hope
there is no harm in my being here.?"
None at all 7 l answered, and invited the
man to come up and have drop of vodka with
me- Little by little drew out of him what he
thought of what he had seen. Happily for us
(and for him, too, poor mani, his idea of the
mine was comparatively very innocent one.
He evidently took me for receiver of stolen
goods, Immediately confided to me that he Yves
in the habit of stealing wood and bricks, and
was very glad when consented to store them
for him. Thus this the last danger was hap
PLY overcome. The rest of the work was easy
enough.
copper cylinder, seventy feet long and oae-half
foot in diameter, with dynamite. Though I
had got used to dynamit) at our factory in st.
Petersburg, still now was unable to bear with
violent headaches, giddidees, sickness and
nausea. bore up as long as could, but at
o'clock in the morning I became insensible,
fell to the ground and WIS carried off to bed.
Sophie Perovsky alone bore all to the end and
worked all night until the whole cylinder wss
properly filleo with dynamite. The next day
we placed the cylinders into the shaft at its
furthest end, armed them with capsules, wires
were fastened'to each mine, the other ends of
which communicated with a spiral Rumkorff
we had hidden in a large trunk full of linen
and clothes in Perovsky's bedroom.
"The Inorning of the eventful day dawned.
The two who were to accomplish the explosion
were alone in the house. They were Sophie
Perovsky and another. The former had to OBJ
serve the approach of the imperial train and
to give the signal for closing the chain. The
latter was posted in the barn near the commu-
tator, and had to close the galvanic chain on
hearing the signal.
Who was that other one? The Russian
government does not know who he was, and 1
do snot consider it expedient to dispel its
ignorance. Moreover, fully expect to return
to Russia some time, probably soon. L may
then fall into the hands of the CZars police
Though doubt it) and should prefer, there
fore, at present, to be reticent on this one
point. The moment of the explosion has
come. The train speeds along the line. The
signal is given, the chain locked, and at the
column of earth rises over the bed of the rail
road, two cars are lifted into the air and are
thrown with terrible violence into the field be-
low. In moment all is confusion. People
run out of the houses, shouts OF terror. hysteric
Sobbing of the women hll the street, policemen
are speeding from all sides to the spot. The
whole district seems to be in craze of fright.
In the meantime Sophie Perovsky and the
somebody cross the yard to its furthest end,
pass through an opening in the railing, which
has been prepared beforehand, into the neigh
boring yard, then through the doorway into
street situated on the side of the houses op-
poste to the railroad and saunter off quietly
into the city, where they enter safe place OF
concealment.
When the police entered Sukhovukoff's
house they found burning candle on the
table, two empty wine bottles and eight
glasses, and large black cat mewing in
corner of the room. The fire in the stove was
still burning. Everywhere the signs of life
but life itself was gone. On the same day
Sophie Perovsky and her companion left
Moscow for St. Petersburg by the night ex-
failure of their enterprise The Gar had
been more cunning than they He had
changed trains a few mill before he reached
Moscow, and this had saved him-for the time.
Planets in August.