The Portland daily press., 1881-04-19
The Nihilists.
SCENES AT THE EXECUTION.
Sketches Of the Conspirators.

secrated loaves made and sold by the monks.
When not praying he smoked cigarettes. In
the course of the day he offered his services to
the government as spy. Naturally enough
he met with a refusal, for he belonged only to
the outside circle, and could be of little use.
Jeliaboff spent his time in debating page after
page about the trial, and committing to paper
what he would not be allowed to utter in
speech. Sophy Perovsky wrote to her mother
to waste no time or trouble in assuaging the
wrath of her father for what had been done;
he would never forgive. Kibaltchitich, the
maker of the bombs and, in some respects, the
most remarkable figure among the condemned,
devoted his last hours to dqawing up memoir
on the subject of his Pacific discoveries, which
he addressed to the high court of justice. In
the document he avowed his desire that his
name should be immortalized, and he made a
gift of his inventions to the state, on the con.
dition that all the profit should go to the anne
Iteration Of the lot of the children OF political
criminals. The execution took place at 9o'clock
on Friday morning on Simonofsky Plain, the
same spot on which Molodetsky was executed.
The scaffold was a rough wooden structure.
painted black, consisting of high platform,
upon which were three posts, each with
chain and manacles, and one long horizontal
beam with iron rings for ropes supported by
two perpendicular posts. In front was low
platform for the officials. The large plain
around was covered with snow and ice, which
was melting in the warm sunshine. By
o'clock many thousand of people had collected
around the plain and swarmed in the various
streets leading to it. Ten thousand troops kept
them back and formed two squares around the.
gallows. First were the Cossacks, with
couched lanees, and then detachments of the
guard. The infantry were massed in deep col.
umns, leaving one side of the inner square op-
en- for the passage OF the condemned prisoners
and escort. The cortege entered the eastern
side of the plain few minutes before 9 Clock
having passed through some of the principal
streets on the way from the fortress. The con-
demned criminals were seated in the centre of
two wheeled platforms, tightly strapped to
iron rods, with their backs toward the horses,
and having on their breasts large cards with
the words 'Tsareoubiest' murderer of the
Czar), in black and white. Surrounding them
was strong escort of Cossacks and infantry,
with drums and flies playing lively tune, and
demped persons were dressed in black, and
wore sort of black hood, covering their heads
and shoulders. On the first tumbril sat Ry.
sokoff and. Jelaboff, both of whose features
were nearly concealed by heavy hoods. Jela-
even intensfied brliancy % and deance ct % as be
looked on the scene around him. On the
second tumbril were seated Kibaltchitich
Sophy Perovsky and Michaeloff, the woman
occupying the middle seat OF these three
the features of Sophy Perovsky were alone
distinctly visible, her extraordinarily high and
broad forehead being unshrouded by the
hood. Her slightly flushed face betokened
great mental excitment, but there was no sign
either Of fear or remorse. Gen. Becanoff, the
executioner and his four assistants were wait
unbound and led up the steps, With the ex.
ception Of Rysokoff, who seemed very feeble,
all showed remarkable firmness and resigna-
ton. Sophy Perovsky appeared the calmest Of
all the five prisoners They were then placed
in front Of the three posts, with their heads
bare, the women being in the middle. While
the clerk of the Senate read the sentences, the
civilians uncovered and the officers saluted.
During this formality, five priests in purple
caps mounted the scaffold and presented the
cross, which all the condemned reverently
kissed. The prisoners were then allowed to
kiss each other, and word or two passed be-
tween them, but the beating of the drums,
which now began and lasted until the execu-
ton was finished, drowned every other sound.
The prisoners were then placed under the
beam. Each prisoners head was covered with
q white hood, attached to a kind Of sack. Each
one, beginning with Rysokoff, was led to the
top Of small stool with steps. The rope was
drawn tight around one Of the supporting
beams and the culprit was left to strangle by
the stool being drawn from under. All re-
mained firm and imperturbable until the last
moment. Rysokof alone appeared to faint
before the stool was taken away. The formal
tiles and the execution lasted about 25 min
utes. The bodies remained hanging about 20
minutes, and were then let down into five
rongh cells filled with shavings, and were ex-
amined by the doctors They were then placed
in two carts and taken away under the escort
OF Cossacks, to be ignominiously buried in
the exception of an accident to one Of the
ropes which broke twice, the proceedings
passed off quietly and without difficulty. They
were watched in silence by fully 100000 of the
civil and military population of the capitol.
Andray Ivanovitch Jelabof, a PEASANTS
son, studied law in the Odessa University. In
1872 he was expelled for an inimical
demonstration against the arrangement Of
one of the professors. Then he entered the
ranks Of the Nihilists, among whom he was
ried the daughter Of wealthy alderman Of
Odessa. Twice he was tried for political Of
fences, but managed to escape unpunished. In
October, 1879, in company with his two COM
rades (sent to Siberia) aud Mile. Iakimoff (not
found) he went to Alexandrovsk, where
hel made a mine under the railroad and
on October tiled to blow up the imperial
train. The mine, however, did not explode on
account of the bad quality OF the conductors
used. Jelaboff was not seen again until March
II. when he was arrested in st. Petersburg. In
his possession was found large quantity Of
dynamite and other explosives. The digging
of the mine under the Malaia Sadovia (the
Little Garden street) was conducted under his
supervision, which fact he readily admitted,
as we'll as the entire arrangement of the plot
AGAINST the CZar Rut bo has n nd htadlv n
divide the fame and responsibility for that
deed with a girl.
Mile. Sophy Perovsky is the daughter of a
state councillor and the granddaughter Of a
possible education She is of small stature,
modest in appearance and neat in dress. Twice
in her life she has waved her dainty handker-
chief for the destruction OF the Czar. On De-
cember 1st, 1879, near Moscow, a train was
blown up, having been mistaken for the impe-
rial one. That was the work of Hartman and
Sophy Perovsky. Mile. Sophy has been the
soul of the Hartman party. Her tact and her
wonderful self possession repeatedly averted
the discovery of the Moscow mine while it was
in process of construction. The neighboring
women many times called on Nine. Sukhoru-
koff (the assumed name of Hartman) and in
quired all about Hartman's business. But So
ply proved herself equal to the situation. Day
by day she stood watching the approach OF ev-
cry stranger to the place where the mine was
uuuoE way, anu PuliuB ehO uuuOiS iSAouhu ooiS
thus warning the Nihilist miners to stop work.
She kept under her bed over one hundred
pounds of dynamite, and it was agreed upon
by her krujok that she should fire the dyna-
mite in case of the house being invaded by the
police. When the Moscow mine was ready,
Sophy was sent to signal the approach Of the
supposed i'm perial train. She made the sign,
and the train was blown up. Sophy and Hart
man escaped. Now it appears that it was So
ply who, on March 18th, made the sign to Rys-
akoff and his comrade to throw che bombs that
proved fatal to the late Czar.
Nicolas Ivanovitch Rysakoff (not Rusakoff)
is 20 years old. He studied in the st. Peters
burg School of Mines, where he was admitted
on the special recommendation of Count Via
zemsky, the late chief of the st. Petersburg
educational district. Rysakoff received thirty
roubles per month from scholarship founded
by wealthy lumber merchant. Rysakoff was
one of dozen Nihilists detailed with bombs to
meet the Gar, and it was his chance to throw
the first bomb.
Hesse Hoffman is an educated girl of He
brew descent 1t is supposed that it was she
and her companion, Navrotsky, (who shot and
killed himself on March 130 that in 1879 laid
the mine for the Gear on the Odessa railroad
Navrotsky at that time was employed as a
M11o xua triad for a