The Worthington advance., 1882-03-23
A DESPOT'S CRUELTY.

A DESPOTS CRUELTY.
Siberian Horrors and the Transit Cnfortuate
to tho Russian Country Of the Wretchesi--
Human Cattle Train--Tlie Chain Gang
OH Foot-Horrors Of the Prison Pen-DuIn-
ty Women Chained to Human Rrutes-In
the Mines.
The New York HeJallgive another mar
rative from n nihilist now in this country,
relating the horrors Of the political prison
ers' fate. In the course of the narrative he
says:
when the transportation is by rail the
men and women are collected in the rail
way yards like beasts, and are driven into
the cars, one car ut Il time, till each is full
to repletion, when it is locked and barred
These Cars are sort Of railway cattle Uag.
on; the lnrger proportion Of the conv!cts
stand up in them ns You s.-. cattle slowed
in cars on the arrival OF stock trdins. Around
the interior of the cars three or four rough
boards are nailed, Gu which fow Of them
can sit down. If the Ill: jority Of prisoners
are OF q better class they urrtlaGt some sys.
tenn to relieve each other and tho women
from standing, but as all the vile criminal
classes nce herted with these political of
tenders, the weakest 20 to the wall, and ii
fight and scramble is going op among the
v1iest for the coveted resting places. Even
though we Of the better class did all We could
for the women, many were forced to stand
til! they dropped down from exhaustion on
The floor OF tho uIeas5, jo!tlng, rattling
cattle train, so inadequate vas the
seats. There were no arrangements for
privacy jn responding TO the demands Of
nature, and rs Il result the refined Inen and
women were driven 10 the most terrible
suffering before they were compelled: to
sacrifice na.11rtl modes!v to physical ago.
ny inflicted on them by IMPERIAL shame
iessness. I have Seen the women huddIetl
N q circle III one corner, in the light,
screening ir turn By their dresses. some Of
their number, and the more retned men
distractiny the attention of coarse creatures
present who would otherwise have uttered
vile remarks on the awful scene. But you
can imagine what was endured before such
mortihcation was submitted to by these
wOnrn, ulany Of them noble and refined,
very many of them in de!e:.e he attn And
suffering already from disease contracted
in prison. There are regutsr stations ut
HiI!vn we were supposed to stop for rest
and food, bnt these stations were far be-
tween, AMI when the trains we're delayed
or it was desired to get. along faster to
make WHY for better paying freight coming
along IN the rear than Was this suffering
mass OF hUmanity, relief stations were
passed without a stop, halts occurring only
at coalng and watering stations, and lwan-
ty-four and even tEirly-sis hours went by
more than once before we were allowed to
eat da Se Sr ssHe Mrs IL t1 iS3; Inc
endured wore simply iadescribaile. lmag-
inc what you please, You cannot overde it.
Men, women, and might say children-for
some Of tho condemned wero only young
girls-~were driven along reluorselessly by
the brutal military guard. Many of US car
ried chaina, thf4 ,lnruly a.ll sometimes the
weak or SICK ones being fasters.ti to some
more docile or s:rong'1 fellows, who were
expected to prevent them from sinking and
hanging back in The one case, or, in the
other case. to drag the weak creature on
when his or her strength gave out. l was
myself chained in this way for 6t'y miles in
IN ugly brute, who dragged on my chain
by day and often fought for the best place
aith ME when We rested, from whom Was
never free and who sickened mo by near
contact to his person und yernin stocked
clothing. It was ike being chained to a
rotting corpse. It vas more horrible than
can tell yon. Again was given charge OF
awomaC whose strength was fast giving out
gang, which was 1.oundering through the
snow storm which had been threatening al
day and had o7cr.:Een us between stations.
helped her Up and almost carried Lsr
along, as painlcsslyas was possible, and did
what conld to keep her from the blows
aad oaths Of the soldiers. She did not 20
much further, poor thing, but went down
in the snow at last and stayed there.
We got callous, in +. measure, after
while suffering aid agony we're
such eyer-present sights that when
we had been months On the road it began
to be, even among the best Of u.s. IL sorry
sight that would rouse our more than pass
ing attention. think we were dem entel
apart o! the way, We became so stapid!y
Indifferent to much that went on. C;ainel
to each other day and nlgilt as III ,ny Of us
were, dragging along bitterly cold, snowy,
iron links in cnr mani, hands, beating our
why along the snow ields, for the roads
were sometimes no better, Witnessing tho
agony OF the sore bleeding creatures flsten-
ed to us, we came ut last to look for his or
her death as blessing and relief. No
one but those condemned to that march
can appreciate the force Of what ! say when
add that it is wonder that some of those
vretches did not fall TO and murder each
occurred often, nor was it an open murder.
but some terrible scenes were enacted in
the depth Of those Siberian nights at the
stoppin ;-placss by the roadside. Not al
ways was death the result Of fight between
the conyicts;it only required little rough
ness on the part Of his fellow prisoner or
ono of our guard to e1tinguish before morn
ing the life that had been gradually going
OUT day by day.
"There are nil over Russia u-c:.llel
'etaps, or prison pens. who're the en-e PIT
up at night or the way to Siberia. ::l:,ost
all these gangs concentrate ut KaZan, and in
the country about kazan 'etaps' are par
icularlv numerous and A.e from here CD
more reyol;ingly kept than on the earl part
OF the Journey. The ctap is a large brick
or wooden building surrounded "!:h high
walls, and intended only as a sort Of hl-
man cattle shed for use over night, and
therefore it is provided with 40 co,nfor. o:
ever necessities. These etaps are scattered
all over Russia, and are prominently seen in
every landscape as are village schools and
village steeples through your own New
England states. And rs in America the
frequency of this feature Is badge of the
education and civilization Of the people, SC
the Russian etap is r. distinguished badge
of the ever present Russian system of op-
pressing the people. Exteriorly they are
often fine-looking buildings-interiorly
they are the reverse. They are almost as
death dealing as was the famous Black
Hole Of Calcutta, and few prisoners could
stand any long confinement there. The
etap is under az officer Of the army, and
the keepers are usually unprircipaied
drunkards, soldiers serving their time for
military offenses, etc. They are a set Of
eold-blooded scoundrels who persecute the
prisoners, be they uien or women. in every