Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1882-03-23
A DESPOT'S CRUELTY.

A DESPOT'S CRUELTY.
Siberian Horrors and the Transit Unfortuate
to the Russian Country of the Wretched-
a Human Cattle Train-The Chain Gang
on Foot-Horrors of the Prison Pen-Dain-
ty Women Chained to Human Brutes-Iy
the Mines.
The New York Herald gives another mar
rative from nihilist now in this country,
relating the horrors OF the political prison
ers' fate. In the course of the na ratiye he
says:
when the transportation is by rail the
men and women are collected III the rall-
way yards like beasts, and are driven into
the cars, one car at time, till each Is full
to repletion, when it is locked and barred.
These cars are a sort of railway cattle wag-
on; the larger proportion Of the COnvicts
stand up in them as you see cattle slowed
in cars on the arrival Of stock trains. Around
the interior of the cars three or four rough
boards are nailed ON which few of them
can sit down. If the majority Of prisoners
are of u better class they arrange some syS-
tenn to relieve each other and the women
from standing, but as all the vile criminal
classes are herded with these political of
Tenders, the weakest go TO the wall, and Il
fight and scramble is going Cd among the
vilest for the coveted resting places. Even
though we of the better class did all We could
for the women, many were forced to stand
till they dropped down from exhaustion on
the floor OF the uneasy, joitlng, nttllng
cattle train, so Inadequate was the
seats. There were no arrangements for
privacy in responding 10 the demands OF
nature, and as n result the refined men and
women were driven to the most terrible
suffering before they were compelled to
sacrifice natural modestv TO physical ago.
ny inflicted ON them by imperial shame
lessness. / have seen the women huddled
IN circle in one corner, IN the night,
screening in turn by their dresses, some Of
their number, and the more refined men
distracting 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
modification was submitted to by these
women, many of them noble and refined,
very many OF them ia delicate health and
suffering already from disease contracted
in prison. There are regular stations at
which we were supposed to stop for resi-
and food, but these stations were far be-
tween. and when the trains were delayed
make way for better paying freight coming
along in the rear than WAS this suffering
mass of humanity, relief stations were
passed without stop, halts occurring only
at coaling and watering stations, and TWEEN
ty-four and even thlrty-slx hours went By
more than once before we were allowed IL
eat dak Se Ng Rsre ssye dh fhf 1895 the
endured were simply ludescrlpabie. lmag-
inc what you please, you cannot overde 1t.
Men, women, and 1 might say children-for
some of the condemned were only young
girls-were driven along remorselessly BY
the brutal military guard. Many of us car
ried chains, tia unruly and sometimes the
weak or sick ones being fastened to some
more docile or stronger fellows, who were
expected to prevent them from sulking and
hanging back in the one case, or, in the
other case, 10 drag the weak creature on
when his or her strength gave out. was
myself chained in this way for 500 miles in
an ugly brute, who dragged ON my chain
by day and often fought for the best place
with me when we rested, from whom was
never free and who sickened me by neal
contact to his person and vermin stocked
clothing. 1t was like being chained to G
rotting corpse. It was more horrible thar
can tell you. Again | was given charge OF
woman whose strength was fast giving ou
and who was failing to keep up with the
gang, which was foundering through th.
snow storm which had been threatening al
day and had overtaken us between stations
I helped her up and almost carried he
along, as painlesslyas was possible, and die
! what conld to keep her from the Blow
and oaths of the soldiers. She did not Q,
much further, poor thing, but went dow
in the snow at last and stayed there
80.
WHILE suffering aud agony wer
we had been months on the road it hesal
to be, even among the best of US, sorr,
sight that would rouse our more than pass
ing attention. think we were deme ente
apart of the way. We became so stupid
Indifferent to much that went on. Chaine
to each other day and night, MS many of n
were, dragging along bitterly cold, snowy
iron links in our numb hands, beating on
way along the snow fields, for the road
were sometimes no better, witnessing til
agony of the sore bleeding creatures fasten
| ed to u.s. we came at last to look for his O
her death rs a blessing and q relief. n
one but those condemned 10 that marc
can appreciate the force of what say whe
add that it Is wonder that some of thos
wretches did not fall to and murder eac
other oftener than they did. don't say
occurred often, nor was it an open murde
but some terrible scenes were enacted
the depth Of those Siberian nights at Il
stopping places by the roadside Not a
ways was death the result ofa fight betwee
the convicts;it only required little rougl
ness on the part of his fellow prisoner I
one of our guard to extinguish before morr
ing the life that had bean gradually goir
out day by day.
"There are all over Russia so-calle
'etaps,' or prison pens, where the gangs pl
up ae night on the way to Siberia. Almo
all these gangs concentrate at Kazan, and
the country about Kazan 'etaps' are pal
q ticularly numerous and are from here o
more revoltingly kept than on the early pa
of the journey. The etap is o large brit
or wooden building surrounded with hig
walls, and intended only as sort of b,
man cattle shed for use over night, ar
therefore it is provided with no comfort
even necessities. These etaps are scatters
all over Russia, and are prominently seen
every landscape as are village schools az
village steeples through your own Ne
England states. And as in America Il
frequency of this feature is badge of Il
education and civilization of the people,
! the Russian etap is a distinguished bad
, Of the ever present Russian system Of O.
pressing the people. Exteriorly they a
often fine-looking buildings interior
! they are the reverse. They are almost
death dealing as was the famous Blaa
Hole of Calcutta, and few prisoners cou
stand any long confinement there. II
: etap is under an officer Of the army, a.
: the keepers are usually unprincipal
drunkards. soldiers serving their time
military offenses, etc. They are set
Q cold -bloodsd scoundrels who persecute t
: prisoners, be they men or women, in eve