The Worthington advance., 1882-03-23

conceivable way. The gang being driven
into the yard-which is little better than a
hoR- oR-pen-the keepers quickly search the
prisoners Tor any little article of food or
money that compassionate peasants passing
them on the road may have slipped into
their hands. These are coniscated bv the
keepers for their ow2 benefit and then the
prisoners are driven into the awful etap.
This interior is simply large room
provided with narrow boards nailed against
the wall one above another, with no 'oor
but the earth, Uttered with stlaw in the
center, OF one corner. The narrow boards
are to sleep on; but the sore and bruised
and often halffrozen prisoners are unable
to climb more than to the first or second
tier OF bunks. and so tue rest lie on the
eartn moor. Inc rooa gwen tnem IS pen
orally bread and water-1ev yer meat-and
sometimes weak soup made Of buckwheat
boiled In water. But how nutritious this
diet ls can be learned when it is remember
ed that the jailers are allowed only cents
day Tor the support of prisoners, and
from this sum they steal heavy precent
age. have known this stealing, when it
had gone to great lengths, to DO made
good by simply not feeding the prisoners
that night. sending them on marked fed
and ~atered to The next station, the pro-
rSsds s,eEs OF the steal 6eao ea dydsd hv the
are at last left to themselves in the large
room of the etap they usually'lie down at
once like tired cattle. They wait TO, icv
shoes to thaw out. that the linen ban,lages
may be removed from wet and raw blister
ed feet and numbed ankles may be chafed.
Bnt this must be quickly done or the feet
WILL so swell that shoes cannot be replaced
again. At last night comes on and all is
dark in the prison ROOM
The room is crowded to suffocation, for
immense trains are emptied into these etaps.
and presently the air of the room becomes
SO heavy and SO sickening that it is unbear-
able. The rotten straw On the foor, YER
min, full and foul from necessltsted un-
cleanliness 0! those who were Lere the night
before, no privacy being allowed the prs
oners, giving out stencil when the prison.
ohes esn to sag d the vet 9f Stn9
vomiting and retchinS continually during
The night, made stomach sick from the suf-
locating odcrs OF the place. I have seen
them even in intensely cold nights madly
smash the windows to let in the piercing
wind rather than breathe longer the pollut-
ed air. Vecain are attacking the prisoners
and contagious disease are spreading dur
ing that awful night through uncleaniiness.
Ihe guards Will not remain in the room. it
is so foul, and often Immortality in their
absence is uncontrolled. In the darkness
OF the night you will hear screams from tho
women, followed by oaths and noise of
scuIlicg and all that can be done to prevent
these ou;ragcs is for the better ciass Of men,
when there are enough Of them, to get the
women IN ONe corner and stand as q woil
during the night between them and the men
who wonld attack th.:m. But this cannot
always be done, as many Of the men n7e
chalned to gangs of the worst criminals
the very fellows from whom these women
are to be defended. It is undoubtedly true
~ know 1t to be true-that voune pirls
sent from the best families to Siberian exile
Tor the polite al oHenses of their family
have fallen victims to these fends from thu
gangs or from the Jail keepers quarters in
the nights passed in the vile etaps, even
though heroic efforts were made by fellow
prisoners to save them.
And so they travel on from day, to day,
unless heaven is mercful and lets them
fall dead by the wayside ditch, or falling
sick noar some city on the road, they are
transferred to a badly managed hospital,
restful sleep, and imperial Russia's power
~~~~AAe y
ful coming of a thrice Welcomed death.
The gang continues its long suffering march
its numbers gradually depleted, and the
wretched band OF survivors 1T last reaches
the mines.
Here they are soon put to hard labor,
working from break of day till n,ghtfall.
'urrowing in the mines. breaking ore by
hand for the great smelling works, digging
bitches: building roads and >laboring year
after year hcpelessly, almlesslv, in the de-
velopEaent of the natural riches in this
country of the wretched-1eceiving no let
ters or word from home unless officials
choose to communicate the new5-sh1t out
absolutely from all mankind except their
wretched companions in exile ;spied, watch
ed, suspected, cruelty punished. they loIg
Tor death or delve1ance that seelns eter-
nally deferred. Tie more refined ald deli
cate prisoners are given the mca:.est and
most exhaustive and disagreeanle work to
do, and are continually lumiiiased almost
beyond human en!urance, und, like all
others, are whipped to their work like beasts
OF burden. Those in the mines are never
allowed 10 come to the surface to see the
upper world except once year, on the EN-
peror's birthday, as celebrati.n of that
klorious event. What cruel privilege-to
celebrate the birthday of man whom they
curse horribly and hourly before heaven as
the imperial cause Of au their accumulated
agonies!
II nature survives al these trials and
man serves his termGf not condemned, as
in the majority Of cases. for ife) g is for
hidden to go home to his people, but Is
given the choice of remote provinces where
re may go and pass tho remainder Of his
days, Home! After oil these years Of witt
ing for home he is forbidden to return!
And SO, broken in health and depressed in
spirit, the poor wretch goes to some remote
village to live alone and work among stran-
gers for his support. No wonder thct he
plots and plans how to escape, and If he
can elude his Siberian guards takes 70 the
woods. and even ties to China to escape
from Russia. But hunger and cold may COM
pei hin to show himself in the villages, and
il arrested he is returned 10 his jai|ers to
serve twice the original term, if be is not
condemned to death by shooting or strang-
ulation. No wonder that he and his family
and oil Russia, in fact, are aroused to look
upon the czar as their implacable enemy,
and that rihilism is extending like wildire
through the land, as the people are deter
mined to correct by any and every means
! in their power, tho cruelties of imper-
iali.m.;
Roscoe C0nkling's Public Life.
A brief sketch of Roscoe Conkling's CO.
Ill - 80 .~,ok IL