New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-08-20

shape of star or astersk. NJ. Ahu,co,, INV. i
mates that the agelatur il often brlDed by inc CUT
nr,t or bs frsnds in which case he brings down the
first blow with terrible severity, makiug tue PcU
creature wrthe and scream holrloS ou, rnon I
whereas if he be not bribed, he begins gently ana
gradually increases in severity which is Tar worse.
lie has. however. to be wary, Tor II ne does not
| strike hard enough he is threatened with twenty
five stripes for himself. (which were gwen tne summer
before NV visit to an cXecutoner Ill NlkolaeIsk.
Most descriptions of this punishment represent 1uo
culprit's back as raw, and running with blood
and It is better for the man when tins ~ IN, case
skilliul lageator draws little or no blood anu
more pain is caused when the skin simply rises III
wales; hut when this Is the case, morlihcatIon
sefs IN and the prisoner speedily dies one mus
thrashed in the morning had died NJ nleho uui
lug the week preceding that in which recoNou
Before passing from this dreadful subject wish
to make quite clear what was told me: una h Nv
man foI the GIst offence can. by Russian law DC
condemned 10 corporal punishment Aiso ~"
given to understand, by legal authoIiS{i
the plete exists only at three places III quo
Kara Nikolaefsk and Sakhalln. lthongn Wa Wa ~
formed by released exile that he saw H. III tbat
years ago at Chta and nearly eNerywucIo ,h"
only the very worst criminals see IL at an. ~
were moderate offenders they wOuIu hUu 10 30
far east and those who get 1t nave usual,y toldo
through deportation prson ana lIoliS, a that
main Incorrgbe. Also il should he ieheWpeIeu Uho
i'm these localities the inhabitants are leW' anu arc
surrounded by hundreds OF cOnVicts OF eA-cohFlCtS
that a very large proportion OF the en-serNShls
and men ms too. are OF the same Glass; s
them not having finished their terms; and Iat
I'D addition to these eX- prisoners VINO ai0 sup
DoScd 10 be corrected aud better OenaNed, conSi
derabe number of the worst characters are con-
stantlv escaping. More than 100 escaped 1rom
Sahhan. was told. the winter before my visit
When free they make for NlXOaetsk to escape
starvation. caring little what they do. In lSp
three convicts, to get the paltry sum of 81, brm
tally killed woman aud put her down a well
Hence the inhabitants say that, were tn'y hoI
defended by some very strong deiefients' lhcy
would not he safe moment since, II man commit
haf-a-dOZen murders, lie knows he is not 10 DC
hanged
The knout has been abolished for some years. The
author made inquiries concerning It and heard
from a lawyer that the public 1agelator III Moscow
was so skIlful IN the manipulation OF bis weapon
that he could with it snip cigarette of a window
without breaking the glass at a single blow
break an inch board and therefore q mans splne
Tie made a large fortune from those he logged
The law prescribed certain nInber OF stripes bul
did not exact that the victim should sulIer :;
and thus when well paid the dagelator let the knout
fail lightly.
Mr. Lansdell declares that the popular stories III
regard t. the ll-trratmcnt Of political eXilcs are
now untrue, though they might have been true OF
he Siberia of thirty or fifty years ago. He declares
that the severest of punishment of a political
prisoner he met with that of Nihilist AT Kara
who had daily to g TO work In the gold
mines; but on returning he had a com
lO
frequent visits of his WIFE OF man concerned in
an attempt on the life OF the late Emperor the
author says: He was sentenced TO the mines, and
no donbt DO ,u ar Imagination pictured hlm chained
and tormented to within an inch of his life ;
whereas | found him confined indeed, bat only to
the neighborhood and dressed. if / remember
rightly in tweed suit, looking highly presentable
aud engaged in a way that purposely avoid naming
but which did not neccSSltatc the sOlng OF ms
fingers" Political prisoners when confined are
kept not only apart from criminals, but as far as
possible from one another. Mr.. Lansdelfs impress
sion is that the greater number Of political exiles
either 60 to prison only for a short time not at ALL
and are then placed in villages and towns
where they are expected to get their
living This they do in many ways.
some being teachers, some trade'nen
and some photographers To he "political" exile
in Siberia is to be more or less gentleman, and
many criminals attempt to pass for ''politicala,"
thus often misleading travellers. The author is con-
WINGED that the number of political eXes is greatly
exaggerated He dsposes of the agonizn tales OF
the suffering cXes III quicksilver mines by saving
! that he has been unable to learn that there Is a
| quicksilver mine in Siberia at all. or to get
| satisfactory proof that one ever existed.
The ONLY testimony in favor Of its existence he re-
| cevcd from released "poliilcal" who said that
he heard rom some OF his follow prisoners hi
| there was a small quicksilver mine at Nertcnnsk
| but so poor an affair that II not worked. Sub
seQuently this man was deported 20 four places in
succession round about Nertchinsk. but
neither saw nor heard anything more of tins
mine. Mr.. Lansdefs experience and searching OK
animation would seem TO prove indeed that the
| slow killing of culcs by mercury fumes Is a myth
| zeal horror AS for the silver mincs OF which such
terrible pictures nave been gwen, his testimony Is
that these have been much Overdrawn, and that
while there have been instances of cruelty there is
| 10 systematic iltreatmcnt. He emphatically
| denies the report that women and children were
ever forced to work in these mines.
The authors notes of travel are az interesting as
his descriptions of cxe-lic. In a simple and easy
| style ne gives much suggestive information as 70
Siberian and Russian customs He speaks of the
painful prevalence Of husband murder in Russia
| thing which fills Siberia with female exllcs
| and Is caused by the persistent and cruel beat
| ing of their wives by of the
| lower orders. He mentions singular town in
| China lust over the border which he visited and
| winch differs in one respect from all the cities on
| the face Of the earth There are only men. not a
woman nor a baby, in it. THIS curious arrangement
was made by the Chinese at the time OF their carly
! treaties with the Russians in order that their ce-
lestia subjects might not become rooted to the SOIL
but consider themselves as sOjOurners only for the
purpose of international trade
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