Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1882-03-23
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eonce1sable way. The gang being driven
into the yard--which is little better than a
hog-pen-the keepers quickly search the
prisoners for any little article Of food or
money that compassionate peasants passing
them on the road may have slipped into
their hands. These are confscated by the
keepers for their own 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 floor
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 half frozen prisoners are unable
to climb more than to the first or second
tier OF hunks. and SO the rest lie on the
eartn noor. Inc 1000 given them IS gen.
orally bread and water-Lever meat-and
sometimes weak soup made of buckwheat
boiled In water. But how nutritious this
diet is can be learned when it is remember
ed that the jailers are allowed only cents
day for 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 be made
good by simply not feeding the prisoners
that night, sending them on marked fed
and watered to the next station. the pro-
eeeds of the steal bei60 dydd hy the
are at last left to themselves in the large
room of the etap they usuauy'iie down at
once like tired cattle. They wait for icy
shoes to thaw out, that the linen bandages
may be removed from wet and raw blister
ed feet and nulnbed ankles may be chafed.
But 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 sufocation, 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 floor, ver-
min, full and foul from necessitated un-
cleanliness OF those who were here the night
before, no privacy being allowed the pris-
oners, giving out a stencil when the prison
ers' clothes begin TO drip the wet of melting
SLOW. L nave often seen poor, SICK women,
vomiting and retching continually during
The night, made stomach sick from the suf-
locating odoTs 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. Vermin are attacking the prisoners
and contagious disease are spreading dur
ing that awful night through uncleanliness.
The guards will not remain in the room, is
is SO foul, and often immortality in their
absence is uncontrolled. In the darkness
of the night you will hear screams from the
women, followed by oaths and noise of
scuthlng and all that can be done to prevent
.hese outrageS is for the Better class of men,
Ehen there are enough OF them. to get the
women IL oHe corner ana stand as a wall
during the night between them and the men
who would attack them. But this cannot
always be done, as many Of the men are
chained to gangs of the worst criminals
the very fellows from whom these women
are to be defended. 1t is undoubtedly true
- know 1t to be true-that young girls
sent from the best families to Siberian exile
for the pohtir al offenses of their family
have fallen victims to these fiends from the
gangs or fcom 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 merciful and lets them
fall dead by the wayside ditch, or falling
sick near some city on the road, they are
transferred to badly managed hospital,
where their troubles are soon ended in a
restful sleep, and imperial Russia's power
Iul coming i
The gang continues its long suffering march
its numbers gradually depleted, and the
| wretched band of survivors at last reaches
| the mines.
Here they are soon put to hard labor,
working from break of day till nlghtfan,
hurrowing in the mines, breaking ore by
| hand for the great smelling works, digging
bitches, building roads and laboring year
after year hopelessly, almlessly, in the de-
velopment of the natural riches in this
country of the notwithstanding no let
| ters or word from home unless officials
| choose to communicate the news-shns out
absolutely from all mankind except their
| wretched companions in exile ;spied, watch
| ed, suspected, cruelty punished, they loLg
| for death Or deliverance that seems eter-
| nally deferred. The more refined and deli
cate prisoners are given the meanest and
| most exhaustive and disagreeable work to
| do, and are continually humiliated almost
| beyond human endurance, and, like all
others, are whipped to their work like beasts
| of burden. Those in the mines are never
| allowed to come to the surface to see the
upper world except once year, on the en-
peror's birthday, as celebration of that
| glorious event. What cruel privllege-to
celebrate the birthday of man whom they
curse horribly and hourly before heaven as
| the imperial cause of all their accumulated
agonies!
IF nature survives all these trials and
man serves his termH not condemned, as
in the majority Of cases, for life) e is for
bidden to 60 home to his people, but Is
given the choice Of remote provinces where
he may 60 and pass the remainder of his
days, Heme! After all these years of wait
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 that he
plots and plans how to escape, and If he
can elude his Siberian guards takes to the
woods, and even flies to China to escape
from Russia. But hunger and cold may COM
pei him TO show himself in the villages, and
if arrested he is returned 10 his jailers to
serve twice the original term, if he is not
condemned to death by shooting or strang-
ulation. No wonder that he and his family
and all Russia, in fact, are aroused to loob
upon the czar as their implacabls enemy,
and that nihilism is extending like wildfre
through the land, as the people are deter
mined to correct by any and every means
in their. power, the cruelties of imper'
ialism.
Roscoe Conklfng's Public Life.