Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1884-07-24
held between the runaways and the

,sHullo. Ivan, YOU are again IN the ieS
MARS ~ a runaway would remark.
"Halloo. Semen are you not satlsheo
with free boardf' a prisoner retorts.
II saw Semen. YOU are good running
horse, +" puts in a jester, yet you VIII NO.
escape his maiesty's stables.
The condition of the political prisoners
was far better than that of the capl'"i
criminals. The political prisoners so'
fifteen copecks per day, rode In wagons
and had a separate room for themselves
II was the government order that the pc
Iitical prisoners should be kept quite
onart from the Others. But on the Jour
new that order could not always DC exc.
cuted. Every evening In the houses 'ns
prisoners of all grades came together -
is a common practice for the prisoners y
exchange sentences. A man condehineu
to settlement, assumes for some payment
the name and fate of his fellow sentenced
to hard labor for a long period. en-
caoed an exile, robber, to assume my
role for a pair of hunters boots a Hammer
shirt and eight roubles ($4). am told
that in our party twenty exchanges took
place. Yet the guards and the authorl'
ties knew nothing about IT. AS RUE,
the prisoners do not betray one announcer
Nv new role and that of my substitute
were bothersome. | was medical stu
dent, political criminal, and noble
man; and he was peasant, hardly abe
to sign his name. But if | could drag
his irons, he, too, could support my rep
utation. Once our officer was taken Ill,
and as he knew that one of the prisoners
of his command had studied medicine,
he called upon me, that is, upon my sub,
stitute, to treat him. Ny substitute did
it well.
Toward the end of October we reached
the city of Irlkutsk, where The prisoners
are usually classified. Those condemned
to settlement are sent to their new home,
and those condemned to hard labor are
distributed among various mines. My
substitute and passed the final exami-
nation, and each went his own way never
to meet again.
On the second day we exiles, or set
tiers, were turned over to the village au-
thorities. We were practically free. My
companions went to liquor store to cele'
brate the happy event. / resolved to
make the best possible use of my free
dom by running away from Siberia. /
had sold some of my things and realized
about seventy-fve cents, which money
determined must support me during a
week. / had to travel $40 miles to reach
the residence of trusted friend. Profit
ing by the lessons of old .runaways,
made my way successfully, though the
gendarmes were after me. 1t was In No
vember Snow covered the ground.
Whenever | hid myself in any bushes |
reached them by walking backward into
them, and thus, perhaps, | misled my
prosecutors. My friend secreted me IN
his country place for two months.
On the etape road made the acquain-
lance of many old runaways, who gave
me the knowledge needed for becoming
successful tramp In Siberia there are
about thirty thousand runaways tramp
ing, as the sun does, westward to Rus
STA. The villagers treat them we'll as
long as they do not injure property or
otherwise misbehave. Otherwise they
hunt them like wild beasts Yet, if
runaway is badly handled by villagers
without just cause, the runaways pledge
themselves to have revenge. Incendi-
arism is meted out for the whole village
and death for the individuals | am
told that in the Irkutsk province there
was a native who made it his business to
hunt fugitives. " Ifyou kill squirrel,
he used to say, "you earn only fifteen
copecks, but kill a runaway and you are
sure of earning fifty copecks at least, for
his dress costs that sum-" That brute
was in turn killed by runaways.
A professional runaway, Beloff, who
for twenty-fv years has tramped Siberia
eastward and westward from the Ural
mountains to the island of .Saghalien,
told me that for many years it was inn
possible to escape from Saghalien, because
the Guilaks, the natives, used to kill
every fugitive they saw. At last party
of runaways, thirty strong and well
armed, banded together for their freedom
and revenge They ransacked several
Guilak settlements and killed everybody
in them. After that the Guilaks ceased
to hunt runaways.
When my health was restored / started
back to Russia in the most dignifed
manner. / went by the official post
road changing one troika after another.
My pass was all right, except that it be-
longed to a retired officer recently dead.
In May, 1881, l reached Geneva
York Sun.
Enplaud's Hands omaSt Mon