West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1884-08-15

told that in our party twenty-cight
exchanges took place. Yet the guards
and the authorities knew nothing
about it. AS rulethe prisoners
do not betray one another My
new role and that of my substitute
was bothersome. was n medical stu
dent, n political criminal and noble.
man: and he was peasant, hardly able
10 sign his name. But il | could drag
his irons, he too, could support my rep
utation. Once our officer was taken i'll,
and as he knew that one of the prison
ers in his command had studied medi-
cine, he called upon me. that is. upon
my substitute. TO treat him. My sub
| stitute did il we'll
Toward the end of Octoberwe reached
the city Of lrkutsk, where the prisoners
are usually classified. Those con-
demned TO settlement are sent to- their
new home, and those condemned TO
| hard labor are distributed among vari-
Gus mines. My substitute and passed
the final examination, and each went
his own way, never TO meet again.
On the second day we exiles, or set
tiers, were turned over to tho village
authorities. We were practically free
NV companions went to a liquor shop
TO make the best possible use of my
freedom by running away from Siberia.
| had sold some of my things and real
Izcd about seventy-flvc cents, which mon
cy determined must support me during
week. had TO travel one hundred and
forty miles to reach the residence
of trusted friend. Profting by
the lessons OF the old runaways,
made my way successfully, though
the gendarmes were after me- II
was in November. Snow covered
the ground. Whenever hid my
self 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 -ctape road made the acquant
ance of many old runaways, who gave
me the knowledge needed for becoming
n successful tramp. In Siberia there
are about thirty thousand runaways
tramping, rs the sun does, westward
to Russia. The villagers treat them
well so long rs they do not iniure prop
erty or otherwise misbehave. Other
wise they hunt them like wild beasts,
Yet, if a runaway is badly handled by
villagers without just cause, the run
Always pledge themselves to have re-
venge. Incendiarism is meted out for
the whole village and death for the indi-
vlduals. | am told that i'm the Irlutsk
province there was native who made
1t his business to hunt fugitives. IF
you kill a squirrel" he used TO say,
you earn only fifteen copecks, but kin
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.
professional runaway, Belofi, who
for twenty-five years has tramped Sibe-
ria eastward and westward, from the
| Ural Mountains to the island of Sagha-
lien, told me that for many years il was
impossible 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 dig
nihed manner. / went by the official
post road, changing one troika after an.
other. My pass was all right, except
| that it belonged to retired officer re
Gently dead. In May, 1881, / reached
| Geneva. T. Sun