The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1885-03-13

Nicholas 10 the throne. 10 overthrow
antocrscy and. establish in lis stead |
u constitutional regime In his reign |
there was little open discomfort; he
kept II down. crushed II out 81 sight. |
but even the strength Of dcspots must |
yield 10 death. and the whirlwind he |
sowed was rcapcd BY his son. The |
fortress is now filed with unfortunates. 4
During the last twenty years thousands |
have entered its gloomy portals, and ~ |
fast - they perish or depart the great
army Of miserables II reinforced by
fresh victims Most II them remain for
time. either pending their trial or un-
Ill they are removed to a central prison
or deported TO Siberia But there are
some whose fate Is still more terrible.
There are prisoners who have never
been tried and never will be-men and
women. who are kept in prison general
" for years. often for life. simply By
order Of the Car. One Is an ex-ofiicer
OF the imperial guard BY the name Of
Cheyitch II is said that the late En-
peror made the sister Of Cheyitch his
mistress. and that the young officer
stepped out Of the ranks at the review
and cried to the tyrant. like Victor
Hugo's ST. Waller: s.Sire. you have
done ILL., For this offensc he was
doomed to lifelong imprisonment in the
Alexis rayelin. and Is now raying
lunatic. Wayfarcrs who pass BY ut
midnight sometimes hear his frightful
cries and maniacal laughter. and then
they shudder and hasten away. for the
ground on which they tread j. accursed-
In another casemate. dying Of consump-
| ton. l. woman whose identity is as
great mystery as the imam with the
I iron mask Neither the jailcrs nor her
fellow-prisoners know either her name
or the nature Of her crime She is
number. and nothing more. What a
terrible tragedy must lie hidden in that
woman's heart il it still beats
DESs WITHOUT LIGHT.
The classmates are cells. five PAGES
long and three wide. equal TO about
seven and half feet by four and a half
feet dens into which alittle light strug-
giles through astrongly-barred slit Toe
walls stream with moisture. For fur
niture the inhabitant has a straw mat
tress and thin quilt. a jug. the image
Of saint, and pail which serves for
all purposes and remains there day and
night The air Of such place, surely
one Of the dark places Of the earth, be-
sides being cold and damp. must be I'M
speakably foul. But even worse than
dampness. and foulness. and gloom. il
the solitude to which the prisoners are
condemned. for the fortress ID organized
on the s,rictest cellular system Every
possible precaution is taken 10 prevent
them from communicating with each
other. They never meet, never speak
TO each other. are not even allowed ~
exchange a word with their .jailers. A
warden i forbidden under severe penal
ties to answer question. however mean
ingleSs or innocent. Toprevent him from
obtaining favors or information, either by
ca;oiery or collision. the turkeys are
! made 10 visit the cells in couples. and
| to prevent prisoners from communica'
ton with each other by knocks on the
walls. every alternate cell - either alto
gether untenanted or occupied BY 3
gendarme. Once day the door il
opened and the warders signify TO tht
: inhabitant by gesture that il Is tbs
hour for exercise. Silently he rises
! from his little bed and follows his Gus
fodians into the narrow yard. g
. hcmmed in By high walls as 70 seem
, like the bottom Of well. Here h
PAGES to and fro for the allotted time
ike wild beast in cage. and i ther
led back to his den as silently as he wa,
} brought out The prison i full Of peo
pie. yet for every inhabitant OF It's case
mates. its bastions. its ravelins and II.
! curtains there is the isolation Of death
No books are allowed in this disma
solitude. not even the Bible. II a prise
! ner wants religious consolation he ma,
. look ut his saint and raise his thought'
| Hcaycnwarsi. II he can. II Is no wonder
! | that men immured in these dark place.
/ sometimes 20 mad
, BURIED ALIVE.
But in spite Of every precaution pris
oners do occasionally contrive to com
municafe with their friends A littl'
money in Russia goes long way, AM
even turkeys have sometimes bowels
: 50 il comes to pass, in the case Of tn
? letter from the ''inhabitant' and som'
! other letters. which ! shall describ'
! later on, that news from the cascmafe.
; does occasionally reach the outer world
> 1t might almost be called voice from
4 the tomb. for these men. like the autho
4 If the. book Of that name (Fedo
2 DostoyeffskyJ, are s.Buried Alive" Fo
! clothing the prisoners have the gra,
y dress Of common malefactors- Instcaa
! Of shoes and stockings. their feet AR
: wrapped in rags Even in the depth Q
2 winter the cells are seldom warmed
never sufficiently; nj least the fuel A.
4 signed for the purpose i insufficient
= and embezzled at that. Hence the cell
4 are always damp. Water stream
: down the walls and freezes Il
. pools on the floor. SO intense
. The cold that when the directo