News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-12-02
A SIBERIAN TRAGEDY.

- OtOLiil0lN IinOIOII
In the New York Fceninq Post O
August 18th appeared the following tele
gram from London:
LONDON, August 25.-Alexander Krapotkir
brother OF Prince krapOtkin, the translator G
herbert Spencer's works into the Russian Ian
euaSe, has committed suicide with a reYolve
at TOmsk'
As | was perhaps the last West Euro
pean or American to see Prince AIexan
der before his death circumstances seen
to lay upon me the duty of explaining
the significance of the brief announce
ment above gu ted, and of giving sucl
IacIs as are IN my possession with regard
10 lie which ended so tragically, an6
winch seems to me to have been so need.
Iessiy and cruelty wrecked.
l made the acquaintance of Alexander
hTaPotkin in February of the present
year at the Siberian city of Tomsk.
where l spent two weeks on nv wav
home from the Trans Baikal. He had
then been living in exile as a political
offender nearly ten years. Although
banlshed 10 Siberia upon the charge of
dlsloyalty, Krapotkin was not nihiIist
nor revOlutiOnist, nor even an extreme
radical. His views with regard to social
and political questions would have been
regarded IN America, or even in Western
Europe, as very moderate, and he had
never taken any part in Russian revolu-
tlonary agitation. He was, however, a
man OF mpetuous temperament, high
standard OF honor, and great frankness
and dlrectness in speech, and these char
acteristics were perhaps enough to at
tract to him the suspicious attention of
the Russian police.
Il am not nIhilist, nor revolution
ist," he once said to me, Indignantly,
''and | never have been: was exiled
simply because l dared to think and to
say what thought about things which
happened around me, and because l was
the brother of man whom the Russian
Government hated "
Prince Krapotkin was arrested the
first time in 1853, while student IN the
St. Petersburg University, for hav ng in
his possession a copy in English of
Emerscn's ''Self-Reliance" and refusing
to say where he obtained it. The book
had been lent to him by one of the facul-
ty, Professor Tikhonravof, and Krapot
kin might perhaps have justified himself
and escaped unpleasant consequences bv
simply stating the fact. but this would
not have been in accordance with his
high standard of personal honor. He
did no think it a crime to read Emerson,
but he did regard it as cowardIy and
dishOnOrable to shelter himself from the
consequences of any action behind the
person of an instructor He preferred
to 60 to prison. When Professor Tx
honravof heard of Krapotkin arrest. ne
went at once to the rector of the Univer-
sity and admitted that he was the owner
o. the incendiary volume, and the young
student was thereupon released.
After his graduation from the Univer-
sity, Krapotkin went abros d, studied
science, particularly astronomy, and
upon his return to Russia made num-
Der of important translations of French
and English scientific works into his
native language. Finally, he entered
the government service, and for a time
previous to his exile held an important
place in the Russian Telegraph Depart
ment. This place, however he was
forced to resign in consequence of col
hsion with the Minister of the Interior.
The latter ordered KrapOtkin one day to
send to him all the kilograms of a GER
tain private individual that were on file
in his office. KrapOtkin refused to obey
this order upon the ground that such
action would be personally dishonorable
and degrading Another less scrupulous
otf1cer OF the department, however, for
warded the required kilograms, and
krapOtkin resigned. After this time he
lived constantly under the secret super
vision of the police. His brother had
already become prominent as a revolu-
Zionist and socialist; he himse was un
der suspicion, his record from the point
Of view of the government was not
good one, he probably injured himself
still further by frank but iniudicious
comments upon public affairs, and in
1876 or 1877 he was arrested and exiled
to Eastern Siberia upon the vague but
fatal charge of disloyalty. There were
no proofs against him upon which CON
victiOn could De obtained in a formal
trial, and he was therefore exiled by
what is known in Russia as the admin
istrative pro, ess," that is. by a simple
executive order, without even the pre-
tense of indictment, presentment or
hearing
His place of exile was small town
called Minusink, situated ON the Yenisei
River in Eastern Siberia, two or three
hundred miles from the frontier of outer
Mongolia. Here, with his young wife.
who had voluntarily accompanied him
into exile he lived quietly four or five
years, devoting himself chiefly to read
ing and scientific study. There were in
Minusinsk at that time no other political
exiles, but KrapOtkin found there,
nevertheless. one congenial companion
in the person of Russian naturalist
named MartianOf, with whom he wan
dered about the country making botani-
cal and geological collections and dis
cussing scien i6c questions. To Mar
tianOl's enthusiasm and energy and Kra-
potkln's sympathy and encouragement
really excellent public museum, an insti
tuition which is not only the pride of all
intelligent Siberians, but is likely,
through an illustrated catalogue now In
course of publication, to become known
to naturalists and archaologists in Eu-
rope and the United States.
During the long series of tragic events
which eliminated in the assassinatio of
Alexander H., Siberia filled up rapidly
with political exiles, and the little town
OF Mlnusinsk had to take its quota
with the arrival OF these new corners
began strlcter system of police super
vision. As long as Krapotkin was the
only political exile in the place he was