The Red Cloud chief., 1888-12-14
A DESPERATE FLIGHT.
Terrible Experiences OF . Political
Exile In Russia.

In the year lS46, Siecinski. Bogdaszewski,
and I. with the three Russian soldiers who
guarded US, occupied . small shed near the
treat distillerios of Ekaterinin ski ZOvod, In
Northern Siberia.
II was . poor little dwelling. The wind
Whistled n the snow drifted through the
cracks In the boarding. but It had the In
estimshle advantage Of separating in some
degree our daily life from that Of the con-
victs, association with whom 10 one OF the
hardest Of tho exile's many trials.
All tho workmsn at observation-disclosures
Were prisoners land as . matter OF course
also e~xiles), and by far the greater proper
tion were convicts. The position OF political
~peisouers In such an establishment il neces-
sarily full Of suffering, and my two friends
and / had drunk the bitter cup TO the dregs.
We were Polish mobiles and Polish patriots.
and had each passed separately the trial and
imprisonment in irons which had followed
our participation in the conspiracy Of 1901.
Biacinski and BOgdsazewski preceded me TO
Siberia, and there, alas! I left them.
mass over tho first i've years Of my exile,
with it, tolls and trials, and will merely Oh
servo that the permission to build and oc-
cupy Q dwelling apart had been granted 10
ms two friends and myself a. . reward for
diligence and good conduct
Our three guards never left us by day or
night, bat they drew apart during h long
evenings, and either slept or feigned TO do
%, while We talked together Of our beloved
country and the irrov0cable past.
OF one subject and that the one probably
most constantly in our minds, We never
spoke n oil. No ono OF us whispered the
word escape. :" and I do not yet know wheth
or my two friends ave succeeded in doing
90 or not But this l know, that II still In
I'm captivity they ponder through all the
hours Of every day the exile's problem.
when and how to escape. Alas! how many
die without solving It! From the moment
Of my arrest I had resolved upon flight, and
Q knowledge Of the terrible punishments in
llicted BY the Russian government. not only
upon fugitives, but upon all who aid . fugi-
tive. had induced me TO determine to take
no one into my confidence.
NV occupation during the last four years
of nv Imprisonment had been that of cor
responding clerk in the Bureau Of the Dis
tillcries, and I had In that way been brought
ir contact with merchants and peasants
from Ill parts of Siberia, and had acquired
Q very thorough knowledge OF the geography
Of the country, of its customs and its inhab-
itants. In the latter part Of the year 1916 I
had made three attempts to escape, which.
fortunately for me, remained undiscovered
and ~unsuspected.
These failures WERE, however. of use to
me, since In consequence of them I was in
duced to try the route which proved the
WAY to freedom. The choice OF . route is
Of the greatest consequence to . fugitive
when beginning his p~erilous journey. The
high road from Siberia to the center Of Rus.
ala Is tho one oftenest taken, because the
most direct and the easiest. But for this
very reason IL Il incOmparably the most
dangerous. Tho surveillance there exer-
cised by thesgOvernment IL n Of unccasing
vigilance, and It il ably seconded by the In
hsbitants. whose zeal and rapacity are con.
tiuually on the alert Tho Tartars have .
saving with regard to the fugitives from
siberia: III you kill . squirrel sou have
hut his single skin. but II you kill . car
uak'" q term OF contempt applied 10 pris-
s~oner.l. s.you have three-his clothes. his
ehirt and himself (the reward for giving
mn the man to justiceD. Five other roads re-
mciued, all less dangerous than the n
above alluded TO. but far more difficult and
wcarisome. decided to 90 nOrthwHrd.
scross the Oural Mountains and the steppcs
nj Petchars and Archangel 70 Archangel. .
ronte which was not only the least used,
INIT had also the immense advantage Of be-
inv the shortest for, once Mt Archangcl, I
hcned to be able to escape in a Of the
MANY foreign ships always to be found in
that port
: had for many months been accumulat-
,rc one by ono. with great secresy and no
umall dinBcu,ty, the articles indispensable
10 my flight
Eirst among these was . passport. The
siberian peasant 10 fond OF oava'ns. and
Ia law requires him to be PROVIDED with
80 n~aasports. one for small distances tnst
n from village to village anu 1no.Iet.
.eaied with the imperial arms ID" 0'sr"s
the government stamp. .x.A
Isucceeded in fabricating the ono :n1 sns
nshee. Islso procured siberian wy, %
"a say. the bod called WIG wosa S..
I-.ee.nts in Siberia. IL - ms0e o' s'k
~ the woeaturne1inWard. ana cover. !.
Rnrehead down TO the eyeAt ana c0wS 49,.
rcrv.rd over ~ cAeekS makfosC"':H.I
III In the habit Of wearing ~ SN:-S :
~ a complete - . mask OK .a.s,,.
~ also succeeded In procotins - - ~
,ostume. and I'D accumuiassa VIC -, nm
I'M uhes (about 80 a.cs!V - -
~ sucA . long journey. ana o.","s.,Swt
Si-inished s&ill further oy IssA .s~
n, the ntxht q tho 9Th Of February, -
go out Of 10 hut while ~ conps', II"
- .,eenane. NJ eaoeEpeiSe wss ~
~. one ~ any time, and l sese ~.
-. ~orth hecause Of tho great yeetS -
.1.S;, ~hich attracted . Ereas csO~1 =.
s..s. sroD IN parts Of 6aoera' N~+
~ I hopsd . Pass unpsrceived- a~ y,
Taree ahirn; ~ outer Q sIne va ws
Iesry pantaiooas q Russian aC:a; = :a .s y
6eoascts waistoeas = en.. :. e.1ov
..,eose a ohssP-skiA soahsd u aw'