Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1888-02-03
REVOLVING CRUELTY,
An Educated Russian woman's Story o
Privation and Suffering.

Ministry of Public Instruction As her
crime was not penal, and as. moreover,
she was married to a foreigner, General
Gourko merely ordered her to be sent
over the frontier. This is how she de-
scribes her journey from St. Petersburg
To Prussia. | shall give extracts from
her narrative without comment. merely
promising that its accuracy even to
the minutest detail, is absolutely I'M
impeachable.
81 was sent to Wilno with fifty prs-
oners-men and women. From the
railway station we were taken to the
town prison and kept there for two
hours, late at night, in an open yard
under Il drenching rain. At last we
were pushed into dark corridor and
counted. After many oaths and much
foul language the fire was lighted, and
| found myself in IL spacious room in
which it was impossible to take Il step
in any direction without treadng on
the women who were sleeping on the
floor. Two women who occupied IL bed
took pity on me and invited me to share
it with them.
"When | awolle next morning was
suffering from the scenes Of yesterday,
but the female prisoners assassins and
theves-were so kind to me that by
and by grew calm. Next nighc we
were turned out from the prison and
. paraded in the yard for start, under
heavy rain. l do not know how |
happened to escape the fists of the
jailers, as the prisoners did not under
stand the evolutions. and performed
them under storm Of blows and
curses, those who misunderstanding
that they ought not to be beaten-were
put in irons and sent to the train, in the
teeth of the law, which says that in the
cellular wagons no prisoner shall be
chained. Arrived at Kovno. we spent
the whole day in going from
one police station to another. In the
evening we were taken to the
prison for women. Here | spent a
week among murderesses, thieves and
women arrested by mistake. Misfor-
tune unites the unfortunate, and every
body tried to make life more tolerable
for the rest; all were very kind to me
and did their best to console me. On
the previous day had eaten nothing,
for the day the prisoners are brought
to the prison they receive no food; so |
tainted from hunger and the prisoners
gave me of their bread and were as kind
us they could be. The female inspec-
tor, however, was on duty. She was
shouting out such shameless oaths as
few drunken men would use.
after weeks stay in Kovno l was
sent on foot to the next town. After
three days march we came to Marian
pol; my feet were wounded and my
stockings full of blood. The soldiers
advised me to ask for a car but | pre-
ferred physical suffering to the contin-
uous cursing and foul language of the
chiefs. All the same, they took me
before their commander, and he re-
marked that | had walked three DAYS
and so could walk fourth. We came
next day to Wolkowsk, whence we
were to be sent on to Prussia. | and
five others were put Professionally in the
depot. The women's department was
in ruins, so we were taken to the men S.
II did not know what to do, as there
was no place to sit down, except upon
the dreadfully filthy floor. There was
even no straw, and the stencil on the
floor set me vomiting instantly. Here |
spent two days and two nights, passing
the whole time at the window. On the
third day Il soldier of the depot, jew.
took me into his room, tiny cell,
where | staid with his wife.
1.-The prisoners told me that many of
them were detained by mistake for
seven or eight months awaiting their
papers before being sent across the
frontier. 1t is easy to imagine their
condition after a seven months stay in
this sewer without Il change of linen.
They advised me to give the jailer
money. as he would then send me
ON to Prussia Immediately. But had
been six weeks on the way already
and my letter had not reached my
people. At last the soldier allowed
me to go to the post-oi1ice with
his wife, and | sent registered letter
to St. Petersburg Nine. c. has
influential kinsfolk in the capital, and
in few days the Governor-General
telegraphed for her to be sent on in
stantly to Prussia. my papers (she
says) were discovered Immediately, and
| was sent to Eydtkunan and set at
liberty" 1t must be owned that the
picture is horrible. But it is not whit
overcharged. To such of us Russians
as have had to do with prisons every
word rings true and every scene looks
normal. Oaths, filth, brutality, bribery
blows, hunger-these are the essentials
of every ostrog and of every depot from
Kovno to Kamchatka and from Arch.
angel to Erzerum. -Krapothine's fus-
sian and French Press.