The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1888-11-15
RECEPTION OF Ex,LEs.

RECEPTION OF EX'lESs
How Russian Political Offenders Are
| Treated ut Forwarding Prisons.
The prisoners had disembarkod boz
fore we reached our destination. We
found them assembled in two dense
| gray throngs at the end OF long
wooden shed, which was surrounded
and turned into sort Of cattlepen by
a high plank wall. Here they were
identified, counted and turned over by
the convoy officer to the warden Of the
Tomsk forwarding prison. The shed
was divided transversely through the
middle by low wooden barricade, at
| one end OF which was fenced in
closure, about ten feet square, for the
accommodation OF the officers who had
to take part in the reception Of the
party. About half the exiles had been
formally received" and were stand
ing at the eastern end Of the shed,
while the other half were grouped in
q dense throng at the western end,
waiting for their names to be
called. The women, who stood
huddled together in q group by them
selves, were mostly In peasant cos
tunes, with bright-colored kerchiefs
over their heads, and their faces,
thought, showed great anxiety and ap-
prehension. The men all wore long
gray overcoats over coarse linen shirts
and trouse RS; most Of them were in
chains, and the bare heads OF the con-
yicts and the penal colonists had been
half shaved longitudinally in such o
way that one side OF the scalp was
smooth and blue, while the other side
was hidden by long neglected hair.
Soldiers stood here and there around
the shed. leaning upon their bayoneted
rifles, and inside the little inclosure
were the convoy officer Of the party,
the warden and the surgeon Of the
Tomsk forwarding prison. the chief Of
the local bureau OF exile administra-
ton, and two or three other officers.
all in full uniform. Colonel Yagodkin
introduced us as American travellers
who desired to see the reception OF an
exile party. and we were invited to
stand inside the inclosure.
The officer who was conducting the
examination OF the convicts drew q
folded paper from large bundle in his
hand, opened and glanced at it, and
then shouted, "Nikolai Koltsofr' A
thin, pale man, with heavy, wearied
eyes and a hopeless expression Of face,
who was standing in the front rank Of
the exile party, picked up the gray
linen bag that lay beside him on the
floor. and with slow clink, clink,
clink Of chains walked to the inclosure.
The examining officer compared his
face carefully with photograph at
tached to the ''stateini speesok," or
identification paper" in order to
make sure that the pale man had not
Exchanged names" with some other
exile. while Cossack orderly exam
ined him from head to foot and rum
mayed through his bag to see that he
had neither lost nor surreptitiously
sold the articles Of clothing that he had
received in Moscow or Tumen, and
that his "stateini speesok" called for.
lis every thing therep" inquired tho
officer.
Every thing" replied the Cossacls.
"Stoopai" ["Pass on!''1said the Lieu
tenant; and the pale-faced man shoul-
dered his bag and joined the ranks Of
the received at the eastern end OF the
shed.
''The photographs are new thing"
whispered Colonel Yagodkin to me;
land only q part Of the exiles have
them. They are intended to break up
the practice Of exchanging names and
identities.
"But why should they wish to ex-
change namesp" I inquired.
III a man is sentenced to hard labor
at the mines." he replied. "and has q
little money, he always tries TO buy So
cretly the name and identity Of some
poor devil OF colonist who longs des-
perately for drink OF vodka, or who
wants money with which to gamble.
OF course the convoy officer has no
means Of preventing this sort Of trans
action, because he can not possibly re.
member the names and faces OF the
four or five hundred men In his party.
II the convict succeeds In finding q
colonist who Is willing to sell his name
he takes the colonist's place and b ~.
signed q residence 10 some village,
4 while the colonist takes the oonvict'i
place and goes to the mines. Hundreds
Of hard-labor convicts escape In thii