Clarksville evening chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn) 1886-1890, 1888-12-05
a SIBERIAN CONVICT BARGE.
prisoners Going Aboard NJ Tiumen-crImi-
naIa Bound for che RFfnaa.

Prisoner Going Aboard NJ Tiumen-Crlmi.
naIs Bound for ths Mines.
The barge lay at floating landing
stage Of the type with which we had be-
come familiar on the rivers Volga and
Kama, and access to it was gained by
means of zigzag wooden bridge sloping
down to it from the high bank of the
river. The exiles, although uniformly
clad in gray, presented, from an
chronological point of view, an extraor-
binary diversity Of types, having evi.
IDENTIFY been collected from all parts of the
vast empire. There were fierce, wild
locking mountaineers from Daghestan
and Circassia, condemned to penal servi-
tude for murders of blood revenge; there
were Tartars from the lower Volga,
who had been sunburned until they were
almost as black as negroes; Turks from
the Crimea, whose scarlet fezes con-
trasted strangely with their gray convict
overcoats; crafty looking Jews from Po-
dolia, going into exile for smuggling; and
finally. common peasants in great num-
bers from all parts of European Russia.
The faces Of the prisoners generally were
not as hard, vicious and depraved as the
faces of criminals in America. Many Of
them were pleasant and good humored,
some were fairly intelligent, and even
the worst seemed to me stupid and
british rather than savage or malignant.
At last all were on board; the sliding
doors of the network cages were closed
and secured with heavy padlocks, and a
regular Russian bazar opened on the
landing stage. Male and female peddlers
to the number of forty or fifty were al
lowed to come down to the side of the
barge to sell provisions to the pri1oners,
most of whom seemed to be in possession
of money. In one place might be seen a
half grown girl passing hard boiled eggs
one by one through the interstices of the
network; in another a gray haired old
woman was pouring milk through tin
tube into a teapot held by convict on
the inside of the cage; and all along The
barge men were buying and bargaining
for loaves of black rye bread, sailed IN
cumbers, pretzels and fish turn overs
The peddlers seemed to have perfect trust
in the convicts, and often passed food
to them before they had received pay
for it. The soldiers of the guard
who were good looking, fresh faced
young fellows, facilitated the buying and
selling az far as possible by handing in
the provisions and handing out the
money. or by opening the sliding doors
for admission of bulky articles as loaves
of bread, which could not be passed
through the net work.
While we stood looking at this scene
of busy traffic, long haired Russian
priest in black gown and broad
brimmed felt hat crossed the landing
stage and entered one of the deck houses,
followed by an acolyte bearing his robes
and prayer book. In few moments,
having donned his ecclesiastical vest
ments, he entered the women's cage,
with smoking censor in one hand and |
an open book in the other, and began a |
'moleben," or service of prayer. The !
women all joined devoutly in the suppli- |
cations, bowling, crossing themselves, |
kneeling, and even pressing their fore |
heads to the deck. The priests hurried |
through the service, however in a per-
manner swung the censor back |
and forth few times so as tn fill the
with fragrant smoke, and
then went into the mems cage There
much less interest seemed to be taken in
the services. The convicts and soldiers
removed their caps, but only few
joined in the prayer, and buying and
selling went on without interruption all
along the side of the barge.
With few exceptions, the latter seemed
cheerful and happy, and in all parts of
he cage we could hear laughter, joking,
md animated conversation. Mr.. Frost
inally began making sketches in his note
book of some of the more striking of the
convict types on the other side of the net
work. This soon attracted the attention
If the prisoners, and amidst great laugh
er and merriment they began dragging
Onward and arranging, in what they re-
sarded as artistic poses, the convicts
whom they thought most worthy of an
Irtist's pencil. Having selected sub
ect, they would place him in all sorts of
tudiously careless and negligent atti-
udes, comb and arrange the long hair on
he unsltnven side of his head, try the
fleet of a red fez or an embroidered
tartar cap, and then shout suggestions
nu ulISCtlouS 10 the aTtlSt. lniS arrang-
ng of figures and groups for MIR. Frost to
RAW seemed to afford them great amuse-
nent, and was accompanied with as i
much joking and laughter as if they were '
chool boys off for a picnic, instead Of
bound for the mines.
At last, just after sunset, a steamer
made fast to the barge, the order was :
iven to cast of the lines, the exiles all /
rowdcd against the network to take a
arting look at Tiumen, and the great =
lack and yellow floating prison moved
lowly out into the stream and began it's
ong voyage to Tomsk. George KEENAN, e
4 The Century.