The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1888-11-03
A HORRIBLE CRAFT.
How Russian Criminals Are Transported
to Seghalien Island.

How Russian Criminals Are Transported
to Seghalen Island.
The Russian convict transport Nishal-
NOvgorod sails hence this evening
with AGO criminal deportes for the
island of Seghalien. The Nizhni-Nov-
gorod is an iron steamship of about
$500 tons burden, and is especially
| fitted as convict transport. With a
! full complement of convicts the vessel
carries Coz. The officers and crew
number eighty, exclusive of marine
convey escort of sixty-two men specially
chosen for this duty.
The irOn-barred compartments, or
cages in which the convicts are con,
fined run parallel, fore and aft, on
either side theupper and lower tween
decks. The iron bars, an inch thick,
of these cages and the woodwork in
which they are set, are heavily and
| solidly constructed. The cages are of
unequal capacity and length, but have
a uniform height of seven and half
feet. The more desperate characters
are manacled and chained to iron
staples in their berths, from which
they are released when necessary. The
greater number, although retaining
! the waist and ankle shackles, of light
construction, have the freedom OF
traversing the length of the compart-
ment, which may vary from twenty
five to forty feet. Between the outer
bars and the two plain plank shelves
or hunks running from end to end of
| the compartments which afford Sleep
ing room for the occupants, there is
| free space of about four and half or
y i've feet.
Except during the distribution of ra-
-tions no culinary vessels are left with
the convicts. Even the drinking water
is obtained only through an india rub
Der mouth-piece fixed in an enclosed
water tank and through which the
drinker sucks his draught. Immedi-
ately outside the cages and attached to
the under part of the deck overhead is
a steam-pipe connected with the ships
boilers. Into these pipes are fitted
screw nozzles at intervals of twelve
feet. The object of the steam pipe is
to suppress any dangerous outbreak
among the inmates of the cage. By
means of a short hose, specially mado
to resist the steam heat, quickly at
tached to one of the steam-pipe noz-
zles, the turbulent cOnvicts are readily
quoted or parboiled. Strong water
jets have been found next to useless in
allaying these occasional tumults.
After the ship has passed the canal,
but not before, patches of convicts are
in turn brought upon deck for a shower
bath and short exercise. A strongly
constructed iron railing, eight feet
| high, crosses the vessel amidships, in
order that the convict, during his bath
and while unmanacled, can not by any
sudden rush evade the guard and reach
the quarterback. Some of the more
desperate cOnvicts, who stubbornly re-
sist all disciplinary control, are con-
fined to the cages during the whole voy-
age. Both the upper and lower tween
decks are open and airy, the system of
ventilation being excellent, and the
cages themselves are kept scrupuously
clean. The cages are repainted every
~~oyage. Every convict, in addition to
having his hair cropped short, has the
left half of the head from front to back
closely shaven.
Among the AGO convicts carried by
the Nizhni-Novgorod about 100 are
murderers. One of these is relative
of the Shah of Persia-Prince Khana-
lam Mira, son of Prince Betman Mira,
twenty-five years of age, and sentenced
to twenty years hard labor, for the
murder of his brother in Russia. Upon
the greater number of these murderers,
in addition to their various terms of
hard labor in the mines and quarries,
will be inflicted on their arrival Il given
number of blows from the knout, vary
ing from so to 125, according to their
crimes.
The scene on board these departing
convict ships is altogether saddening
and depressing, perhaps the more so
| that one does not hear a murmur or
lament from the stolid looking and
J broken-spirited wretches crowded be-
hind the bars of these cages, which re-
mind the spectator only too forcibly of
the wild beast dens we are accustomed
to see in a travelling menagerie. Fe-
male convicts Of this class are trans
ported in a separate vessel. - odessa
| Cor London NelOS.