The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1889-08-02

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most and saeoum5ed generally tha
fastest The ordinary offender.
thieves, common lna,cfacLors. etc.
who came from the lower classes
stood prison Iifo much better. for il
more nearly resemnled in It's diet au7
daily toll their foraer life. / have
known ordinary offenders. men from
the lower classes, who we're stout and
strong, who had lived and worked in
the mines for twenty years.
The women prisoners at the mine
were employed in scrubaing. wa-hing
and clothes-making. The delieately-
nurtured ladies among them W no were
political offenders did not generally
live long.
some Of the seventies practica5
upon convicts in Siberia are justified.
it must be said. Many of tn. oouvic.=
are the worst sort of humanity. in
Guiding murlcrers. thieves. highway
men and all kinds OF offenders. W
had one murderer in our community
who had killed. twcnty-scveu men
The political prisoners were EorceG
to miuC.e with this class Of eonvicts.
some OF them the dregs of humanity.
In our company OF eight hundred
which left Moscow there were forty
eight political prisoners, fogr Of whom
We're women. Sixteen of Us were tl,
officers of the Shleselburg Regiment.
who had been coUrt-martialed for al
legged completely with Polish conspir-
ators- Three OF us officers stuck to-
gcther and worked together and finally
escaped together. l do not know what
ever became Of the others. l suppose
thoy are all dead by now.
There is only one chance in one
hundred Of ever getting back 10 Russia
when one IS once sent to Siberia. for If
a convict is suspected of having further
political schemes It destroys his hope
Of a pardon.
MANY Of the convicts. as ! have
said, are desperate men. Here is 8
story OF the revenge some OF then
took upon a Siberian who had mur-
dered some of their number Thi-
Siberian was one Of the Mongolia
race called Bratski, and he had
farm about two hundred versts fror
Nercni4sk. 1t lay in the way by whi..
conviots escaping from the mine ggr.
orally passed. The region was mo-.Ig
d-y desert, but this Bratsl<i farm ar
had a good well Of water which a.-
tracted the convicts, especially t..
green ones who had never heard G..
him.
81 was this farmers custom to cal
TO a convict whom he saw passing b.
wearing a good pair Of shoes or d
good coat and entice him within
reach, and then shoot him from
round hut which he had loop-holed a.
about. He killed and robbed a nun
Der Of convicts in this way.
''One day n party OF seventeen col
victs went by the farm, and some ,l
the younger ones were for stoppina
The more experienced convicts d.
suadcd them from doing this, sayiu-
that they would surely be shot. B.
means of a stratagcm five Of the con
victs captured the farmer uuarmed
and away from his loop-holed hut.
Then the best means of putting t.
death the murderer were discussed
Some were for hanging him. but ono
convict said: i Il show you a bette.
way than that The farmers leg
were ripped up with a knife from til
inside of the ankle and lot OF finely
chopped horse-hair was rubbed inc
the wounds. The hair was obtain,-
from the tail Of a horse, which W,
cut of. The finely cut hair irritatc.
the wounds much and put the victim
in great agony. The convicis g.
Nerchinsk later heard, through tn
convict system OF signs and commun.-
cation, which is spread all over Siberl.
like the tramp language in this cour-
try, thatthe farmer died OF his wound
Il remember n convict at Nerchir-
named Butouska. who was an ungg.
fellow and often brought punishma.
upon himself. He used to get tg-r
hundred or three hundred lashes at d.
time for stealing from the Other pri~.
Oners. Upon one occasion he wa
punished FOR some misdced by being
thrown into Il dark cellar. the inten-
ton being TO keep him there for two
hours. But the overseer, who was
drunken fellow, forgot him, and b.
was not released
During the night the other con
victs heard an awful yelling comm 8
from the cellar into which Butouskr
had been thrown. In the morniu
there was nothing to be seen in tn
cellar but Butouska' bones. The rat
had eaten the rest Of him.
u can recall many acts Of cruelty T.
the prisoners. L remember one politi-
cal prisoner, a young man of higI
rank who had been a Captain in N
own regiment He was much belovc.
by US all Weak and run down by Il
hard life of the mines, he found hi
self utterly unable TO work one d
and when they tried TO make him Ike.
at IL he refused and declared he cou
not. He was taken to the hospita
where he died, being kept without
mouthful Of food for twenty-for
hours"
Love in the WooIy West.
Hp-YOrl cau not NAV fba roiapoO