The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-09-28
THEY WOULD DIE OF STARVA-
TON.

Exiles in Sibsris Who Endured a
Hunger Strike for More Freedom.
In the September part of his Siberian
series George Kennan gives the following
account Of a prison revolt among the
exiles.
A few days later-about the middle of
July-all the rest of the state criminals
were brought back to the political prison
at the Lower Diggings, where they were
put into new and much smaller cells that
had been made by erecting partitions in the
original kameras in suca a manner as TO
divide each of them into thirds. Tue effect
OF this change was to crowd every group
OF seven or eight men into a cell that was
so nearly filed by the sleeping platfor n as
to leave no room for locomotion. Two men
could not stand side by side in the narrow
space between tue edge of The platform and
the wall and the occupants Of the cell we're
therefore compelled to sit or lie all day on
the plank mares without occupation for
either mind or bodies.
No other reply was made to their petit
lions and remonstrances than a threat from
Khalturin tlat if they did not keep quiet
they would be flogged. With view to
intlmidating them Kahlturin even sent a
surgeon to make a physical examination of
one political, for the avowed purpose of as
csrtaining whether his state of health was
such that he could be logged without en-
dangeriug his life TAis was the last straw.
The wretcned state criminals, deprived of
exercise, living 5under dungeon co ldi-
tlons," poisoned by air laden with the stencil
of excrement buckets and finally threatened
with the whip when they complained could
endure no more. They resolved to make
That last desperate protest against cruelty
which is known in Russian prisons as a
"golodofka," or 'hunger strike" They
SO t a notification to Mai. K ahlturin that
their life had finally become uncomfortable,
that they preferred death to such an exis
tence, and that they sh uld refuse to take
food until they either persisted or forced
the government to treat them with more
humanity. N , at'eltion was paid to their
notification, b 1t from that moment not
mouthful of the food that was set into their
cells was touched. AS day after day passed
the stiffness of death gradually settled
down upon the prison.
The starving convicts. too weak and even
apathetic even to talk to one another, lay in
rows, like dead men upon the plank sleeping
platforms, nd the only sounds to be heard
in the building were the footsteps Of the
sentries, and now aud then the incoherent
mutterings Of the insane.
o the fifth day of the "golodofkan Maj.
Khalturin, convinced that the "hun-
60 the prison and asked the
convicts to state definitely upon what
terms they would discontinue their protest.
They replied that the conditions of their
life were unbearable and that they should
continue their self starvation until the ex-
crement buckets were taken out of their
cells, unit they were per nitted TO have
books and to exercise daily in the open air,
until they were allowed to direct the ex-
Al 81 kk1o5v 60 1911
and better clothing than were furnished
by tne government, a I'D u ltil he (khalturi y
gave them solemn assurance tuat none of
them SHOULD be logged The commandant
told them at the talk about fl gging was
nonsense; that there had never been any
serious Intention OF resorting TO the viii ,,
and that. if they would end their strike,
he would see what could be done to Improve
the material conditions of thei' life. Not
being able to get any p ,sitive assure ices
that their demands would be com nliel
with, the prisoners continued the "golo-
dofka."
On the tenth day the state of affairs had
become alarmi e. All of the starving
men were in the last stages of physical
prostration, I'd some of them seemed to
be near death. Count D nitri Tolstoi, the
minister Of the interior, who had been an
priSed of the situation, teegra )hed the
com nandant to keep "skorbnoi leest," or
"hospItal Sheet" setting forth the symp-
toms ID conditions of the strikers, and to
inform him of any marked change.
Every day thereafter a feldsher, or hos
pital steward, went through the cells tax
ing the pulse and the tempe allure of the
starving men. On the thirteent day of
the ''golodofka" Maj. Khalturin sent word
to the wives of all political convincts
living at the lower diggings, that they
might have an interview with their hus-
bands-the first in more than two m )nths-
if they would try to persuade them to be-
gin taking food.
They gladly assented, of course, to this
condition, and were admitted to the prison
At the same time Khalturin went himself
to the starving men and assured them on
his honor, that if they would end the hunger
strike he would do every thing in his power
to satisfy their dema IDS. The entreaties f
tho wretohed, eart-broksn wo nen and the
p onises of the commandant finally broke
down the resolution of the politicals, and on
the thirteeath day the first and most obsti-
nate hungerst ike in the history of the Kara
political prison came TO an end.
n0N 4, nv T,TTNATT