The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-11-03
A Journey of Over Two Months to the
Pacific Coast and Liberty
1t Last

.....o,a.a -. Az. .,..s,.
once sea'fes'eo On .ne cnaIRe OF oelng con-
cerned IN conspiracy. He was kept in
solitary confinement for three and hall
wears. and when brouoht to trial was liner
.ted "S $500
"ceu
VolnovsKy tnen went to Odessa whore he
became interested in literary society,
which was not revolutionary. The nol;ca
nrononncad = ravolrt;o,.. P
$1,000 49, -eoAu..ona.y' however ana
aifes.eu 'olnovsAy ana otoers belonging to
1t. he and nearly 200 other suspects spent
three years in the fortress Of ST. Petersburg
before thew were triad volhovsL,, go
oon,,;o..a 80 .S was
onu sen'ol1ceu 20 e41le TOT lie.
month AFTER being sentenced he COM
IN siberia after journey lasting several
weeks, Volkhovsky was sent to Tukalinsk,
village IN Iobolsk. and after being in
formed that he must expect visit from the
ponce At any moment. and that he was for
village or he would be knouted, he was al
lowed to seek his living as best he could.
Without money, and without knowledge
only Of literature and the law, he remained
at this village for five years, earning a
scanty livelihood az a house painter and
performing odd jobs. The life. however,
was terribly degrading, for, besides being
visited twice day BY the police, the inhab-
itants Of the village were forbidden to as
SunerlnG0n02nf
of police took an inhuman delight in rem
derinR his life as hard and miserable as
possible. After five years. residence he
married, and was eventually Fortunate
enough to obtain permission to transfer
himself to Tomsk. This he did without de-
lay, being compelled to do the Journey on on
foot, accompanied by his wife. Probably
the terrible hardships ruined her constitu-
ton, for very shortly afterward she died.
leaving an infant daughter.
The governor of Tomsk, the exile discov-
cred, had been one of the officials of the
Moscow university where he was student;
therefore their relations were friendly. For
five years the exile lived in Tomsk. Volk-
hovsky's position was exceptional, for
through the Governor he obtained a pass
Siberia in search of employment. While
residing in the town he earned a living by
writing for the one newspaper published
there, but as this was shortly afterwards
suppressed and the Governor died. he
started for Irkutsk, performing the distance
by travelling necessarily for eleven DAYS,
Again he devoted himself to literature, but
in short time the police, without stating
any reason, ordered him out of the town.
dozen other towns and villages he enter
junction: Tor IT appeared that as the author
,tles could not consign him to the mines
because hard labor was not included in his
sentence. they persecuted him by ths many
ea n ~ IuoAI power. Wnne IN lrkutsk ne
cont:lved to save about 433O, and with this
secreted ne eventually travelled on foot in
severe weather across Yoblonoi mount
TOMS 70 lroltskosavsk, small town
on me Chlnese frontier. He intended to re-
nam tnere year, but after three days he
was again expelled, and then for the first
ume ne contemplated escape. Journeying
east continually, and always avoiding the
villages. he reached the Pacific coast after
most exhaustlng and lonely journey ex-
tending over two months. On one occasion
having passed Blagovestchensk in safety
and completed four-ffths of the distance,
ne was on small steamer on the Amoor,
when 1t ran aground. the water being too
shallow Tor the vessel. A hundred miles
further, near the junction with the SonRari,
was the Hanka lake, which he was com.
PEELED to cross, but the boats ceased run
ming on the last day Of September until the
following May. He had just little over
Two days IN which to do the journey and |
catch the last boat. therefore he was COM
PEELED to spend nearly the whole of his re-
naming money in the hire of two horses |
which he was fortunate enough to obtain az |
Khabarovka. Arriving on the last day, he |
succeed in crossing the lake. and then be- |
gan another journey through the Oussouris- |
kykrai, an almost wholly uninhabited |
country, and lastly. entering the little port |
OF Vladivostock. Here he assumed the |
Ruise of trader and took lodgings for sey- |
eral days.