, 1890-02-16
THREE SUICIDES.
Result OF Cruel Treatment in Siberian
Prisons.

EIlsOuts
copyrighted 1880 by the N. Y. Ass'd Press.l
LONDON, Feb. I5.-Provided with a
cable dispatch Of introduction from Geo.
KEENAN,, the celebrated Siberian traveller,
. London agent Of the Associated Press
called this morning on Bergius Stepniak.
the well known writer upon Russian polit-
ical and social condition. Stepniak when
asked whether he could give any infor-
nation in regard to the outrage in the
political prison at Kara, in Eastern ST.
IBERIA, replied the reports already pub
lished gave only = hint of the terrible
tragedy enacted at Kara. Perfectly trust
worthy information, he said. had been re-
ceived il cipher letters that tell the story
only in its main outlines in full. The
details of the dreadful affair cannot be
long now in reaching the western world.
coming so soon after the publicity given
to the Yakutsk atrocity. The facts. so
far as received, are As follows: Madame
SiRada didn't commit suicide, as the ear
Hest reports stated. She died from the
effects of the cruel f~ogging to which she
was subjected.
The logging took place Wednesday.
Nov. 6. 1t was continued until under
the brutal blows the unhappy victim lost
consciousness and lay as one dead. News
Of her shocking murder produced wide
spread dismay aid anguish among her
female fellow prisoners, and three of
them, unable to longer bear their
wretched fate, committed suicide BY pos
son. The names of the women were
Marie Kaluzhuaya, Maria Paoloona Kar-
alefskoya and Nedezhdn Smvinithkaya.
Maria KaluAhuaya was arrested in 1884
girl of Is. on . charge OF disloYalty.
Every means tried to extort q confession
duplicating friends was futile. until Col.
Katanski brought her a forged statement
purporting to be q confession of her fell
low conspirators and promising immunity.
Maria fell into the trap, confessed and
her confession was used against her
friends, who were sentenced to penal SER
vitude. When she learned of the decep-
ton she procured a revolver and tried to
kill Katanski.
For this she was sentenced to twenty
years penal servitude with exil to Siberia
for life for belonging to q secret circle.
Her husband was sent a thousand miles
from the mines to which she was sent.
The separation drove her insane and in
1887 she wal allowed to join her husband
in hope OF restoration of her reason.
She recovered but a new governor
separated them again and she was re-
turned to the Kara mines. Modeyhada
Smvinithkava was 33 years old and a
student in the woman's college. She
was sentenced to the Kara mines for if
teen years with penal servitude. Shortly
alter the suicide Of the three women =
brother of Marie K~aluzhuaya, also a
political prisoner, died suddenly. Another
exile named Batakovi committed suicide
rather than submit to the cruel humilia-
ton aud suffering Of flogging. The
fogging of Madam Sigida occurred under
orders issued by Lieutenant-G General
Baron Korf. governor general of the
province of Amour in which the Kara
prison is situated.
These orders directed that the secret
edict OF March. 1888, signed by Galklne-
vraski. director general of the prisoners
for the empire, should be unfinchingly
enforced. This edict was to the effect
that political ~convicts should be treated by
prison officials in precisely the same man.
ner as criminals condemned for Common
law o~ffenses. In what particular way
Madame Sigada transgressed the prison
rules is not clearly explained. but the fog
cling of a sensitive and cultured woman to
death for any lack of conformity to prison
regulations Stepnisk thought would i'm
press tho western world with profound
horror. Political exiles imprisoned at
Saghalien have also been subjected to
cruel foggings. They we're constantly
in dread Of similar torture to that inflicted
upon Madame Sigada- Stepniak thought
it not unlikely the publication of facts
would force superior officials in Russia to
take some notice Of the anair. But the
fogging and all other brutalities were en-
tirely due to the direct orders of the cen
trial government at st. Petersburg.