The Portland daily press., 1890-02-24
THIRTY POISONED THEMSELVES.
Particulars of 1.-THE Recent outrages
at the Kara Prison.

LONDON, February 22.-Further details Of
the outrage in the political prison at Kara
reached the Russian exies in London today,
from friends who are located short dis
tance from the scene of the horrors. They
are brief but conclusive, confirming fully a
report of the affair received here from an Of
fetal in st. PETERSBURG, wao is IN sympathy
with the cause OF the people.
1t appears that the trouble at the Kara
prison originated in hunger strike" IN
August, when the women political prisoners
tried to starve themselves to death to escape
the brutalities of their jail0rs All the wom-
en- imprisoned there abstained from food for
IA days. The jailors did not believe that they
would be able to keep up the struggle. AT
first they jeered at the women, then they
tempted them with food, and then, finding
this of no avail, threatened them.
When several OF the women were at the
point of death from their voluntary absti-
nence from food, the prison officials resorted
to artificial means to compel them to take
violent and licentious, and the women were
compelled to abandon their strike,
Abomlnable outrages followed, and were
of daily and hourly occurrence.
This state Of affairs led Nine. Sihda, whose
death by fiogging has already been announced
to ask for an interview with the director Of
the prison In hope Of securing an ameliora-
tl0n OF the condition of the prisoners. This
request was granted, but when she was TAX
en- before him she found him abusive. 1t is
sald that IN her evaporation at his abuse
she called him villain and slapped his face.
1t Is not positively known what took place
during the Interview, but whatever did hap
pen Madame Sihida did not return to her
companions. She was taken from the direc-
TORS, once and conveyed to the prison in
Wnlcn common Offenders are confined. Three
OF her companions from among the political
prisoners were permitted to join her. The
adVlces received today state that they were
Mary koalesky, wife of Prof. KOaesky of
kleffe, Madame Smirnisky and Mary Koluj-
n.y. The last two ladies were from Odessa.
Two months elapsed after these events be-
lore Lleut.-Gen. Baron Korif, governor gen.
eral OF the Province of the Armour, in
structed the directors of prisons that the
secret edlct OF March, 1888, which ordered
that political prisoners should be treated by
prison otficials in precisely the same manner
as criminals condemned for common law of
fences would be enforced, and ordered the
directors to notify the political prisoners of
boil, sexes that they would be liable to cor
poral punishment If they violated certain of
the prison regulations.
The male prisoners foreseeing immediate
danger, neid consultation and sent to the
director OF the prison a petition that he
would telegraph to the minister Of the in
terlor at ot. petersburg, requesting him to
suspend the application of the edct. The
director refused to pay any attention to their
petition, and thereupon the men warned him
that the trst logging of a political prisoner
would be the signal for the others to commit
suicide together.
Three days afterwards Lieut.. Gen. Baron
Kortf sent a special order directing that
Madame Slhlda be punished according to the
regulations, and the order was executed to
the fullest extent.
Madame Sihida was stripped and received
the loo iashes. She was carried off bleeding
and IN an unconscious condition and her
death ensued from a rupture of the heart.
her tnree companions committed suicide
within an hour of hearing of Madame Sihi-
da's death. fne corpses Of the four women
were buried at the same time in the court
yard of the common offenders prison.
For weeks Gordon of vigilance was so
closely maintained around the prison that
nothing was known OF what was happening
within.
Since the secret channel of information
has been reopened, it has been learned that
the men carried out their threat of Suicide
They met together, and thirty of them
shared what poison they could obtain and
then went to their cells to die.
The quantity of poison which had been
smuggled into the prison was not suffieient
to kill quickly, but in the course of the ave.
ming two of those who had shared il Roho.
kov and Kolojny, died. Their Commissions
and the dead silence which reigned in the
other cells, reused the attention of the
guards, and they immediately summoned
physicians, who administered emetics to the
Survivors and endeayored by every means to
counteract the effects OF the poison.