The morning call., 1890-05-25

! name. but kind of cave in II is known all over
! Siberia as tile Slaman's Valley. On the black
SIDES CT The rock the white foam OF the waves is
| frozen Instantly, The pointed peaks look like so
many sentinels guai ding the entrance:
1t was night. The huge blocks OF Ice were
glowing like gigantic diamonds and reflected
faint light upon the frozen surface of the lake.
1t was cold TO bursting, as they say 10 Siberia.
A sleigh with three reindeer came up quickly.
The reindeer seemed TO know the way; they
turned 10 the right and to the left within these
enormous blocks OF ice without pauslng an In
slant. Two men In furs sal III the sleigh. They
did not speak, for that is impossible for people
who drive fast in such fearful cold. A sharp
wind whistles omlnousiy. All around reindeer
became visible. Evidently men were present
near by. The sleigh stopped at the entrance to
| the reindeer lay down in the snow 10 rest
The newcomers walked few steps and found
themselves in the Sfamans cave. Stalactites OF
al shapes and coors hung from the ceiling.
Torches lllumined the cave, aud their light was
reflected from the ice crystals In all the hues OF
the rainbow. Twenty eXiles had met here to
consult. Each one had fur robe IN addition to
his ordinary costume 1t was so warm Inside
the cave That the new arrivals laid aside the
masks which they had worn as protection
against the excessive cold.
a. What? Without amy precautionary meas
ures?" asked Vladimir. You have no sentl-
neis? am admitted as am, without any oath
Or question" -r
ing superstition protect us against any danger.
No Siberian, unless 1t be a hali-mad hunter,
would dare approach these rocks al night. The
agents OF tie Government care not TO come out
In such weather But we have sentnels: First,
the reindeer, who would make noise like seals
| II a stranger were 10 approach. and these two
friendly Tunguses, who warrant our safety. You
not yet accustomed 10 this life in the desert,
| and have head nothing yet suppose p
" n OF the least"
Well. our arrival has been announced. l am
| at home here: When you desired to join us the
of all the exiles in Irkutsk. l was security for
| you. Our brethren knew That l was going TO
| bring stranger"
But this is complete organization. How
could you accomplish all this under tile eyes OF
the authOrlies?"
"All that we owe to one man! Formerly we
complained, endured and gave ourselves up TO
desEair. That man came and soon understood
how TO inspire our hearts with hope and our
minds with courage"
"And who Is that ?"
lone moment and you shall know him. He Is
not here yet, but lie Will come soon, because he
knows we have new member and generally lie
receives such himself You Will notice that Of
the twenty members present not one comes near
Inc or speaks To me. That is one OF our rules"
Indeed the newcomers were left standing quite
alone in the cave, while farther IN small num-
Der of consplrators stood In silence their hoods
drawn over their faces.
II admire your discipline" said Vladimir
He must be an exceptional man who is al The
head Of this society,""
" 1t is an old custom now for the eXies of
district TO choose head whom the Government
acknowledges such. He is to mediate be-
tween the latter aud ourselves but in fact this
title is an empty form; our demands our conf
plants never produce a result. We are not even
allowed TO make our complaints known TO an In
with some bitterness In his tone, " lou have ell
1oyed certain privileges we are told, aud have
not yet fathomed the depth of our suferlngs.
The exile has no rights whatsoever, not even
thai oil complaining"
" But that Is terrlbler'
" And yet IL Is true. The Car is just, but his
| ministers are strict. The upper officials are
usually hard Of heart, but the subordlnates-they
are moDsterS!'
They say the Car Is Just ?"
mo doubt, but the Gar has no idea OF our
late lie wants only 10 get rid OF US: lie no
Wel nf hQrA md
| have little or nothing to suffer. AS told you,
we are permitted to choose chief so that even
among us the idea OF rank and authority may be
preserved Last year our chief was OLD Count
F--.a man who was completely crushed by
bis misfortunes and had lost his courage. He
dared not say word. He lived in a suburb OF
| lrkutsk, village to which / was likewise con-
| signed. Our Inspector was an old army officer,
| who was entirely dependent on his wife when he
was not drunk 1hls man Is nov Captain OF gen.
| darnes In this city"
81 know him." said Lanin. What else?'
"At that time there came new exile to US,
man of rare energy and superior intellect who
was sent here on account of his share In a great
conspiracy, together with eleven others. lie
never spoke of this conspiracy; he was mean-
| chOly and reserved. Alter while We learned to
appreciate his rare merit; lie managed 10 help
everybody aud soon won favor with all OF US.
Several weeks after his arrival this happened.
The Inspectors wife had a grudge against
young man of high rank who was sent to Siberia
because lie had written some verses against one
OF The ministers. One day we missed hinl--and
the next day we found his corpse. he inspector,
uiGoi oh ny Whei hao
him To receive 500 blows. The poor man had
been Unable TO bear The punishment and had
died A few days later The Governor
came TO that district. In consequence OF
happy event in tie Emperors family partial
amnesty had been proclaimed, which included
the, young poet. We were beside ourselves
| and all OF US urged Count +. to report
| the simple facts. He dared not say q
| word. We all knew the benevolent nature
| OF The Governor, aud yet the letter OF the
| law did not allow us 10 open our mouths. Then
| this man. of whom spoke. the chief OF the un-
known conspiracy, stepped forth ron the Ianks
] OF the exlles drawn up before the Governor and
/ approached the latter. The inspector was lust
| stating tina. the young poet was no longer alive
| Our cUlurade Interrupted him and related what
| had actually happened. We list ned in amaze
/ ment. His language sounded superhuman. Ii
| was lull oil deep emotion, sorrow and threats.
Inc Inspector was In terrible fury, but the
| governor allowed the speaker TO conclude his
| narrative. When cur comr,Ae had snoken a
] quarter oil an hour, he ended by saying: 1 have