St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-02-23
MUsCovIrE BaRBAR1TIEs.
Outrages at Kara Prison Origi-
mated in Hunger.

mated in Hunger.
LONDON, Feb. 22.-Further details of
the outrage in the political prison at
Kara reached the Russian eXiles in Lon
don to-day from friends who are located
short distance from the scene of the
horrors. They are brief. but conclusive,
confirming fully a report of the affair
receN ed here from an official in st.
Petersburg, who is in sympathy with
the cause of the people. According to
the details received to-day, it 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 Jailers. Ali the
women imprisoned there ahstained
from food for fourteen DAYS. The jaiI-
ers did not believe that they would be
able to keep up the struggle. At first
they jeered at the women. then 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 abstinence
from food, the prison OIL Gals resorted
TO artificial means to compel them to
take nouriShment. The methods ADOPT
ed. however. were
NICLENI AND LlCENT1OUS,
and the women were complied to aban-
don their strike. Abominable outrages
followed, and were of daily and hourly
occurrence. This state of affairs led
Madame Sigida, whose death by fiOgg-
ing has already been announced, to ask
for an interview with the director of the
prison in hope of securing an ameIiora-
ton of the condition of the prisoners.
This request was granted, but when she
was taken before him she found him
abusive. 1t is said that in her eXaspera-
ton at his abuse she called him vii
lain and slapped his face. 1t is not
positively known. however, what took
place during the interview, put what
ever did happen, Madame Sigda did
not return to her companions. She
was taken from the directors Office and
conveyed to the prison in which COM
mon offenders are confined. Three of
her companions from among the pOIiti-
cal prisoners were permitted to Join her.
The advices received to-day state that
these were Mary Koaleski, wife of Prof.
kUaleSki, of Kieff; : ME. SmirntSky and
Maria kOlujny. The last tive ladies'
were from Odessa. Two months elapsed
after these events before Lieut.. Gen.
Baron kOrff, governor general of the
province of the AmOOr, instructed the
directors of prisons that the secret edict
of March, 1888, which ordered that
political prisoners should be treated by
prison officials in precisely the same
manner as
CRIMINALS CONDEMNED
for common law otfenSes would be en-
forced. and ordered the directors to no.
tify the political prisoners of both sexes
that they would be liable to corporal
punishment if they violated certain of
ba T1ric0n rpUfIlafiOpc Tho TnoI.,
OnerS. fOreseeing immediate danger,
held consultation and sent to the di-
rector OF the prison petition that he
would telegraph to the minister of the
interior at st. Petersburg, requesting
him to suspend the application of the
edict. This the director refused to pay
any attention to, and thereupOn the
men warned him that the first
fiogging of a political prisoner
would he the signal for the others
TO commit suicide together. Three
days afterward, Lieut.. Gen. Baron Korff
sent special order directing that Nine.
Sigida be punished according TO the
regulations, and the order was executed
to the fullest extent. Nine. Sigida was
stripped and received 100 laShes. She
was carried off bleeding and in an I'M
conscious condition, and her death en-
sued from rupture of the heart. Her
CHTee companions committed suicide
within an hour of the time of hearing of
Nine. Sigida's death. The 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 close
ly maintained around the prison
that nothing was known of what
was happening within. Since the secret
channel of information has been re-
opened it has been learned that the men
carried out the 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 sufficient to kill
quickly, but in the course of the even
ing two of those who had shared it
Bobokova and Kolujny-died. Their
commissions and the dead silence which
reigned la the other cells reused the at
tention of the guards and they fmmedi-
ately summoned physicians. who adj
minisJered emetics to the survivors and
endeayored by every means to counter
act the effects of the poison.