The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1890-03-06
A TALE OF HORROR.
SICKENING DETAILS OF THE
PRISON OUTRAGE AT KARA.

PRISON OUTRAGE AT KARA.
} Women Prisoners, Driven TO Despair,
Sock to Starvo oThemselyea--SHbject to
RevsItin6 BrutulitieB by Thoir BenstIy
Guards--Maie Prisouers Attempt Whole
sale Suicide.
Further details ofthe outrage in the
political prison at Kara have reached
Russian exiles in London, from friends
who are located short distance from
the scene of tho horror. They are
brief but conclusive, confirming fully
she report of the affair received there
from an official in St. Petersburg, who
is in sympathy with the cause of the
people. According to the details just
received, it appears that trouble as the
Kara prison originated in hungry
strike" in August, whom the women
political prisoners tried to starve them
selves to death to escape the brutali-
ties of their jailors. All the women
imprisoned there abstained from food
for fourteen days.
The jailors did not believe that they
would be able to keep up the struggle.
At first they jeered at the women, then
tempSed them with food and then
finding this of no avail, threatened
them. Whom several of the women
were at the point of death from their
voluntary abstinence from food, the
prison officials resorted to artificial
means to compel them to take nourish-
ment. The methods adopted, however,
IL
women were compelled to abandon
their strike.
Abominable outrages followed and
were of daily and hourly occurrence.
This state of affairs led Madam Sigida,
whose death by hogging has already
been announced, to ask for an inter
view with the doctor of the prison in
the hope of securing an amelioration
of the condition of the prisoners. This
request was granted, but when she was
taken before him, she found him
abusive. 1t was said that in her indig-
nation at his abuse sho called him q
villain and slapped his face. 1t is not
positively known, however, what took
place during the interview, but 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 politi
cal prisoners were permit ed to joir
her. The advices just received state
that these were Mary Koalesgy, wifi,
; of Professor Koalesky, of Kien, Ma
dame Smirnitsky and Maria Kolujny
The last two ladies were from Odes,
sa.
Two months elapsed after tho even
before the Agent, Baron Koreg, Gov
ernor General of the Province Of
Amour, instructed the directors Of the
prisons that the edict of March, 1888
which ordered that political prisoners
should be treated by prison officials in
precisely the same manner as Crimi
nails condemned for eomrlun law Of
fenses, would be enforced, and ordered
, the directors to notify the politica
, prisoners efbeth sexes that they would
E be liable to corporal punishment i
they violated certain Of the prison
regulations. The male prisoners, fore
seeing immediate danger, held CON
sulation and sent to the director of the
prison petition that he would tele
graph to the Minister of the interior
at st. Petersburg, requesting him to
suspend the application of the edict
The director refused to pay any atten.
tion to their petition and thereupon
the men warned him that the Hoggln9
of a political prisoner would be the
signal for the others to commit suicide
together.
Three days afterwards, Baron Xorefl
sent special order that Madame Sigi-
da be Aogged according to the regula-
tions and the order was executed to
the fullest extent. Madame Sigida
was stripped and received 100 lashes.
She was carried of bleeding and in an
unconscious condition and her death
ensued from rupture of the heart. Per
! three companions committed suicide
| within an hour of the time Of hearing
, of Madame Sigida's death. The corp.
, seq of the four women wero buried at
S the same time in the court yard of the
common offenders prison,
2 For weeks the Gordon of vigilance
was go closely maintained around the
= prison that nothiug was know OF what
was happening within. Since the
= secret channel of information has beer
t reopened it has been learned that tht
. men carried out their threat of suicide
q They met together and thirty of them
o shared what poison they could obtair
/ and then went to their cells to die. TEt
quantity of poison which had beer
: smuggled into the prison was not sufli
d to kill quickly, but in the course O
k the evening two Of those who hat
d shared it, Bebookor and Koluzry died
a Their convulsions and the death seen
O which rei9ned in other cells rouset
It the attention of the guards, and the.
Immediately summoned physicians
who administered emetcs to the sur
viyors and endeavorad by ayor,