Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-02-20
NO PITY FOR WEAK WOMEN.
The Reports of Narrowing Cruelty to Rus
sian Convicts Verified.

LONDON, Feb. Is. Copyright New
York Associated Press, Provided
with a cable despatch of introduction from
Geo. Kenman the celebrated Siberian
traveller, the London agent of the Associa-
ted Press called this morning on Sergius
Stepniak, the we'll known Russian political
writer upon political and social conditions.
Stepniak when asked whether he could
give any information in regard to the out
rage, in the political prison at Kara in
eastern Siberia. replied that the re-
ports already published gave only a hint
Of the horrible tragedy enacted at Kara
Perfectly trustworthy information, he
said had been received in cipher
letters that tells the story only in
its many outlines. The full
details Of the dreadful story cannot be long
now III reaching the western world. COM
ing so soon after the publicity given to
the 1akutsk atrocity. The facts so far
received are as follows:
Madame Sigada did not commit suicide
as the earliest reports stated. She died
from the effect of cruel fogging to which
she was subjected. The fcgging took
place on Wednesday, November 9th. It
was continued until under the brutal blows
the unhappy victim lost consciousness and
lay as one dead. The news of her shocking
murder produced widespread dismay
among the female fellow prisoners, and
three of them, unable to longer bear the
wretched fate, committed suicide by poi
son. The names of the women were
Marie Kaluzhnaya, Marya Paolona Karal-
efskaya and Madezhda Smeritskaya.
Marie Kaluzhnaya was arrested in 1884,
girl of IS, ON charge Of disloyalty
Every means tried to extort
confession duplicating friends was futile
until Col Kolanski brought her forged
statement purporting to be confession of
her fellow conspirators and promising i'm
munity. Marie fell into the trap and con-
fe9sed and her confession was used against
her friends. who were sentenced to penal
servitude When she learned of the de-
ception, she procured a revolver and tried
to kill Kolanski. For this she was
sentenced to twenty years of penal
servitude Marie, Poalona Karalefskoya
was young married lady about thirty
five years, Of good family. In 1871 she
was sentenced for thirteen years in penal
servitude with exile to Siberia for life for
belonging to a secret circle. Her husband
was sent thousand miles from the mines
to which she was sent. The separation
drove her insane, and In 1881 she was
allowed to join her husband in the hope
of restoring her reason. She recovered,
but the new government separated them
again and she was returned to the Kara
mines
Madezhda Smernitskaya was SO years
old and a student in the woman's college.
She was sentenced to the Kara mines for
II years with pen servitude. Shortly
after the suicide three women and a
brother of Marie KaIuzhnaya, also politi-
cal prisoners. died suddenly Another ex-
lie named BobokOv committed suicide
rather than submit to the cruel humiliation
and suffering of fogging The logging
of Madame Sigida occurred under
orders issued by Lieutenant General
Baron Korff, governor general of the Prov
ince of Amor, In which Kara prison is
situated. These orders directed that the
iecret edict of March. 1888, signed by Col
kinvraski director general of prisons for
the empire. Should be unfinchingly en-
forced. This edict was to the effect that
political convicts should be treated by pris-
on officials in precisely the same manner
as criminals condemned for common law
ofenses.
In what particular way Madame Sigida
transgressed the prison rules is not clearly
explained But Jogging this sensitive
and cultured woman to death for any lack
of conformity to prison regulations,
Stepniak thought would impress the west
ern world with profound horror. The po-
litical prisoners at Kara, Stepniak said,
had in some was learned that the political
exiles imprisoned at Soghalien also
have been subject to cruel fogging
They were constantly In dread of similar
torture to that inflicted upon Madame
Sigida. Stepniak thought it not unlikely
that the publication of the facts would
force the superior officials of Russia to
take some notice of the affair. But the
hogging and all the other brutalities were
entirely due to the direct orders of the
central government at St. Petersburg.
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