Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-02-22

But Siberia is known and is interesting
neither as an agricultural nor a mining
country, for the term has become synony-
nous with every species of cruelty. In
Vulnerable narratives have been published
from time to time, giving accounts of what
purported to be the suferings of prisoners
IN the Siberian mines of narrowing adven-
lures undergone by escaping convicts. There
was, no doubt, time when these stories
contained an element of truth Fifty to a
hundred years ago, no doubt, the Siberian
prisons were in places so dreadful that words
would fail in the effort to give an adequate
description Of their horrors. But there is
some reason to believe that in the last
twenty-five or thirty years there has been
an immense improvement in the condition
OF the Siberian prisoners. The system
was begun by Peter the Great, who, as his
predecessor, Ivan H., had conquered the
western portion of the country, deter
mined to make use of it as a penal settle
ment for the Swedish prisoners he had
! taken in the war with Charles XII. Be
tween 5000 and $4,000 of these unfortu-
mates were deported toSiberia, and allowed
to stay there as colonists, being obliged to
remain in the country under no greater
restraint than was necessary to
prevent their escape. Indeed, many
of them were allowed to send
| for their families, and the Russian Gov
eminent betrayed the expense of bringing
their wives and children from Sweden and
| locating them in Siberia. OF these pris-
oners over 500 were sent to Tobolsk, the
capital of Western Siberia, and among
them were gold and silversmiths, oiners,
carpenters, shoemakers, blacksmiths and
other handicraftsmen, who, being supplied
with material and set up in business by
the Government, soon became prosperous
in their new location. Finding that the
system worked well, according to the Rus
sian idea, Peter the Great followed it out
by sending all classes of convicts-muti-
neers from the army, murderers, robbers
and evil-doers generally. All were, how
ever, not allowed to stay among the honest
Swedes who had preceded them, but were
sent further on. The same system has
practically been kept up to the present
day, for the more depraved of the prison
ers are segregated and kept from associa-
ton with the compulsory colonists, al
though, by good conduct, a prisoner who
has been sent out for life may in time
escape from the hard labor OF the mines
and become peasant farmer. The inter
esting narrative of Baron Rosen, himself
political prisoner of the time of Nicholas,
says that Eastern Siberia is filed with
colonists who are, or whose fathers have
been conviets.
The convicts are started from various
parts of Russia four or FIVE times year in
parties Of from ten to one hundred, guarded
by soldiers and Cossack cavalry. All wear
irons, chains being fastened to the ankles
in such way that by means of cord the
prisoner may hold up his letters and so
walk with some degree of comfort. The
distances traversed on foot by these exiles
sometimes exceeds 1000 miles, and, as no
travelling can be done by the convict
bands in winter, three or four years are
sometimes required to reach their destina-
ton. Their families are usually allowed
to attend them, and Rosan says that some
of the most pathetic scenes witnessed in
Siberia illustrated the devotion of noble
ladies who, Tor the sake of the husbands
they loved, gave up rank and fortune, dis
pensed with servants and attendants, and
on foot trayersed the long and weary way.
In sensational plays and fiction the knout
plays a prominent part, but at least one
noted returned exile confesses that during
the whole fifteen years of his experience
in Siberia he never saw knout. The in
strument itself, Judging from the descrip-
ton of it, is sufficiently terrible 1t is a
thick piece of rawhide, cross section of
which would show triangle with exceed
ingly sharp edges. Into the rawhide COM
posing the instrument iron filings have
been beaten to render it heavy. The exc
cutioner takes it in his hand, and when
striking the back Of the victim draws the
knout, without raising it, straight across
the flesh, thus cutting the skin with every
stroke, while hook at the end of the
heavy contrivance tears off the flesh in
strips. The knout, however, is now rarely
applied, though beating with sticks and
whips, and running the gauntlet between
two lines of soldiers, are still punishments
sometimes in vogue. Otherwise the prison
ers fare well. The food at Kara is equal
in quality and quantity to that Of peniten-
tiarv prisoners in the United States, and
double that allowed to convicts in Eng
land. No work can be done in winter
time The prisoners may receive letters,
papers and visitors they even contrive
entertainments and amuse themselves with
amateur plays and concerts. OF course
their lot is not happy one, still it is far
from being as bad as it is painted. At the
Kara gold mines there are 1000 prisoners,
500 of whom are murderers, 400 robbers,
700 Migrants, and only 100 have committed
political ofenses.
About 10000 persons are sent to Siberia
every year, most of them attended by their
families, and, after their term Of punish
ment has expired, they become farmers,
mechanics of various kinds and aid in the
development of the country. Indeed, dur
ing their term of servitude it is by no
means certain that their work is profitable,
for their Cossack guards are as lazy as
themselves, and there is abundant evidence
that so long as the prisoners give no
trouble to their jailers they work or not,
lust as they please, for no definite hours
are kept nor amount of labor required, and
the mines rather answer the purpose OF
providing labor for the conyicts than rev.
enue for the Crown. Many of the ex-
convicts become merchants. and at the
great Tobolsk Fair and the fairs which
are held during the summer in every town
in Siberia may be seen prosperous mer-
chants buying and selling and getting gain
who were once convicts and still may not
under pain of death leave the limits of
Siberia.
OUR LITTLE CHEMIST.
Yes. that is the name that we call him,
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