The daily citizen. [volume] (Asheville, N.C.) 1889-1890, 1890-02-23
THAT RUSSIAN HORROR.
FURTHER DETAILS OF THl:
OUTRAGE8.

OUTRAGES.
Madame 8igida Killed for Pro
tectinR Her IsOnOr-Thrce wo
men Commit Suicide and Thirty
Men Attempt It.
LONDON, February 22.-Further dc
tails of the outrage in the political prison
at kora reached the Russian cxilcs !,
London to-day from friends who are 10
Gated short distance from the scene o
horror. They are briet, but conclusive
confirming fully the report of the affai,
received here from an official in st. Pet
crsburg, who is in sympathy with the
cause of the people. According to de,
tails received to-day it appears that the
trouble originated in "hungcr strike
in August. when the women political
prisoners tried to starve themselves to
death to escape the brutalities Of their
joilers. All the women imprisoned there
nbst aimed from food for fourteen days.
The jailers did not believe they would be
able to keep up the struggle. At first
they jecrcd at the women. then tempted
them with food; and then finding this OF
no avail. threatened them. When sew.
eral of the women were at the point of
death from their voluntary abstinence
from food, the prison officials resortcd
to artificial means to compel them
to take nourishmcnt. The methods
adopted however, were violent and licen.
tious, and the women were compelled to
abandon their strike. Abominable out
RACES followed and were of daily and
hourly occurrence. This state of affairs
led Madame Sigina, whose death by
hogging has already been announced, to
ask tor an interview with the director of
the prison in hope of securing an amclio-
ration 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 cxaspcra-
tion at his abusr. she called him a vii
lain, and slapped his face. 1t is not
positively known, however, what took
place during the interview but whatever
did happen Madame Sigida did
not return to her companions.
She was taken from the directors
office and conveyed % the PRISON in which
common offenders are confined. Three OF
her companions from among the political
prisoners were permitted 10 join her. Ad-
vices received to-day state that these
were Mary Koalcsky. wife of Prof. Koa-
lesky. of kicff; Madame Dunruitsky and
Maria ka'ujuy. The last two ladies were
from Odessa.
Two months elapsed after these events
before Adjutant Baron Korefi, governor
general of the province of Amour. in
slructed 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 offences, would be enforced.
and ordered the directors to notify the
political prisoners Of both sexes that they
would he liable to corporcal punishment
f they violated certain Of the prison reg.
nlations. The male prisoners, forcsceing
danger, held consultation
md sent the director Of the prison petit
lion that he would telegraph to the min.
ster of interior at St. Petersburg, re-
lucsting him tn suspend the application
Df the edict. The director refused TO pay
any attention to their petition, and
.hcrcupon the men warned him that the
irst fiogging of n political prisoner
would bc the signal for the others to com.
nit suicide together. Three days after.
wards Baron Kouf sent n special order
hat MADAME Sigida be punished accord
ng to the regulations, and the order was
'xecutcd to the fullest extent. Madame
Sigida was stripped and received 100
ashes. She was carried of bleeding and in
IN unconscious condition and her death
nsucd from rupture Of the heart. Her
hrcc companions committed suicide
within an hour after the time OF Madame
sigida's death. The corpses OF the four
women were buried AT the same time in
he court yard Of the common offenders
,rison. For weeks the Gordon OF vigi.
ancc was so closely maintained around
lie prison that nothing was known Of
What was happening within. Since the
ccrct channel Of information has been
ropcncd il has been learned that the
ncn carried out their threat Of suicide
They met together and thirty of them
haired what poison they could obtain
md then went to their cells to die. The
luantity Of poison which had been SNUG.
lied into the prison was no, sufficient to
I'LL quickly; but in the course of the even.
ng two Of those who had shared it
'aboskon and kolujuy-dicd. Their
and the dead silence which
cigncd in the other cells aroused the at.
ention Of the guards; and they immedi-
'tcly summoned physicians, who admin.
stored cmetics to the survivors and en-.
lcavorcd by every means to countcract
he effects Of the poison.