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

| Women PriSsucrs, Driven to Despair
Sock to StRrvo oThemselvcs--sabiect T.
| ReVoltinS Brutalities by Their BenstI
GHards--haic Prisouers Attempt Whole
snlo Suicide.
Further details of the outrage in tn,
political prison at Kara have reached
Russian exiles in London, from friend:
who are located a short distance from
the scene Of tho horror. They are
brief but conclusive, confirming fully
the 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, 1t appears that trouble at the
Kara prison originated in a "hungry
strike' in August: whom the women
political prisoners tried to starve them
selves to death TO escape the brutali.
ties oftheir jailors. All tho women
imprisoned there abstained from food
for fourteen days.
The jailors did not believe that they
would bc 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. Whom several Of the women
were at tho point Of death from their
voluntary abstinence from food, the
prison officials resorted to artificial
ment. The methods adopted, however,
W. VALIANT l;nn~t;o,,., a
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 tlogging has already
been announced, to ask for an inter
view with the doctor Of tho 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 she called him
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 Join
her. The advices just received state
that these were Mary Koales"y, wife
of Professor Koalcsl1y, Of Kieil, Ma
dame Smirnitsky and Maria Koluiny
Tho last two ladies' were from Odes-
sa.
Two months elapsed after tho event
before the Agent, Baron Koreg, Gov
ernor General of tho 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 common law Of
fenses, would be enforced, and ordered
the directors to notify the political
prisoners efbeth sexes that they would
be liable to corporal punishment if
they violated certain Of the prison
regulations. The male prisoners, fore
seeing immediate danger, held a con-
sulation and sent to the director Of the
prison apetition that he would tele-
graph to the Minister Of tho Interior
at st. Petersburg, requesting him to
suspend tho application Of tho edict.
The director refused to pay any atten-
tion to their petition and thereupon
the men warned him that the logging
of a political prisoner would be the
signal for the others to commit suicide
together.
Three days afterwards, Baron Xorefr
unnf oroajo1 nrIn, hot nToJo,ao G;,.;
da be logged according to the regula-
the fullest extent. Madame Sigida
was stripped and received 100 lashes.
She was carried of bleeding and in an
condition and her death
ensued from rupture Of the heart. Her
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 Mt
the same time in the court yard of the
common offenders prison,
For weeks the Gordon Of vigilance
was SO closely maintained around the
prison that nothiug was know OF what
was happening within. Since the
secret channel Of information has been
reopened it has been learned that tho
men carried out their threat Of suicide
They met together and thirty of thom
shared what poison they could obtain
and then went to their cells to die. TIE
quantity of poison which had been
smuggled into the prison was not sufli-
to kill quickly, but in the course of
tho evening two OF those who had
shared it, Bebookor and Koluzry died. =.
Their commissions and the death scene
which reignsd in other cells reused
the attention of the guards, and they
Immediately summoned physicians,
who administered ometics to the sur
vivors and endeavored by every
means to counteract the effects Of the
poison.