Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1891-01-22
How Two Russian EXileS Made a
Break for Liberty, and Succeed in
Securing 1t.
The Case Of YOlkhof>ki, the Poet, and
George LaZaref, the Political Ex-
lies.
In Russia One Must Conduct Him.
self Carefully, Arrests Being
Made for Slight Offenses.

! the recent escape OF Two pOlltlcaI prison
ers from Siberia. Both OF these men Mr.
KEENAN, made the personal acquaintance
Of while travelling in Siberia some two
years ago. Mr.. KEENAN, has returned to
| Washington to spend the holidays. after
! which he viii leave to fulfill his lecturing
| engagement.
, The first of these men, he said,
| Felix VoIkhofsl1i, was a Russian poet of
| some distinction; IN fact, one OF the trans
| latOrs Of L0ngfell0w in the Russian
! | nguage. met him at Tomsk, where he
| had been detained seven years in solitary
| confinement and eleven more in exile
! His pleasing and sincere manner attracted
me at once, and | became deeply interest
/ ed in him. His life had been a particul-
arly sad one, having lost his wife by sui
eide, two Of his children died of consump-
| ton, and, IN order to make his escape, he
was obliged to abandon his third child,
a sweet little girl 8 years old, in eastern
! Siberia. After my return to this country
| | c0rresponded with Folkh0Fski for some
| time by means Of secret addresses and
/ through the aid Of mutual friends. About
a year ago his correspondence suddenly
/ ceased and | lost all track Of him. Short
| ly after this / received a letter from one of
his friends saying that had better not
write to him any more. | understood the
policy Of compiling with this advice, and
my friend VOlkhofski dropped completely
/ from my sight, but not from ny memory.
| Some months ago | received a letter,
| pOstmarked Vancouver, addressed in his
familiar handwriting. It never occurred
! to me that he had escaped, as imagined
/ that he had sent the letter by some aC-
quaintance, until opeaed it and glanced
over the first few words, which read NV
dear George At last am free
| was oyerioyed and patiently waited to
hear the details of his escape from his own
lips. He came to Albany where | was
lecturing. and Immediately made for my
room in the hotel. The meeting between
us would have made an amusing KOdac
picture. 1t occurred in the hallway Of the
hotel. He was dressed in heavy Russian
furs while [ was only clothed in my-well
it was early III the morning and had
arisen IN answer to his knock. Then
heard his story. He had assumed the
| guise Of a retired army officer, and by his
sharpness and efrontery made his way
down the Amoor river to a Pacific port,
not, however, without many narrow escapes
from detection. Then he skipped to
Japan, where he took steamer for this
country. Upto this time he had not dis
closed his identity, as the japanese govern
ment returns escaping eXiIes to Russia.
! On the steamer, however, 1t became known
who he was, and a subscription was start
ed, to which every man, woman and child
on the vessel contributed. Why even the
| lamp cleaner threw in the few coppers he
! had
'After leaving Albany Volkhofski ac-
| copied the invitation of Mr. Huber, whose
acquaintance he made or the vessel from
Japan, to visit his home in Canada. Not
long after this Ireceived from him very
| respondent letter, in which he said that
If he only had his little girl with him he
would have the courage to begin a new
career, bat without her life is not worth
| living. | offered him assistance. and we
arranged a scheme by which she was to
| be struggled from Russia via Finland to
| London. Folkhofski went there to meet
! aar, and have received another letter
! from aim which commenced: 'Hurrah
my little daughter has arrived The let
| ter also contained d postscript from the
child herself. Volkhofski has returned to
his literary work, and a recent copy Of the
| FornightiY Review contained an interest
ing article by him, on My Life in Rus
sian Prisons.
''In the case of George Lazaref a politi-
| cal exile who has just reached this cOun-
try, was almost similar to that of Volt
hCfski. | met him at Chita. In Eastern
| Siberia, where he had been exiIed for three
years by administrative process-that is,
by a simple order Of the minister without
any trial. He was lawyer. a bright
young fellow, and | formed a sincere
friendship with him. Like Volbhofski,
our correspondence came to a sudden end
| The last letter ! received from him while
he was in Siberia was written at one of
the roadside exile stations. 1t was eight
| cen pages long. Where he obtained the
writing material or how he mailed the
letter can not say. Probably he bribed
his guards. He did not write again from
Siberia. and | did not know whether he
was dead or living. But short time ago
| received a letter from him. postmarked
San Francisco. in which be related the ex-
periences of his escape. They were SINH
lar to Foikbofskis. Lazaref had served
his three years Of exile, and was about to
return to his home, when one day an IL
lterata peasant. who could neither read
nor write, came to him and asked him to
write letter at his di ,tati0n. The
crime for which this peasant had been
exiled was for changing MS political be-
lief from the Russian Church to the
Lutheran faith
In the letter which Lazaref wrote for
the peasant he exhorted his friends at
home that although he had been banished
not to wayer In their convictions and to
stand firm in their new belief. Lazeref
finished his term of exile ard started for
his In tho lo L.
ter had been intercepted. 1t was known
that the peasant was unable to write. and
an investigation was set ON foot to disc0v-
CT who the writer was. The authorship
was traced to Lazeref and he was again
/ eXled for five more years. 1t was during
this Punishment that he fed the country.
, George Lazeref IS now in San Francisco
studying the English language.
People in Russia have TO conduct them
| selves III Il most exemplary manner. for
one will be arrested for the most trivial #
lenses. just to illustrate the feeling
} which prevails as to the reasons for whicE.
one can be arrested, | will tell you a story
which FolkhoFski told me. One OF his
, companions in exile asked him why he
had been baHished. He replied that he
did not know himself Don { knowr px-
claimed his interrogation Didn't your
father have a pecuiiar-Iooking cow colored
black and white? Very likely, ans wer-
ed Folkofski. Ny father owned a mum
Der of cattle. Wei, don't you know that
that is enough in itself to exile twenty
men, said his friend.
There was family named Pierce. from
Indianapolis continued Mr.. KEENAN,.
who were arrested and confined for
L., /. II. =