Los Angeles herald., 1891-11-29

thought we did not care to know any
thing about them, and left us un
watched. After week of our stay il
Kara, Boteloff had to make a trip out O
town, and in less than an hour after hil
departure, | stole out to the politica
prison one and quarter miles away
Captain Nikolin, cold, hard-hearteC
individual OF no apparent emotions. and
myself tried for three-quarters OF an
hour mutually to deceive each other
[Laugbter.l He tried to convince me
that the political prisoners in re-
ality were as happy as ho-
tel guests at summer resort,
while had papers and drawings in my
pocket which told me as much about the
real state OF affairs as the valiant cap
tain himself knew. told him, how
ever, that / was pleased to learn that
the prisoners were treated with such
great indulgence. The captain lied con-
siderably more about freedoms granted
his charges and showed up bogus ac-
count book to prove how much money
the prisoners had been allowed to re-
ceive from home. Through copious liba-
tions of hot Jamaica rum, the captain
gradually lost his suspicious, and ex-
changed condolences with me about our
respective past lives, as well as the sal
aries we were obtaining and hoped to
obtain in the future. Laughter.l
Captain Nikolin, in sportive way,
asked me how would proceed to search
prisoner, and when told him that
would strip the individual and then go
through his clothes at my leisure, he
laughed out loud, and explained to me
that he would also examine the subjects
ears, his mouth and his old decayed
teeth, for he had discovered letters and
even poison secreted in those portions
of mans anatomy. When l heard of
this spy's ingenuity / shook in my
boots, for in the lining OF my coat had
several presents to the poor prisoners of
Kara from their friends. A couple OF
Chinese tea cups, a hand mirror and a
red feather duster were hardly COM
patible with my assumed innocence. !
had in my pockets revolutionary docu-
ment; government archives, some of
which had been stolen; reports of Off
GERS in exile, and ten to fifteen note
books full of valuable material. l got
away, however, and that evening went
to the cabin OF Miss Arnfeldt, the young
lady of whom l have spoken. She was
the daughter OF general, friend of
Leon Tolstoi's, a clever linguist, musi-
clan, mathematician and amateur as
tronomer, and had been arrested at
Kew at revolutionary meeting, where
the male members had been foolish
enough to resist arrest. This charming
young lady was accordingly ban
ished to Kara for thirteen years
and four months, and her aged
mother voluntarily had travelled
5000 miles to share her daughters fate."
Mr.. Kennan then described in gen.
eral way the meetings be had with polit-
ical prisoners at Miss Arnfeldts cabin
during the middle hours of the night
told of the anger of Botelof and Nikolin
when they learned that the American
traveller had had such communication
and related how he had been compelled
to destroy many letters written by the
prisoners and entrusted to him to be
delivered to their relatives and friends.
The lecturer interrupted himself long
enough to don the real Siberian convict
garb, each article of his apparel, from
the cap to the chains and leg-fetters,
having been actually worn by some of
the political prisoner, whose acquain-
tance Mr.. Kepnan made. He then con-
tinued:
Whatever messages and names / did
not destroy put into cipher. and many
of them l have not deciphered up to
date. Laughter.] have never heard
from those mines directly since, al
though have been indirectly informed
that Miss Armfeldt died about year
after l left there from prison consump-
ton, and that her mother soon followed
her. In 1879 the Kara mines were set
aside as a prison, and in 1880 there
were from sixty to eighty persons
there as political prisoners under
ticket of leave. They then
had considerable privileges, the
governor being humane man.
Toward the end of the year, however,
these privileges were restricted. Pris-
oners were no longer allowed to write to
their relatives; they were no longer
allowed to work in the placer mines
their heads we're half shaven and they
were taken into the stockaded prison,
although many of them had been living
with their wives and families who had
travelled 5000 miles to share the miseries
of their husbands and fathers. The
new order resulted, on Dec. 81, 1881, in
the suicide of Eugene Semionvfsky, who
had been brilliant young lawyer in
St. Petersburg. His death introduced
long and terrible series of trag-
edies, all resulting from the
enforcement of the new rules.
Some hanged themselves with towels
others poisoned themselves with water
in which match heads had been soaked,
and many went violently insane. The
humane colonel resigned rather than
play the hangman, as he put it, and
was replaced by cruel and heartless in
dividusls who were willing tools OF Rus
sian despotism."
The speaker closed with highly dra-
matte and eloquent story about 300 Rus
sian political prisoners in the prison of
detention at st. Petersburg, who in 1876
celebrated the centennial Fourth of July
with improwised American flags and IL
Illuminated their cells with stubs Of tall
low candles which they had collected.
LIVE WIRE.
An Electric Light Employees Marrow
Escape from Death.