Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1892-02-05
HE FLED FROM SIBERIA.
NJ ESCAPED PRISONERS
STORY OF EXILE.
Making Passport Fit His Description
by Digging Tattoo Marks Out of
His Arm-Ths Cars Do
main Left Behind.

Among the Chinese huddled in the
fore part OF tho Empress OF India when
she arrived at Vancouver recently.
was one white man, small Of stature,
with fair complexion. light mus
tache, stoop shouldered thin of face
and body. and having hunted worn
expression. This man was DemetrIus
| konoplitzky. says the San Francisco
| Chronicle. who has the honor of be-
ing the second man to escape with his
| life from the horrors of Siberian exile.
konoplitzky was of Russian middle
class family, well enough to do to
| give their son a good education, in
GLIDING smattering of the French
language before sending him to learn
the trade of printer. After serving
his time as an apprentice and while
working thereat he became soldier
firing of that he secured his release
and entered lawyers o1ico. Tho
lawyer was connected with a Demo
cratic paper, the name of which free
| ly translated was The Will OF tie
People" This paper was published
In kaizan. in the center of the Volga
oil district An overseer who under
stood printing being needed for the
paper, Konoplltzky was given the po-
sition.
The paper was not Nihilistic, but
was Democratic TO the verge of radi-
calism, and. knowing what we do of
Russian methods. it is no surprise that
after KOnoplitzky had been about two
years and half with the paper it was
seized by the government police and
the seventy five men connected with it
thrown into prison. OF these forty
seven were directly connected with the
paper in the Office as editors. report.
ers proof-readers compositors, press
men. DC The others were the pa
per's agents in the nearby villages
and towns
The whole lot We're sentenced and
then put in the prison of the town.
Here Konoplitzky was kept for two
years before being sent to Siberia. pre-
sumably waiting for sufficient prison
ers to congregate in the district TO
take caravan. In the party to which
he was attached were 600 men and
having been. connected with offending
newspapers. He says that if there are
600 printers in Russia there are s, 900
in Siberia. They went up the Volga
to Perm from Perm to Tumen by train.
where they again changed and were
taken to Tobolsk.
He was kept in Tobolsk for six
months and then moved to Krasnu-
yarsk. It took two months and
half to make the journey, and those
two months and half were filled
with days of misery. Chained to-
gether, men and women dragged their
wearied frames along, amid the curses
and blows of their guards. Very
little rest was allowed. The chain
weighted prisoners were expected to
make as good time as the horses of
the Cossack guards. He saw women
knocked down by the wayside and
kicked until they got up again. On
one occasion woman was knocked
insensible. and the one she was
chained to was forced to drag the
body along and keep up with the
dreary procession.
At times the poor fellow in telling
of these scenes would forget himself
and break into Russian. while his
features betrayed the horror that he
felt
On reaching Krasnuyrask, his
prison the punishments became more
horrible The mines at this point
were in one of the coolest sections.
The working hours in tho summer
were from 4 o'clock in the morning
till 6 O'clock at night. and In the win
ter from 6 o'clock in the morning till
q o'clock at night. They all wore
ankle chains in the mines. and the
knout quickly reminded the laggard
that the car expected every man to
do his duty in Siberia while above
them Cossack guards stood ready with
bullets to quell the slightest sign of
rebellion.
To sustain them during these long
hours they got one meal a day OF
black bread and water and thin SCUM
that was little better than water On
Sundays they got little beef. Dur
ing the time he was at Krasnuyarsk
the slightest complaints brought down
punishments. The knout was too
common to excite comment even
among the sufferers. Once Konoplitz-
ky complained to the governor about
not feeling comfortable. and to show
him how much more uncomfortable he
might be he was stripped naked and
u chain put around his waist. Hewas
then taken out and chained to rock.
there to enjoy the balmy climate of
the Siberian banana belt
Little wonder was it that a constant
thought in every prisoners mind was.
Can | escape?" Equally little is it
cause Al surprise that with the spirit
knontss. starved and frozen out OF
them they lacked the courage to
make the attempt Fourteen of them
were In the plot with Konoplitzsky.
but when thu sunra.ua tannnr, o...,