The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-04-03
CAPTIVE In SIBERIA.
Adventures of Crew of the
James Hamilton Lewis.
TAKEN BY THE RUSSIANS.
Lie In the Prison ut vladivostok-Great
Military and Naval Station
Return to America.

After year of wandering, four months OF Il
spens IN Siberian prison, the crew OF the
american sealing schooner James Hamilton
Lewis, captured BY Russian, an-of-war, have
returned to their native land. l. D. Stephens,
one OF the unfortunate men, has Just arrived in
tnis city and is at the Alaska hotel.
ne was born in Michigan on the Detroit river,
ana the early part Of his life was spent there.
some years ago he came to the Pacific coast and
IN lsso he went on q successful sealing cruise
since life on sealer 10 somewhat more exciting
IMAM on an ordinary coaster he decided to ship
again; and on March Z, 1891, he sailed from San
Francisco with fifteen others, on the James
Hamilton Lewis, commanded by Captain Nc
Lean.
The James Hamilton Lewis followed the coast
north, past the mouth o. the Straits OF Juan de
Fuca, past Vancouver island, and skirfed Alaska
and the islands out to 'seventy-siI pass Cross
ing through to Boring sea, she sailed over to the
Russian side, off the COST Of Siberia, to avoid
the American men-of-war.
On. July 2, 1871, she was lying about twenty
i've miles east OF Copper island. The cruise
had been fairly successful, for AT skins had al
ready been taken. A storm had prevailed dur
ing the last four days of June and the LIST of
July, so that no boats had been lowered. But
the morning of the I'd broke clesr and calm.
The sea was smooth enough to take seals, and
accordingly preparations were under way for
setting out with the boats toward Copper island.
Just before the start was made, however. the
man on the lookout noticed the smoke of
steamer rounding the south end OF the island,
thirty or thirty miles away. The captain
decided to await developments
The strange vessel, which proved to be the
Russian man -of-war Alaute, soon overhauled
the American schooner As the Alaute ran
near her commander ordered the Lewis to heave
to. Captain McLeans blood was up and he hol-
lowed back that he would do nothing of the
kind. He was in neutral water, and neither the
Russians nor any one else had any busiuess to
touch him.
This show of resistance was useless, for the
Americans had only their sealing rifles and a
few shotguns, while the man-of-war carried a
full armement. The Russian turned, and
steaIning away for short distance, fred several
shots, evidently intended to do nothing more
than scare the seaers. Five OF six small shells
were thrown. One burst just it passed from
the cannon's mouth, and two fell on the deck of
the Lewis. Stephens tossed one of them over
board, and the mate the other.
Aftenthis demonstration the Alaute steamed
around the Lewis and running close to her bow,
tore off her fore-rigging. This done, the Rus
sian swung alongside and a boarding party
swarmed over the deck of the Lewis, cut the
ropes and took possession of everything on
board. The Americans were put on board the
man-of-war, which then towed the schooner
into the port of Petropaulovsky, the capital of
Kamchatka.
There the vessel was fitted out again with
sails and ropes in place of those which had been
destroyed. crew of nine Russians and six
Americans were put on board, and she started
for vladivostok, Russia's chief naval sta
ton on the Pacific. The Alaute
accompanied her and delivered the
rest of the Americans to the authorities there.
In a day or two the Alaute left again, and the
crew of the Lewis were informed that she
would soon return, they would then be tried
and their cases settled.
The Alaute, however, did not return for TOUR
months, and meanwhile the American sailors
were confined in the Vladivostok prison. Ste
phens describes the building they occupied
as q one-story log house, about 80 by 40 feet. 1t
was well lighted though the windows were heav-
lily barred. Heat was furnished by q primitive
stove built of brick. Part OF the floor was
wooden, and part was simply the earth trodden
hard by hundreds OF feet. A long, wide bench
or table running along one wall Yves the bed for
all of them. This apartment they had to them.
selves, and it was clean they chose to
ksepi it.
The men, considering the fact that they were
sailors and used to roughing it, had no bitter
complaint to make of the accommodations; but
the food, Stephens declared, was detestable.
Twice day they had the regular prison fare
served TO them, soup and black bread. "The
latter was terrible stuff" said Stephens, "a
heavy, hard loaf made OF FETCHED -four, and
almost always stale and full of worms"
During the day the men were allowed their
liberty, and were given the privilege of strolling
through the part of the town lying close to the
prison and along the beach. "They let US out"
added Stephens, ''only after they realized that
we could not get away even If we wanted
to. At first even our iackknives were
taken away, and We had nothing with which to
cut our tobacco. We had to be back in the
prison at O'Clock in the evening, and if man
ID tbah rrrr fIa a,f hov md
bounds, he was put in a dungeon for punish
ment Nevertheless we took our chances
during the day and saw most that
there was to be seen in the vicinity. At all times
the prison was guarded by Cossacks. We had
no money, and consequently We had little be-
side the prison food TO eat"
Stephens describes the town az large one,
containing about 10000 inhabitants. Many of
them are Cossaeks and sailors. A lot OF Japa-
nese come up every summer to cultivate the
gardens, but the winters are SO terribly severe
that they return again to the south in the fall.
"olsdivostok," said he, ''liss at the head of
long narrow bay, which affords beautiful har-
Dor, as fine a one as have ever seen. For miles
and miles on each side the shores are heavily
fortified with long stone ramparts, behind
which are hundreds of big guns. NThe houses
are built on a sort of a bench between the
mountains and the sea-
swell, We spent four months there, amusing
ourselves as best We could. One of us played
the fiddle, and we had a little concert now and
then But the life of prisoner is dull. Finally
in January We were told that ship on
which our passage was paid was going to Korea
We jumped at the chance to get away. At Korea
we we're transferred to still another Russian
vessel, which took US to Nagasaki. The Ameri-
can consul there sent us to Yokohama, where
the consul arranged for our passage back to this
country.
ayes, have had enough of the sea- and moth
ing would tempt me to go on another sealing