The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1892-06-03
AS RELArEp BY A KEFuaEE /

The Immigration Bureau is not a
portal through which handsome and
well dressed voyagers to this land are
won't to emerge, and one of the registry
clerks yesterday was considerably sur
prised when the tawdry procession fl
ing before his desk was broken by
tastily-attired young woman who gave
her name as Nadeschda Vassieletf.
When the clerk inquired what language
the fair stranger could speak, he was
surprised to hear that she was familiar
with all the principal languages of
Europe. Her subsequent conversation
showed that she was well educated and
woman of refinement. She had no diff
ficulty in gaining admission to America.
She said that she was going West to join
friends in Chicago.
She is a Russian Jewess, and one OF
the many thousands of her race who
have been forced to leave their homes in
Russia to seek an asylum in more
hospitable lands. Her story is of piece
with the stories told by the other exiles
who have preceded her-only she has the
ability to tell it better. So much of it as
could be told during the passage of the
| ferryboat from Ellis Island to the main
land was related to Times reporter.
Miss Vassielieff was born in Moscow and
educated in st. Petersburg. Much care
and money were expended by her family
to secure her a fine education, and she
studied hard in order to fit herself for
the vocation of teacher, so as to become
support for her family, who had ex-
hausted all their means for this purpose.
When her education was completed she
returned to Moscow.
Then her trials began. First she was
| e., 4 10 wi p
monstrated against the mandate, re-
ceived a call from the Chief of Police,
who ordered her to leave Russia without
delay. She appealed to the Governor of
the city and was granted shoItreprieve.
At its expiration came peremptory
order to leave the domain of the Gar.
The result of a protest was an intimation
that there were two ways of leaving the
country open to her, one by way of
train which took exies to the frontier,
the other, with a caravan to Siberia. She,
of course, chose the former, and de-
parted in company with 1900 families
who had the same alternatives to chose
from. This was in the month of Febru-
ary, and the day was bitter cold. The
cars into which the exiles were packed
contained no seats, and were so crowded
that no one could sit down.
''Picture if you can," said Miss
Vassielieff, 1.-The horrors of that ride.
From 7 in the morning until O'Clock the
next afternoon we stood like cattle In
that densely crowded car, without food,
water or sleep. Even yet it seems like
q nightmare, and wonder how we did
it, The cars finally made a halt at
little village near the frontier, and we
were transferred to another train, which
: was providen with seats. l sank into
one, and at that very moment all my
cares and troubles left me at once, SO
great was my exhaustion and need OF
; rest" After many more trials Miss
! Vassielieff reached Warsaw, where she
took passage for London, and there en-
barked for this port.
The condition of the peasantry Miss
Vassielieff describes as one of frighttu
misery. One of the cases she instanced
was that of poor widow who had beer
self-supporting until one day her little
brood of five children were taken SICK
Q She struggled on as best she could, bu
D was finally driven to mendicancy. A
n the first house at which she applied sh'
D fell fainting on the doorstep and was un
able to tell her wants. When she hat
been revived and given something to cal
0 she returned to find three of her children
s dead from starvation. ''More than hal
$ the peasantry," added Miss Vassleliett
!, "are on the verge of starvation, and
+ could number thousand instances llk'
: this, if time permitted. "-New Hor
e Times.