Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1893-07-18
a NARROW ESCAPE IN RUSSIA
now the vigiiant Omcers Of the CA,
We're CIeverly Outwtt,.a


How the vigiIant Omeer. a, d. g.
Were Cieverly Outwitted.
on the second day after our arrival in
ia.asnoyarsk we narrowly escaped getting
ny wnat might have been serious trouble
- 'ne result OF an unexpected perquisition
w mousse OF the acquaintance with
"no'n onamarin and Peterson were STAY
~, MS acquaintance, 1t seemed, was
under suspicion, and late in the evening
Su,'hR .he absence OF the two young men
I'm .neir quarters, the police suddenly
appeared with orders to make a house.
search. The search was dulv mada ~,
nothing of a suspicious nature was found
except the two locked trunks of Shamarin
ana Peterson.
In reply to question as to what was in
.hen the proprietor Of the house said that
ne did not know, that they were the nron.
erty of two of his acauaintances who bad
stopped for few days with him on their
way from Irkutsk to St. Petersburg ITnon
being asked where these acquaintance.
We're, he replied that he did not know: that
they usually went out after dinner and re.
turned between II and IL O'Clock. After
brief consultation the police officers de-
cided that as they had no orders to search
the personal baggage of the houseowner's
guests they would not force the locks Of
the trunks. but would merely cord and
seal them, SO that the contents could not
De tempered with, and leave them until
morning.
When Shamarin and Peterson returned
to their quarters about midnight thew
round their trunks corded and sealed 40
that they could not be opened. In one Of
them were many letters from political ex
lies and convicts in eastern Siberia and
friends and relatives in European Russia
letters describing my investigations and
the nature OF the material that was col
Letting. and asking the friends and rela
ives In European Russia to cooperate with
me-and photograph of myself that /
mad given to Shamarin with dedication
or inscription on the back that would re-
veal to any Intelligent police officer the in
Innate nature of my relations with polit-
ical convicts
What was to be donei To break police
seal under such circumstances would be
penal ofense, and would probably lead 10
imprisonment and an investigation. To
leave the letters and photograph in the
trunk would be to insure their discovery
and conffscation on the following morning,
and that might create very embarrassing
situation for me, as well as for the authors
OF the letters and their friends. The two
young men finally concluded to make an
attempt to get the trunk open without re-
moving the cords or breaking the seals, and
as the letters and photograph were near
the bottom, and as the lid could not be
raised even If the trunk were unlocked,
they decided to take out part of the bot,
tom and afterward replace it.
BY working all the rest OF the night
they succeeded in getting out one of the
bottom boards, obtained the dangerous
letters and the photograph, but the board
back without disturbing any of the seals
and when the police came in the morning
stood by with unruffied serenity and saw
the trunks searched. OF course nothing
more dangerous than a hairbrush and
nothing more discriminating than a hotel
bill could be found.-George KEENAN, in
Century