The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1893-01-14

March - 1884 On this day the guards
of the mine had every year II great
carouse, which lasted all night. Prison.
ers who had lived many years in the
mines relate that on such occasions all
the guards get completely drunk, and
that the niue is then generally un-
guarded The plan was for the fugi.
tiycs not to leave the mine by the OPEN
ing by which we entered, but by the
lower cave OF the third gallery, where
the water which flowed out into the
ocean reached to the hips, and where
of late nobody went and nobody was
on guard.
I'll left BaillalieT, agreeing that at
a given signal l would get up and with
two of the men in my cell accompany
the fugitivcs as far as the cave. When
the hour of rest had arrived the only
member of the guard who remained
behind was surprised in his
sleep, bound, gagged and locked in
an untenanted cave, whereupon the
prisoners crept cautiously to the lower
shaft, In stiffness like that of the
grave was heard only the cautious
sliding of feet, the creal5ing of one or
two wheelbarrows which could act pc
loosened and the rattling of chains. l
sought BaikalicH among the fugitivcs,
but could not find him Meanwhile we
had gained the lower opening From
the star-spaugled heavens two silver
rays of the moon pierced the cave and
trcmbled on the dirty water flowing
out thcrefrom. We softly whispered our
farewells and they went into the
water. For Il short time l could see
their bodies above it's level, but they
became darker and darker, and at last
vanished altogether. l retraced my
steps. OF my two companions only
one remained, the other, evidently
overcome by Il longing for freedom,
had gone with the fugitives. With a
heavy heart we returned to our cave q
Deep stiffness reigncd throughout
the lower gallery, as if nothing had
happened and when returned to my
resting place | felt as if | were sur
rounded 10y death. Besides us two
there was not soul in our cave. All
had fed. prayed and sobbcd, but at
last was overcome by sleep. | awoke
on hearing the shout Of harsh, rude
voice crying out to us. I staggered to
my feet and salutcd, but the guard re-
ceived me with blows. The other
prisoners were also dragged forth
from their caves and foggcd. On
bending down | saw Baikalieff, who.
as he told me afterward, had oversight
himself and remained A little further
~ l,, L, ,P 4
guard. The unfortunate man had died
of suffocation from the gag. For three
days we were made to suffer cruel
torture because we had not prevented
the flight. On the fourth day an un-
usual noise was heard in the gallery.
And then we saw n number OF
guards driving before them the fug-
itives who had been captured and
logged till they blcd. A fearful fate
awaited them. Even the women had
all bheir clothes torn off their backs.
Each one was bound to a thick board.
so that they could not move, and
thrashed with leaden- weighted knots
till the blood spurted and they were in
capable of utteraucc. This scene was
enacted every day for some days, and
we were obliged to stand by and see it
done, the guards shouting to us: Only
try to escape and the same thing will
happen TO you OF those who fed not
one IS living. Not one was able TO en-
Many died at the first few strokes, and
to-day the last four have been released
from their agonies."
The convicts always lived under
ground; they were never led into the
air. Those who died were pushed into
some unused gallery. 4 decree of the
summer of 1884 ordered that the pris-
oners should be taken out for an airing
from to time and that only the worst
cases were to be kept in the mine at
night. The others We're to live in Il
prison built outside. But even after
this the condition of the convicts was
not much better. The heavy work and
brutal treatment remained. The wom-
en- who had followed their husbands
into exile were not safe from the per-
sccution Of the mining officials. Sui
cides Of every description released
many Of the unfortunate people from
their sutferings. And Jallsako
only thirty-two, had in the meanwhile
become gray-says in his last letter
that it is better to be placed on the
rack than to share such fate. When
JalisakoH was arrested he was not
nihilist, but that he became one by
what he saw and suffered is clearly
seen in the numerous reflections scat
tered through his letters. -. London
Daily News