The herald., 1897-08-18
ON A RUSSIAN CONVICT SHIP
How the Time Is Spent on the Way to
the Island of Saghalien

The sailing of Russian convict ship
from Odessa for the island of Saghalien
in the Japan sea Is always an impressive
sight. The motley crowd. i~digenous to
all countries, is of course lesent but
there are in addition many government
officials, full of importance in their EN-
blazoned uniforms, and more numerous
members of the clergy attending to per-
form the ceremony of sprinkling the
ship with holy water and to give the
inmates parting blessing and God
speed. Nothing is done in holy Russia
without the help of the priests and a
Russian is bathed in holy water from the
cradle to the grave.
The religious ceremony over, 1t Is with
a cargo of heavy hearts that the convict
ship-usually built at Glasgow, by the
way-weighs anchor and departs, for
even a hardened convict would prefer
to dragging out his existence in distant
foreign land. But. however that may be,
the accommodation for the thousand or
more convicts on board is ample, and the
arrangements for their we'll being CON-
plete. The food provided is good and
wholesome, and it is not an infrequent
thing for people in the saloon-the con-
vict ship carries ordinary passengers as
well as state prisoners-to ask for con-
vict soup and rye bread
ALL the convicts are in fetters, wrist
and ankle bracelets with a connecting
chain, this and, their half shaved heads
presenting a most hdeos appearance.
The daily routine on board Is urvarying;
therefore, to change the monotony, the
prisoners have resorted to all kinds of
devices to make the time pass away as
pleasantly as the circumstances will al
low. Most lower class Russians are born
card players, so the convictes collect all
the odd scraps of paper they can lay
their hands on. Clubs and spades are
roughly scribbled on these slips with the
ink supplied for letterwriting purposes,
while to provide hearts ard diamonds of
the requisite color one or more of the
company consents to have vein open
ed. This delicate operation is performed
with the aid of the tin spout of tea eau,
ground to a sharp edge on the iron deck.
This inprovised lancet also does duty as
a razor serving to remove the remain
ing hair from the head of some Gsevout
follower of Islam. The stakes of the
by rigorous economy at the tea table; {;
when these fail, bones and other odds
and ends are substituted.
On the fifteenth day at sea the fetters
are removed. This is, indeed, day of
rejoicing, and the most hardened GRIM
inal gives vent to a sigh Of relief at be-
ing released from these hateful emblems
of bondage.
The coveted freedom is not, however,
of long duration. A poor inoffensive
Crimean Tartar accidently treads on the
foot OF regular cut-throat villain, to
be seized immedia tely by the throat The
cry is instantly raised that the Moham-
medans are killing the Christians. A
general melee ensues, in which racial
hatred is given full play. The guard is
called out, and turning on the hot water
hose pipes which are kept ready for any
emergency, soon COW the combatants.
The ringieader is placed in irons and
put on dry bread and water for fourteen
days The Tartar Is carried more dead
than alive to the hospital, and the rest,
guilty and innocent alike, are kept in
chains and shackles for the rest of the
voyage, ge,-London Daily Mail.