The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-10-12
sELF-rMMoLArIoN IN RUSSIA.
SIX More Bodies DiscOvered-Tbirty
in All May BE Unenrthed.
From the New York Tlmea

st. Petersburg, Oct 5.-Fresh excava-
tons at Ternevsky. in the district of tt
raspol. not far from Odessa, the scene
of the living burials of a number of per-
sons belonging to the religious sect known
as the Raskolaiki, who had been walled
up alive by Feodore Kovaleff, In order
that they might secure salvation by SELL
immolation. have resulted IN the discovery
OF six more bodies of men, women. and
children The search continues, and II -
expected that about thirty corpses Will be
unearthed.
Ever since last May, when the civilized
world was shocked at the gruesome dis
eoveries at Ternofka, the imperial ponce
have been making searching Investigations
at that place and in the vicinity of Plotz-
koe, which is about sixteen versts from
Traspol The car took a personal inter-
est in the affair, and ordered weekly re-
ports to be sent to him concerning the eX-
animation of Kovaleff, the CHIEF execu-
TONER and the progress made ~ the po-
lice in unearthing other victims By the
middle of May twenty-five BODIES IN 81
had been recovered.
The first discovery was made on the es-
tate of Feodore koValeff, who straiBhl-
way confessed that he had buried the men
and also that he had immured Tour other
voluntary martyrs on the adjoining es-
tate of Matnel Sakula. Investigation prov
on that his story was correct; the four
bodies were found in pit eight feet deep.
When brought before the military judge
Of the district Kovaleff said that ne was
thoroughly conscious of the sanetity OF
his act and he awaited the death sem
tence which he supposed would be met
ed out to him, with the utmost compos-
ursc.
The Raskolnlkl Order, under whose
auspices the tragedies are said to have
been committed, Is dissenting sect,whicn
broke away from the orthodox faith at
the la tier part of the seventeenth century.
Its members were fanatical, and believed
in the martyrdom of self-inficted torture,
and neither imperial decree nor the knout
could bring them back to the church of
tho Romanoffs Their sufferings reached
the climax under the Empress Sophia,
when many of the believers were scat
tered over the vast country east or the
Urals as the French refugees in Nova
Scotia were scattered by their British
conquerors through the coast of the
American colonies. But isolation seemed
to increase their fanaticism until saliva
ton by sef-mmolation became their creed.
one branch of the Roskolnki order
became firmly grounded in the semi bar
barrie districts Of Plotzoke, Ternofka and
Tiraspol This branch, was called the Be-
it was presided over by a priestess, a
well-educated spinster, named Vera Ma
Kovaleff, and became known as Sister
Vitalia. The services of this branch were
held in the utmost secrecy; all that was
used by other human beings-furniture
clothing, cooking utensils, houses ETC.
was profane and must never be employed
by the members.
Vera is said to have been of command
ing figure, with wonderful lustrous and
expressive eyes, and an attractive, per-
suasve eloquence that reigned absolute
among her followers. Last year she pre-
dicted the final cataclysm of the entire
world, and got into trouble with the gov,
ernment by keeping her order silent when
the census was being taken. She and
her followers were arrested. In jail
they refused to eat. and were not liberat,
ed until they were almost dead. Con.
corning the ultimate fate of Sister Vita.
liza, the London Daily News of June 8 has
this to say from the pen OF It's CORE.
| spondent, who had been sent to Tiraspol,
!, 1T appears that the wife Of Kovalen