The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1897-05-25
in VLAD|VOSIOCk' 5 CELLS
AMERICAN SAILORS DETAINED IN
\ RUSSIAN PRISON.
After Being Confined for Seventeen
Months the American Consul OBJ
tains Their Release-Arrive by Peru

tains Their Release-Arrive by Peru
Among the steerage passengers on
the Peru yesterday were three Ameri-
Nladivostock, where they were inn
prisoned, without cause, for more than
seventeen months. They might have
been there yet, and for an indefinite
period, at the pleasure of the Gov
ernor, had they not managed to get
word of their condition to the Ameri
can Consul. who at once secured their
release and sent them home. James
Burns, one of the trio, told the story
to a reporter for The Star, on the dock
yesterday.
eve had mighty close call" he
said, "to spending the remainder of
our days in prison to eXpiate the
crime of some Russian officers already
dead, for since we have been released
| have learned that that was about
the status of our case. We just chanc-
ed to be in Nladivostock when a raid
was made on one of the Russian seal
ing stations, and number of valu-
able skins stolen. We were arrested
and thrown into dungeon, where we
remained for several days without
even guessing what we were there
for. Then we were hauled before the
Governor the charges against us read
in the Russian language, and we were
sentenced to eight months impriso-
ment.
"All of this time we were in ignor-
ance of the charges, and were not per-
mitted to have any communication
whatever with the outside world.
Since our release I have learned that
the theft with which we were charg-
ed had been committed by some Rus
sian officers aboard the man-of-war
supposed to be guarding the sealing
station from which the skins were
taken. This the Governor learned,
and ordered their arrest. One COM
mitted suicide, another fed from the
country, and a third was caught and
imprisoned.
This, however, did not aid us in
we were again taken before the Gov
ernor, who said that he had been too
easy on us, and sent us back to Jail
for another seven months. We we've
four then, and the Governor told us
that if one man escaped, the rest of
us would have to serve out his SEN
tence. We were permitted certain
amount of liberty, and one of the
boys managed to get away, although
| think that he never got out of the
country alive, for if he had he would
have reported our case to the Consul.
There is no telling how long we
might have been in Jail had we not
made the acquaintance of kind
hearted guard. We prevailed upon
him to carry a note to friend outside
who laid our case before the Ameri-
can Consul. He at once set on foot
an investigation, and, without diff
Guilty, succeeded in securing our re-
lease, after we had been in prison for
over seventeen months. The Consul
supplied us with funds enough to get
home, and promised that the Russian
Government would be compelled to
pay MS damages for false imprison-
ment. We are American citizens and
we have a right to demand damages.
Life in a Siberian jail is no sine
cure. We were compelled to work
hard and the food was bad. We could
not complain particularly of i'll treat
ment in any other way, but / think
it was merely because we CHANGED to
have kind hearted guard"