The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-12-15


the ground and mountain side thoroughly.
Then we lay down in the grass, made tea
and ate dinner. The meal over, some went
to sleep, while others continued the show
to the great delight of the Cossacks. who
cared only for their amusement and per-
mitted us every freedom save that of es-
sape.
EXPERIENCE IN THE WINTER.
The sun shone brightly all through Oc-
tober. but the nights were so cold that the
management ordered the fires lit. There
was a big stove in each cell The mattress
es had arrived-uphostered straw-but
neither blankets nor sheets were given out
and we were not allowed to procure such
at our cost. AS the cold weather advanced,
each prisoner received fur coat, cap and
mittens. The daily reviews were then held
in the corridors.
After the water had been bailed out. the
real work in the mines began with hand
drills and dynamite. 1t was hard on me, a
scientist: but my comrades did not COM
plain of being overburdened. On the con-
trary, they were eager to do my work, in
addition. for the tobacco 1 was able to
spare.
Despite humane treatment, the prisoners
were forever counting days and hours when
they should become ticket-of-leave men,
which means permission to enter a colony
Of criminals and work for their own living
while giving part of their time or its
equivalent to the state. The colonies are
surrounded by Cossack guards, and a
ticket-of-leave man is severely punished
whenever he attempts to leave his district,
the limits of which are generously drawn.
The colonists live in barracks most Of
them dirty and loathsome places. but there
they may drink and play cards, which
seems to be the main attraction.
The $50 prisoners received together from
twenty to twenty-five roubles per month
from their relatives and friends. and this
bit of money. which the prisoners did not
see, by the way. sufficed to keep all hands
in clover. 1t bought milk and meat from
the hospital stewards, tobacco from the
government and paid for the rent of play
ing cards many times each day. Yet
Schelai was a model prison.
As the days grew shorter work hours be-
came less, and in midwinter we spent fully
twelve hours out of every twenty-four in
and about our cells without interference
from anybody. except that a keeper occa-
sionally put an eye or ear to the hole in the
door. Then 1 conceived the idea of killing
time by teaching my cellmates TO read and
write, not one of them possessing even a
smattering of elementary knowledge. L
had a Bible and a Shakespeare from which
could read. Cigarette paper and charcoal
served for writing material.
THEY LIKED "OTHELLO"
1 shall never forget my debut in "Othel-
To- The first two acts were received in
dead silence by these murderers and
thieves; only Iago interested them. THAT
fellow will fool them ALL they said. But
at the beginning of the third act the pic
ture changed. AS if an electrical current
was running through them my auditors
jumped from their hunks and surrounded
me with luminous eyes. Poor BESIDE
mona," cried some; others pitied Othello.
Iago drew upon himself many invectives.
One old murderer expressed a hope that
Cassie would give it to him." When later
read king Lear" to my cellmates they
betrayed similar interest. similar emotions,
and Lear and "Othello" were the books
most often called for during all the years
l was in prison.
The following sayings of my fellow-pris-
oners heard often enough to be engraven
/ in my memory:
Law and order be Steal, rob-
murder and enjoy yourself" az served my
term when boy; even a saint by nature
| would grow up a thief end murderer if
] imprisoned in his youth" Prison is ten
/ times better than so-called honest work
/ When 1 get out will enjoy myself for a
/ time as much as 1 can, and then return"
| Ali the prisoners were continuously talk
! ing about taking revenge upon those who
/ delivered them up TO justice. To several
j of my cellmates the very meaning of free
dom spelled opportunity for getting even
with somebody All regarded themselves
more or less S martyrs. The murderer
argued why punish me for killing a
man when the dead are rid Of all earthly
troubles and shortcomings? The thieves
| and robbers said: What does 1t matter
| if 1 stole? The man L robbed had robbed
others. or he would not be better off than
L. One evening a fellow named Jatchka
speaking Of the Gear. said: IF Nicholas
was as good-hearted as they say he is he
would set all prisoners free"
"Free?" cried his neighbor ''You know
what 1 would do if 1 were Gar? L would
incarcerate all prisoners of the empire in
one big barrack and then set fire to the
building, allowing no one to escape-no one
A jailbird will always be jailbird; 1T is
foolish sentimentality, or worse to give
him his freedom after a certain number OF
years. He is more fit to live in the
human family than wolf is fit denizen
of sheepfold."
When tired of our literary pursuits and
of story telling. my cellmates INDUCED in
many sorts of games and sports-biino
| buff, boxing, wrestling. leap frog and sun
dry other games permissible under the
| rules if played without creating a great
disturbance. During these games some
participants were frequently treated cruel.
| ly. TO my mind at least; but no one ever
complained, the victims probably expecting
to give tit for tat at some future oppor.
tunity. Serious differences among the
prisoners were of rare occurrence, but il
is a fact that in Siberia the number OF
prisoners murdered by their fellows is fal
in excess of the number of guards killed
in the discharge of their duty.
INTERVIEW WITH THE DIRECTOR
One Sunday morning l was ordered Il
visit the director in his private residence
a Cossack conducted me TO the house out
side the walls and remained at the door
while a maid servant showed me into tn,
library The captain rose when l entered
and for some moments regarded me Will
mute interest. At last he said: Il hav,
only Just now learned that there is a scien