The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1901-02-05
ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA
REMARKABLE STORY AND THRILL.
INC ADVENTURES Of AN EXILE.

The sufTerIngs OF Frnnk GrygIaszewsI,I
Who Was Sent to the Mines For Par
ticipating I'm tho Rebellion of the Rus
sian Poles.
Here Is the remarkable story OF the
exile of. Frank Gryglaszewski. who
was sent to Siberia on account of his
participation in the rebellion of the
Russian Poles against the Imperial
Government in 1868 90, who are five
times wounded by Russian bullets.
who walked seven thousand miles
through Arctic Russia and Siberia in
chains, who escaped his captorS by n
method almost miraculous. and re-
traced his steps for seven thousand
miles along the great Siberian road.
During the two years 1863 1864 -
said Mr.. Grygla, as he is now known.
sixteen hundred political prisoners
were executed In the prisons at War
saw. My two brothers, who were can
tured, had been too prominent In the
revolutionary movement to remain
long unidentified. At their trial they
were sentenced to die together. and l
stood among the Polish prisoners and
looked on while they We're being shot
to death. My own trial came soon
after. When l was led out by the
guards l was informed that l had been
sentenced to n life of Punishment in
Lublin-one of the uttermost provinces
of Siberia.
Late in August the transport left
st. Petersburg. and at the end of three
months we arrived at Tobolsk, lust ov-
er the Siberian boundary line. Our
line Of march was along the great
Siberian road, of which much has been
told and Of which so much more can
never be told. The prisoners walked
in chains. and were tied to one anotb.
er to prevent any one escaping. In
front, 10 either side and behind the
guards marched. with loaded muskets
unslung. Their orders were to shoot
any who attempted to escape.
Following the main line of march
came the 'telegas.' These were rough
wooden wagons without springs II
man tainted or dropped i'm the line
from sickness he was loaded on one
of these until the next 'etap.' or sta
ton, was reached. Here a stop was
made for the night.
Even during the journey of three
months in Russia there was much dis
ease and death in the transport on ac-
count of overcrowding in the prison
ers' rooms. But it was the hospitals
that we feared the most Time after
time 1 have seen mon drag on un
til they dropped dead iu t1cir tracks
rather than enter one of hese hos
pitfalls
Long before we reached Tobolsk the
horrors of what was .come had
dawned upon us. The pitt.nce which
the Government granted us for support
was small enough. and permitted our
buying only the coarsest kind of meat
and -four. But for many days before
our arrival at that city the officers in
charge had withheld the greater part
OF the allowance, and no one received
more than three or four kopecks a de-.
After we had talked among ourselves
was selected TO present the griev-
ances Of the transport to the Governor
Of Tobolsk. This did when occasion
offered. lie Immediately flew into a
most violent rage. and roundly abused
the officer in charge of our party.
Il was stripped to the waist, and
two soldiers were detailed to give me
a hundred lashes with the knout. 1
was beaten accordingly until I fell in
n faint from pain and loss of blood. At
the conclusion of my punishment salt
was rubbed into my wounds and / was
thrown on q 'telega,' where / was left
to recover my senses. That the ex-
ample might prove even more efficient
the officer ordered that / receive on my
bare back twenty lashes with The
knout before the transport entered
every great town
"In the 'etaps' the vigilance of the
guards increased, If anything. and
under no conditions were the prisoners
ever allowed to leave their room. No
water was allowed, except for pur-
poses Of cooking and for drinking The
penalty for the infraction of the rules
was death
THE women and the children num-
bered at first about two hundred. The
children died first then the women.
AS long as any Of these unfortunates
could hold up they stayed afoot; then
they took to the wagons
eve pushed on through the winter.
spring and summer Of 1860 The pris-
oners had dropped or from 2OOO to-
1000, and with the coming Of the win
ter Of 1868 only about eight hundred
were left alive. One day the
prisoner next to me procured
q small knlfe-a mere play
thing fashioned for wearing as
watchcharm. With this be managed
TO sever the arteries OF both wrists
AS Doe held &c iu bis hand for "a moment
while the blood began To- flow.
reached for TT and quickly concealed
it by sticking the blade in the bari,
thong which bound me 90 the prisoner
opposite the dying man
When the guards stopped the trans
port TO drag the suicide away ms
pockets were searched 40 pointed
instrument was found about me and
the incident was soon forgotten. But
with the knife I managed TO slowly
saw away the thongs which bound me
TO my neighbors ON either side. ON
the morning OF December 3. 1906
have always celebrated thc cay as my
Fourth OF July having severed my