Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1902-08-07

In more than twenty years. The gov
eminent allowance Of So month to
each person for maintenance is utterly
inadequate All lived in condition
entailing unspeakable physical mis-
cry. Their food was putrid fish, their
huts filthy.
1 found among these exiles cult
waited men and women, all suffering
terribly in body and mind. They had
no books. The post brought mail but
once year. Often they We're not al
lowed to receive or write letters and
of all who were there only two We're
accused Of actual crimes They were
Kimova, who attempted to kill the
ear at his coronation, and Zi1aRler-
man, who caused the dynamite pHplo-
sion at the LODI factories in Prussia.
The rest We're peaceable citizens,
whose crimes, if such they may be
called, We're of a strictly political ma
ture. They described their existence
there as living death. -Four commit
ted suicide and three became hopeless
ly insane in the two years preceding
my visit.
Just before our arrival young exile
named Kaleshnikoff, who had been
| brutally logged by order of the police
master, shot himself the same day in
his shame and humiliation. But an
other exile, friend of the one who
committed suicide, shot and killed the
police master, and this man now
awaits trial in the Yakutsk prison.
| The winter here has eight months Of
darkness. In the summer there are
continuous rains and sitting heat. The
mosquitoes swarm in the summer, and
there is much sickness. There is no
hospital.
Sukharno, 300 miles from Sredni-
kolymsk, was our last link with hui
manity. Sukharno consists Of three
filthy novels, inhabited by half breeds,
but wretched as was the place often.
longed for it later when on the cruel
and desolate coast. We left Sukharno
in binding snowstorm and heavy
gale. We had five sleds and sixty
three dogs. The cold was intense
throughout the journey Of 500 miles
from Sukharno to Erktrik, the first
Tchuktcan settlement on Tchaun bay.
It was hard trip, and it took us sew
enteen days to make it, the last week
Of which we lived on half rations, had
an insufficiency of driftwood with
which to cook, only tent for shelter
and slept in 40 to so degrees below
zero.
Once we lost our way and wandered
in a blizzard for three days on the
shores of the Arctic ocean. We were
badly frozen and reached Erktrik in
an exhausted condition from our ex-
| posture. The natives We're unfriendly
and would give us but little food. We
left the village and struggled on with
difficulty for another sixteen days,
finally reaching Cape Norton. Here
we We're better received but our trou
bles Were increased by the appearance
among us of "kor,' a painful skin dis
ease. We found that smallpox was
raging on the coast and that some vii
lagos had been decimated.
Beyond Cape Norton we travelled
more rapidly. AT one village the ma
tives We're hostile and threatened our
party with knives. AS we neared the
Boring strait we found the natives
better and more friendly, owing doubt
less to their frequent intercourse with
| American whalers during the summer
months.
We arrived at East cape, Boring
strait May 90, five months and one
day since we left Paris, Dec. 10, 1901.
We remained at East cape four weeks,
and found the natives hospitable and
friendly when sober, but exceedingly
dangerous during their drunken orgies,
which We're of frequent occurrence.
We We're compelled upon one occasion
to hide in a hut for two days while
men, mad with drink, ran yelling about
the settlement with loaded rifles
searching for us to kill us. Two ma
tives were murdered during this ca
rouse and a white trader living on
| Diomede island was murdered two
days later.
| The American ship Thetis took us
off June IS and landed us on the ice
Of Boring strait, five miles off Cape
Prince Of Wales. AS the ship was I'M
able to approach the shore, Eskimos
put off in skin boats and reached the
Thetis with difficulty. We took four
hours to reach the shore over moving
ice foes, with much open water be-
tween. We had perilous work to drag
the boat over the rough ice, and in the
open water heavy sea was running.
We reached land drenched to the skin
and half dead with cold at o'clock on
the morning Of June 10, exactly six
months out from Paris. We remained
ten days at Cape Prince of Wales 1t
is desolate place, and but few ships
touch there. The Thetis was compelled
to leave us to go in search Of missing
Cape Nome steamers in the Arctic
ocean. The American missionary, Mr..
Lopp, was most kind and gave us
every assistance in his power. Finally
small steamer, the Sadie trading in
those waters, took us to Nome.
New Use For Horscskins.
| ~e4 Y ~. 4.