The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-12-21
PRISON LIFE in RUSSIA
PAUL DU CHAILLU'S INTERESTING
LETTER TO A BOSTON MAN.
Cleanliness and Comfort of the Prison
at Acknowledgement COnfine-
ment Limited to a Week.

in the Globe of an interesting description
of prison life in Russia contained in a let
ter which he recently received from Paul
Du ChaiIlu, the explorer and author, who
is travelling extensively in that country.
The distinguished writer speaks in quite a
different tone from most travellers on this
subject The letter i'm part is as follows:
st Petersburg, Nov. 6. 1902.
my Dear Gargan-On my return from
Arkangel, which, as you know. is on the
White sea, very near the Arctic circle, i'll
Russia, l found your letter l was de-
lighted to hear from dear old Boston and
my many friends. / have met nothing
but civility and kindness from the Russians
since l came 10 the country. like the peo-
pie very much and have been treated with
the greatest consideration.
There are two ways OF travelling In any
country. One is to everything with
your prejudices instead of your eyes, or In
other words nothing but bad in a country
and the other way is to see nothing put
good. As something of a traveller In this
world | know that no country is perfect.
and there Is no man that is perfect IL is
the old story; one can most always see the
mote i'm his neighbours eye, but cannot
see the beam in his own eye.
81 like to travel in Russia very mucn;
to pass through its immense forests, to
see its fields and plains, bounded only by
the horizon, which reminds me of our dear
old United States of the far West You
feel that you can breathe. Its railway
trains go on ana on DAYS DeloTS YOU
reach your destination. This vast country
has an exhlarating effect on me, and re-
minds we of the days when L was younger
and travelled in Iowa, Minnesota and Da-
kota before the days of railroads and in
the days of the buffalo. The life L had
here on the Russian plains agrees with me:
The more energy | display and the more L
rough it the more healthy am. travelling
agrees with me very we'll.
81 have come back for a few days to get
my fur coat and clothing, then am on FOR
,aaE d
quarters. / intend to go again to Arkangel
this winter, sometime after New Years,
and from there go to Samode, the country
of the dwarfs, northeast OF Arkangel'
ARRANGED PRISON.
81 thought a little account of one of
the prisons of Russia might be interesting
to you. Finding myself in the latter part
of September in Arkangel, in company
with a young Hollander, 1 visited the pris-
on of Sholonhola, in Arkangel. The prison
is two-story building. with a capacity for
900 TO 1000 prisoners, who are condemned
for terms of from one to six years. The
superintendent received me very court
eously and kindly and showed me through
the prison. 1 was struck at once by its
cleanliness. The stairs are of stone, the
corridors are wide and the cells large,
with high ceilings, good ventilation and are
lighted by windows. They were already
comfortably heated, though the thermom-
eter was several degrees above the freezing
point.
II saw many empty rooms, the number of
prisoners being less than three hundred.
They were dressed in grayish wooden suits.
AS the rooms were very large the inmates
In each varied in number from seven to
eight to about twenty. The prisoners were
not numbered, as / have seen them in Eng
land and other European countries, but a
card on the door of each room gave their
names. The folding beds, with mattresses
and blankets, stood upright along the walls.
From outside the keepers could look in.
Every time the superintendent entered
| a room he Saluted the prisoners, saying,
| Good morning, my children They ans
wered. We wish your excellency good
| health In many of the rooms 1 saw books
| that had been given or lent to the prison
ers. Some men were learning to read
and write. The prisoners were allowed to
| talk.
II asked to see the cells for solitary con-
! finement, and was shown them. Some re-
ceived light through small windows and
| some from the corridor, and some, like
| cells have seen in the United States, were
totally dark. In the latter cells prisoner.
by the Russian law, cannot be confined
| dination, or who try to escape, were pun
ished by solitary confinement. l saw one
of these prisoners who had a terribly
"The kitchen and bakery were in the
/ basement. Both were large. Rye bread,
| as we call IL, but black bread, they call
4 IL IN RUSSIA, nd0 just Deen baked. 1t was
real Russian. l ate some and found 1t very
| good. L am very fond of the bread and
eat some every day, finding ii very healthy.
| THE infirmary had but ten patients IN its
| two large rooms. The beds were very far
| apart. The superintendent inquired of the
| sick how they were. The patients who were
able to get up wore long. comfortab bic
wooden dressing gowns and slippers The
| sight reminded me that had never worn
| dressing gown. and the late Carl XIV
Of Sweden and Norway told me that he
90 ho6 r0Ts mn ina.
had a separate kitchen on the opposite side
of the corridor, special plates, dishes, etc.
porcelain lined. 1 saw several loaves OF
white bread for the sick. Near the in
| Urinary was a dispensary for medicines
and L saw surgical instruments in perfect
order: The sanitary arrangements fol
| washing, etc, were excellent. There was
| room for contagious diseases, but no prison
ers were in it at the time.
ALL MUST WORK.
1.-THE prisoners, of course, were all Obliged
to work, and those who have no trade wher
they come there are obliged to learn one
| visited the carpenters, cabinet makers
shoemakers. hatters, cap makers, tailors
makers of religious images, the pasteboar6
and paper bag room and the blacksmith
shop in the basement The prisoners have
a great incentive to work. for they are PAID
for it. They receive 80 per cent. of the
money received from the sale of all goods
manufactured in the prison. Fifteen pei
cent is given them Immediately that they
may buy some little luxuries to improv,
their prison fare; the other half is giver
them when they leave the prison; So pei
cent goes to the prison and 80 per cent tC
the crown.
''rhe regulations: At in the mornins
the bell rings, the prisoners get up, wasf
and dress, then go to prayers after which
tea and bread are served to them in ths
dining room. AT work begins inside anC
outside At IL dinner is served Five time.
week they have meat for dinner and fish
on Wednesday and Friday. During Lem
they have fish. vegetables and kasha, which
is a popular Russian dish made OF wheat
| When ready TO serve olive oil or butter /:
mixed with il. After dinner the exercise in
the yard lasts an hour and a half TIL,
| prisoners have an abundance of fresh air
for the yard is very large and there are n,
buildings around the inclosure In bat
weather they can go out remain inside
as they please. After. exercising i'm tn,
yard they work till 6 in winter and II
summer. From 8 to they have supper
! consisting of tea and bread or kasha. an,
exercise again in the yard. Then they 2,
10 prayers. After being counted they ar
shut up in their rooms and at they go I,
| bed
Every Sunday and holiday the prisoner
can see friends. In the center of the re
ception room are wire screens. separate,
by passageway about three feet wide
On one side are the prisoners, on the othe,
the friends Guards watch the passag
so that nothing can be passed to the pris
oners- an almost impossible thing, on &C
count OF the fineness of the wire meshe
and the distance
In the prison there is an orthodox Rus
4 Cnfh nlf