The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-12-13

and defended himself with skill. but his
and he was sentenced to lifelong Danish
ment to Siberia, coupled with ten years
hard labor in the Siberian mines. A few
weeks later Count Savin was nameless
convict in Siberian penal settlement, do
ing ten hours of the coarsest labor every
day. and surrounded by murderers and
common criminals. 1t must have been a
terrible ordeal for the successful political
plotter who had lived life of luxury in
Paris and shone in the gay salons of Paris
ian society, but it did not last long
With the wonderful resource and inven-
tiveness which characterized him Count
Savin contrived to escape, assumed a dis
guise and made his way to Tomsk, the
principal town of Siberia. With colossal
impudence he set up business there as a
corn dealer and perpetrated series of ex-
traordinary swindles i'm connection with big
sales Of grain. Chance led to his detection;
he was rearrested and taken back to the
penal settlement, where fearful retribution
awaited him. He was brought IN front Of
the assembled convicts, stripped, tied to an
iron frame and fiogged with knouts. The
count was unconscious when it was over
and he had to be carried back to his miser-
able quarters, where he was left to recover
from his injuries as best he could.
Somehow he got well again, and recon-
menced planning attempts to escape. In the
end, after hardships, dangers and adven-
lures, the recital of which would fill several
volumes, Count Savin succeeded in getting
out of Siberia into China, where he made
his way to Shanghai, and thence to Japan
and San Francisco. He arrived in the
United States shortly before the war with
Spain, and, ever in search of new and thrill
ing experiences, he shipped to Cuba and
fought a volunteer the American side
under an assumed name.
HIS CAREER IN AMERICA.
Throughout the war Count Savin fought
with distinction, but he fought for the pleas
of fighting. and not from any sympa thy
for the American cause, for, as matter of
fact, his aristocratic tastes led him to be
a partisan of decadent Spain.
The period that followed was one of the
most trying in Count Savin's life. He was
utterly destitute and he followed all sorts
of occupations to keep his mouth above
water
He drifted to Chicago and worked In turn
as a waiter. billiard marker, cabman and
street-car conductor. In these capacities he
earned wages varying from 81 to IS a week
| but soon he worked his way up into the
| office OF an export house I'm New York
where his knowledge OF languages made
| him a useful member of the staff. In due
| course he was dispatched to Europe to &C,
as agent to the firm, post which he filled
| with astonishing success, considering his
lack of commercial training and instincts.
From the moment of his escape from ST.
| IBERIA a cruel. relentless, irresistible enemy
was tracking his footsteps He was an
escaped convict of political Importance, and
4 the Russian secret service received orders
| to trace him and recapture him. Year after
| year the search went on. and step by steI
| the human bloodhounds of the Russian DO
| litical police traced his course across China
to Shanghai. from Shanghai to Japan
| from Yokohama to San Francisco, from
| there to Cuba. from Cuba back to the
] States TO Chicago and other cities, wind
| ing up with New York
From New York the scent led his pur-
suers TO Europe and finally they came uI
| with the object of their chase as he was
| to Hamburg. Count Savin's second escape
| from the Siberian penal settlement occurred
| In 1896. and the agents of the Russian secret
service obtained their first sight OF him
| this autumn. so that the pursuit had
| lasted seven years.
On arrival at Hamburg the Russian de-
tectives persuaded the German police to