River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1905-08-10


Among the chained convicts many
are captured fugftives, relapsed MUIR
derers, and many still waiting to be
sentenced.
why were you convicted?" Sus-
pected of murder" And your" "Sus-
pected of theft" "And you?" "Sus-
pected of murder" Nothing but
suspects" and you?" KILLED two
men," The reply came frank, sharp
The Female Prison.
The prison for women is very small.
1t consists of one ward which holds
ten persons. The women convicts of
Sakhalin are punished for their crimes
in special manner They are given
away to settlers as so-called "life
mates" Only those are in prison
whose cases have not been finally
passed upon. Two women arise as we
enter. One is an old Tcherkessian
from the hills of Caucasus, who does
not speak word of Russian. The
other is young woman. She was
banished for life because she had
induced her godfather to kill her hus-
band.
"Why?"
Il was married to him against my
will, and l loved my. godfather.
thought they would send us away
together. But they sent him to one
place and me to another
In Sakhalin she committed crime
rare in the annals of the island She
had defended her life mate with a
gun. He got himself into a fight
with the settlers Nine men sur
rounded him, and were beating him.
She rushed to her hut, grabbed a
rifle, and shot into the group.
''You must have learned to love
your life mate?"
"Of course; would I have fought
for him? I might have been killed.
He's good fellow; hoped | could
live with him to the end, and now
there's fine mess to be in,
She dries her tears and sobs 81
lently.
Nothing will happen to her." says
the inspector "She will be convict
ed and given to some settler in one
of the distant settlements. Women
in Sal1halin are not punished
Perhaps some people may consider
this impunity. But what greater pen
atty could there be for a woman who
loved well enough to risk her life,
and who was sentenced now to be
"given away" to another man?
What dreadful custom, reminding
one of bygone ages! In the days of
serfdom it was customary to give
people away" toying with their life
and happiness Of all the prisons in
Rykoffsk this little prison impressed
me most sadly.
The Execsltioners.
"HalIo, baby!" "Hallo, uncle!'
Don't you call me nucle, baby, for l
am your godfather, or really your
life mates godfather" merrily ex-
claims Tolstych, the old executioner
of Sakhalin.
"And how do you come to be his
godfather" I ask.
"Ha, ha, your honor, I knouted
him.
Z ''Have you knouted many peo-
ple?" Tolstych smiles. well, just
as many as you see hereabouts, your
honor" Tolstych is about so years
old. He does not look day over
40. He is good-looking man, with
a fine mustache and carefully shaved
chin. He is wealthy, according to
Sakhalin ideas, and is somewhat of
a dude. Tolstych wears a coat, top
boots, and even leather cap, which
is the acme of Sakhalin fashions. He
always jokes and is full of fun. "Why
were you banished?" Because of the
old woman!" He had killed his wife
with Ratchet. why did you do it 2"
"She was no good" When he came
to SaEhalin he did not lose courage
He soon found out what he was best
fitted for. Cruel nv nature, strong
and agile, he became an executioner
Man is born to be an artist. He makes
an art of everything. Give him any
instrument, and he will soon use it
like virtuoso. The inspector COM
planned: with skilled executioner.
it is hard to tell whether he knouts
as terribly as it looks and sounds.
Apparently, he deals a terrible blow.
Your heart stands still when he
catches hold of the knout. And then,
if he wants to, his knOut will fall
weakly and painlessly. Those rogues
know how to do it, and there is no
way to control them
Tolstych brought the art OF knout-
ing to perfection, but ne bled the
convicts. If he was well paid, the
convict arose after a hundred blows
with the knout without discomfort
Otherwise woe was in store for him.
He was smart enough to do his bust
ness without fear of detection. The
authorities could not find proof
against him, and the convicts feared
him. But as they could at least bar
gain with him, they considered him a
convenient man in the executioners
Office
After the expiration OF his penal
servitude he became a settler. He
started a small store and knouted only
occasionally.
For year they had no execution
er in prison. Many judgments ac-
cumulated, and they called me to
execute them. Well, knouted so
men for three rubles.'
aCor T,o1c+ryob :. ~ 4,,,o 49, 49,,