The Cooperstown courier. (Cooperstown, Griggs Co., N.D.) 1902-1913, 1905-08-17

Among the chaiaed convicts man,
ars captured fusitives. relapssd NUT
derers. and many still waiting to b
sentenced.
why were you convicted?' 0ua
pected Of m2rder." And you?" s'eua
pected Of theft" "And you?" 'Sus
pected Of murder" Nothing bu
suspects" "And your" KILLED tw,
men," The reply came frank. sharl
The Female Prison.
The prison for women is very small
It consists Of one ward which hold
ten persons. The women convicts o
Sakhalin are punished for their crimel
In special manner. They arc givel
away to settlers ~ so-called elf,
mates" Only those are In prison
whose cases have not been finall!
passed upon. Two women arise as W,
enter. One is an old Tcherkessial
from the hills of Caucasus, who doe.
not speak a word of Russian. TIL,
other is young woman. She wa,
banished for life because she hat
induced her godfather to kill her hus
band.
"Why?"
81 was married to him against my
will, and I 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 8
gun. He got himself into q fight
with the settlers. Nine men sur
rounded him, and were beating him
She rushed to her hut, grabbed 8
rifle, and shot into the group.
"You must have learned to love
your life mater %
"Of course; would have fought
for him? I might have been killed
He's good fellow; I hoped could
live with him to the end, and now
there's q 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 Sakhalin are not punished"
Perhaps some people may consider
this impunity. But what greater pen
atty could there be for woman who
loved well enough to risk her life
and who was sentenced now to be
given away" to another man?
What q dreadful custom, reminding
one of bygone ages! In the days OF
serfdom 1t 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 Executioners.
Halo. baby!" "Hallo, uncle!"
Don't you call me nucle, baby, for !
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" l ask.
"Ha. ha, your honor, knouted
him"
"Have you knouted many PEG.
ple?" Tolstych smiles. well. Just
as many as you see hereabouts, your
honor Tolstych is about 60 years
old. He does not look day over
40. He is q good-looking man, with
q fine mustache and carefully shaved
chin. He is wealthy, according to
Sakhalin ideas. and is somewhat OF
a dude. Tolstych wears a coat, ton
boots. and even q 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 a Ratchet. "Why did you do it?''
She was no good" When he came
to Sakhalin he did not lose courage,
He soon found out what he was best
fitted for. Cruel by 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 win soon use II
like q virtuoso. The inspector com.
planned: with skilled executioner
1t 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 roeues
know how to do 1t. and there is no
way to control them"
Tolstych brought the art Of knout.
ing to perfection, but he bled the
convicts. II he was we'll paid. the
convict arose after q hundred blows
with the knout without discomfort.
Otherwise woe was in store for him.
He was smart enough to do his busl.
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 q
convenient man in the executioner's
office.
After the expiration Of his penal
servitude he became q settler. He
started small store and knouted only
occasionally.
For a year they had no execution.
3er In prison. Many judgments &C.
cumulated, and they called me to
execute them. Well. / knouted 50