The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-03-05

detectives and other grafters, who
took our passports and money, and
one fellow made me exchange my
socks with him. Then they imprison-
ed us in a. stable with some cows until
they could hold a coroner's inquest on
our passports and divide our money.
We slept with the COWS the first night
in Russia, and / do not want to sleep
again with animals that chew cuds all
night, and get up half 4 dozen times
to hump up their backs and stretch
and could look out through the cracks
in the stable and see the guards shak-
ing dice for our money.
Finally they looked at the great seal
on our passports and saw it was an
American document, and they began to
turn pale, as pale as a Russian can
get without using soap, and when |
said. Washington, ambassador, min
lister plenipotentiary, Roosevelt, Hot
Time in the Old Town Tonight, E
Pluribus Unum, whoopla, San Juan
HILL" and pointed to dad, who was
just coming out of the stable, looking
like Washington at Valley Forge, the
guards and other robbers bowed to
dad. gave him bag full of Russian
money in place of that which they had
taken away, and let us take a freight
train for st. Petersburg. and they
must have told the train men who we
were, because everybody on the cars
took off their hats to us, and divided
their lunch with US.
DAD could not understand the
change in the attitude of the people
towards us until [ told him that they
took him for distinguished Ameri-
can statesman, and tnat as long as
we were in Russia he must try to
look like George Washington and act
like Theodore Roosevelt, SO every lit
lie while dad would stand UP in the
aisle of the car and pose like George
Washington and when anybody gave
him a sandwich or a cigarette he
should show his teeth and say, Dee
lighted and all the way to st. Peters
burg dad carried out his part of the
programme and we were not robbed
once on the trip, but dad tried to
smoke one of the cigarettes that was
given him by a Cossack, and he died
in my arms, pretty near.
They make cigarettes out of baled
hay that has been used for holdings
and covered with paper that has been
used to poison flies. / never smelled
anything so bad since they fumigated
our house by the board of health after
the hired girl had smallpox.
Well. we got 20 ST Petersburg in
an awful time. and went to q hotel,
suspected by the police, and marked
as undesira Die guests by the Cossacks,
and winked at the walking delegates
and strikers, who thought we were
non-union men looking for their jobs.
The next day the religious cere-
mony of "blessing the Neya" took
place. where all the population gets
out on the bank OF the river. with
overshoes on, and fur coats, and looks
down or the river, covered with ice
four feet thick and the river is
blessed. In our country the people
would damn a river that had ice four
feet thick. but III Russia they bless
ANYTHING that will stand it. We got
q good place on the bank OF the river,
with about 1nillion people who had
sheepskin coats on, aid who steamed
like a sheer ranch, and were enjoying
the performance. looking occasionally
at the Winter palace. where the car
was peeking ont of window, won
dering from which direction a bcmo