Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1905-08-03


are captured fugitives, relapsed muir
derers, and many still waiting to be
sentenced.
why were you convicted?" Sus-
pected of murder" And you?" "Sus-
pected of sheft." "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 a 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 T~cherkessian
from the hills of Caucasus, who does
not speak a word of Russian. The
other is a 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. I
thought they would send us away
together. But they sent him to one
place and me to another"
In Sakhalin she committed a 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
rife, and shot into the group.
"You must have learned to love
your life mater"
"Of course; would l have fought
for him? | might have been killed
He's a good fellow; l hoped l could
live with him to the end, and now
there's a 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. Womer
in Sakhalin are not punished"
Perhaps some people may consider
this impunity. But what greater pen
atty could there be for q oma who
loved well enough to risk her life
and who was sentenced now to BIZ
given away" to another man?
What a dreadful custom, reminding
one of bygone ages! In the days o
serfdom it was customary to give
people away" toying with their life
and happiness, Of all the prisons il
Rykoffsk this little prison impressed
me most sadly.
The Executioners.
Halo, baby!" Halo, uncle!
Don't you call me nucle, baby, for
am your godfather, or really you
life mates godfather" merrily eX
claims Tolstych, the old executionel
of Sakhalin.
And how do you come to be hi,
godfather" I ask.
"Ha, ha, your honor, l knouteC
him."
Have you knouted many pee
ple?" Tolstych smiles. well JUS
as many as you see ~hereabouts, you
honor" Tolstych is about GO year
old. He does not look a day owe
40. He is a g%ood-looking ma, wit
a 1ne mustache and carefully shave
chin. He is wealthy, according t
Sakhalin ideas, and is somewhat @
a dude. Tolstych wears a coat, to
boots, and eve a leather cap, whic.
is the acme of Sakhalin fashions. H
always jokes and is full of fun. 'Wh
were you banished?" Because of tn
old woman!" He had killed his wifi
with a Ratchet. Why did you do it?
She was no good" When he cam
to Sakhalin he did not lose courage
He soon found out what he was bes
fitted for. Cruel by nature, stron
and agile, he became an executionel
Man is born to be an artist. He make
an art of everything. Give him an
instrument, and he will soon use
like a virtuoso. The Inspector cor
planned: with a skilled executione1
it is hard to tell whether he knout
as terribly as it looks and sounds
Apparently he deals a terrible blow
Your heart stands still when h
catches hold of the knout. And thel
if he wants to, his knout will fla
weakly and painlessly. Those rogue
know how to do it, and there is n
way to control them"
Tolstych brought the art of knou
ing to perfection, but he bled tn
convicts. If he was well paid, tn
convict arose after a hundred blow
with the knout without discomfor
Otherwise woe was in store for hin
He was smart enough to do his bus
ness without fear of detection. TIL
authorities could not find proc
against him, and the convicts feare
him. But as they could at least ba
gain with him, they considered him
convenient man in the executioner
office.
After the expiration of his pen;
| servitude he became a settler. Fl
t started a small store and knouted onl
occasionally.
t For a year they had no execution
! err in prison. Many judgments a
cumulated, and they called me
execute them. Well, | knouted
men for three rubles."
Say, Tolstych, is it true that yo
, knouted a convict to death for ]
3 rubles?"
I shThic &c CoIy1o1sA yp,,r I1~ov