The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1905-04-22
My Siberian
Prison Love
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Il was my first night In a Siberian
prison. But twenty-five years old. OF
the very threshold OF life. and con
demned to spend twenty years-fron
youth to the beginning OF old age-ll
confinement
| Tick. tickety. tick.
Some one is rapping on the heating
pipe which runs up to the floor above
All political prisoners know the code
and / was not long In spelling out th,
remainder Of sentence. The begin
ming had lost.
so lonely"
l must condense two years into a
few sentences. The rapper, occupying
a cell directly above mine, was a girl,
Anna Vronsky, the daughter OF a
/ university professor. She had been
sent to Siberia for teaching the peas
ants, She had been placed in solitary
confinement and at the time abe made
my acquaintance was on the verge OF
insanity. To save her ] exerted my
self to the utmost, encouraging her,
telling her OF escapes OF which | had
heard and OF escapes l invented. For
this sympathy she was grateful and
was not long in turning her graft,
tude TO love.
There is nothing like love to stimu-
late both hope and endeavor. | spent
all my time in planning an escape both
for her and me, Escape was not inn
possible, for the prison system was bad
and the prison officials corrupt. Ii was
recapture that feared. To gain time
after leaving the prison and by time
distance | hit upon the plan OF having
dummies in our cells,
This plan l communicated to Anna,
suggesting that when the guard brought
her meals she should always sit in the
same position and answer no questions.
This was to get the guard used to what
a dummy would be. Anna began the
process at once, as | did. By our rap.
ping code other prisoners told us that
there was an hour, supper time. when
one might walk out of the prison un.
seen; but, as Anna and | could not
rely upon escaping at the same time,
we were to meet, II possible, at dis.
tant town where exiles having served
their terms in prison were permitted
to live.
/ made dummy out c. my mattress
aud my bedclothing Every time my
guard appeared / sat with my head
bent on my bed as though in melan-
choly. | arranged by the code with a
prisoner at the end Of the corridor
that at three coughs from me he was
to shrek One evening | gave the sig.
nal The guard, without relocking my
cell, hurried to the prisoner set up
my dummy and walked out. sue
ceeded in getting out OF the prison !
without being seen except by one man,
who supposed was privileged con-
vict 1t was very dark, and hid In |
corner Of the wall. had noticed from |
my cell window place where one
could get on low building with
chance Of escape. Finding a piece Of |
scantling in the prison yard, used 1t
first to climb on the building and next
to reach the top Of the wall, from which
| jumped down and escaped.
Ny dummy must have worked sue
for | was not pursued, and
Il pursued l should surely have been
captured. / went to the rendezvous
and waited there as long as dared for
Anna Vronsky, but she did not appear.
Then / reluctantly made my way to
Russia, stopping just beyond the bor-
der, where / remained under an as
,umed name. Indeed, my identity with
my former self was unrecognizable. /
made living trading in furs and kept
/ lookout for escaped prisoners, from
some Of whom hoped to hear some
hing Of Anna Vronsky.
1t seems strange that a man should
owe and continue to love a girl he has ]
lever seen, but there was more be-
-ween me and my fellow sufferer than
between most lovers who had been
brought up together. And this is the
'eason why / remained in what to me
vas the most dangerous position In
Russia, near the Siberian border.
Six years passed. One day | went up
o Kara bay to make purchases and on
ny way back stopped for supper and
he night at little farmhouse, the only
being an old woman and her
liece. From the moment | saw the
liece felt that shesalone could take
he place Of my imprisoned love. |
hated with the two women till the
Iunt went to bed. The girl was about
0 follow her when l, fancying from a
adness stamped on her face that she
night have suffered as political pris-
'ner, tapped with lead pencil on the
able from force Of habit, spelling
Yords that | had often spelled In
,risOn
"Anna, l love you"