New-York tribune., 1908-02-23
PILGRIMAGE IN SHIRTS.
Doukhobors Expected to Make An-
other Living Picture March.

Ten thousand pilgrims of both sexes. who wear
nghtshirts most of the time and generally pre-
fer to nothing at all, are expected 10 march
from Canada into the Mississippi Valley TINS
spring. looking for the promised land. They are
the Doukhobors, who were settled IN the north-
west provinces of the Dominion by the cana
dian government several years ago. They nave
discovered that the northern country is 100 coiu
for pigbtshirts. even allowing for the heat gen
Grated by religious exercises, and they have sui
bred from the prejudices of their colonial neigh
tors against Adamic rites. Since leaving their
Russian homes they have progressively purifed
and stripped themselves of all possessions, until
now they are practically destitute.
The army of living pictures will be marshalied
1v the well beloved leader, Peter Neregln, VINO
has dcne time in Siberia for political offences
1t will be burdened neither with food nor money
since people along the line of march VIII be eA-
pected to supply these commodities win slau-
ness The pilgrims hope to find not only the
nromieed land but the Messiah whom they nave
been assiluously seeking under powders and IN
hollow trees for many years Nhen they redch
the warm belt along the Mississippi and begin
TO cast off their shirts there will be spectacie
new in American history, unless the united po-
lice of several states can succeed IN 1orclpiy
cornnelline tl2e1n to stay dressed.
Count -TC1stov early befriended the Doukho-
borc and cave them the proceeds from the sales
of some Of his books but he did not expect they
v-oulG carry their doctrines of peace and SIM
n1tcity 10 the extremes they have carried them
He thought their movement heralded return to
orimeval happiness. Tolstcy wears shirt him
self but he does not take IL off IN pubic. ana
It is said he was panied to learn that his fTiends
mad been paradng the Canadian highways with
nothing on except their dignity
The last pilgrimage OF the DOukhobors ex-
tended nine hundred miles from their reserva-
ton in the province Of Saskatchewan to Thun-
der Fav in the province Of Ontario. Several
hundred persons began the trip. but many fell
nv the v-avsde and only seventy ardent spirit
yvrastle~s~ reached the destination Those that
arrived were shirtless- They were heading
southwark down the Red River Valley, when
an American consul announced that they would
be turned back as vagrants on reaching the
fnterna -ionaI boundary al Fort Penlbina. and So
on reaching Winnipeg, they went eastward
They traD7ped along the Canadian Pacific right
of way to Port Arthur, 432 miles east from
Winnipeg giving many a locomotive engineer
a scare and transcontinental passengers sight
to remember The railroad in desperation sent
a specia! train after them when they tried to
tackle the wilderness of the North Shore, put
them in boxcars and took them back to the
twin towns on Thunder Bay, where they were
indicted as trespassers and have been indicted
for something or other nearly every day since.
The spirit wrestlers in their nude peregrina-
tinns through the towns of Manitoba have been
q serious problem to the Canadian authorities.
The mounted police have been helpless in their
efforts to l;.eck the naked wanderers and stop
the sale of panoramic views Of mighty men
and fair sturdy women stark naked as the
day they were born" An unfortunate police
man CHANGED to be photographed as the escort
of TWENTY-FIVE shirtless men and women, and
When the picture peddled through the
streets CT Regina the policeman got term in
Jail. His defence that he was trying to
steer the pilgrims into a grove so that they
might not be seen by students of public school
on the township road who were on the lookout.
One Ct the reasons given for the expected pill
grimage on a large scale is the alleged bad faith
of the Canadian government, which received the
Doukhobors from their native land, it is as
serted Oh a promise that they would not be re-