The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1910-02-23
DEATH FOLLOWS THE RUSSIAN
RULER EVERYWHERE.
Numerous Attempts to Assassinate
SOvereigns. Tragic End That
Came to Alexander III.

Came to Alexander III.
The shadow that falls across the
path of czars may extend the world
round. Wherever the ruler of all
the Russians may happen to be there
the shadow of fear lies.
The shadow has never left the
house of the Romanoffs nor the fear
of it the heads of the house. 1t is
firmly believed in Russia today that
Alexander l did not die as was said
in Taganrog that December day in
1925. Immediately after his death
announcement a hermit settled in
Tomsk. He was a mysterious man,
came none knew whittier, never
speaking of his past. But sure it is
that Alexander II went to the little
house of the hermit on a visit, and
afterwards Nicholas, too, was there
praying silently at the hermit's
grave. And the hermit, maybe, was
the car, who stole away as a thief
in the night from his palace and the
peace.
Various attempts were made upon
the life of Alexander II, who finally
was killed. Once in Paris he was
fired on. Again in the winter palace
square one SOlOrieff, a would-be as
sassin, wearing the uniform of an
official, passed the guards one day
and again the car was fired upon.
Alexander ran for the palace. Solor-
Jeff followed him and fired three
times. The car ran in zizzags, how
ever, and so escaped. Not long after
wards two mines were laid to blow
up the imperial train. One did not
explode, but the second wrecked the
train. Once more the car escaped.
The watching eyes had saved him,
their owners having persuaded the
ruler to take another train.
Later Alexander II owed his life
to the fact that he came late to a
function at the palace. A bomb
blew clean out large portion of the
imperial residence but the car was
not present.
The Provision Dealer.
But of al the Attempts on the lives
Of Russia's rulers two stand out most
clearly for their amazing ingenuity.
One tells the story of a little unpre-
tentious shop in Malaja street. Ko-
bozef, the unknown to the police,
took the shop and set out to impress
the poliCe-Who were always making
sudden inspections of premises along
the thOrOughfares through which AL
eXander II passed-that he was moth
ing but a provision dealer. Nearly
everyone in that street was a paid
spy, but Kobozeff joked with his GUS
toners, pleased his purveyors, and
was most affable and apparently
harmless.
The dealer inspired confidence
and his custom increased gradually.
No wonder! For most of the parcels
that his customers were carrying
away by day contained nothing but
earth-earth that during the night
hours had been sCraped by the man
and his wife from beneath the street.
1t was by such ingenious method that
a tunnel was followed and cleared
under the thoroughfare, and a mine
laid beneath the way the czar often
passed, an innocent couch upon which
the housewife slept covering the en-
try to the tunnel
Yet all the work was useless. On
the day the scheme was to be carried
out the car upset all the arrange
ments by going off to lunch with the
Grand Duchess Catherine Michaelov-
ma.
Cars Tragic Fate.
Among those who were watching
on behalf of the Terrorists was a
beautiful girl-a countess, too