The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-05-14

Living in Topeka.
I Besides the Russians and their
guards, the only other people were a
lsemi-savage race. something like Es-
quimaux in appearance and modes of
living.
And all of these lived on the desc
late plains. broken only by the rim
of the forest and the occasional hills
of the gold diggings.
Here mail came only once in three
months. In one of the letters to Mrs.
Left from her mother was $500 in
American money and two blank pass
ports. The Leffs secretly filed in the
blanks. The papers were stamped with
a seal made from lead by the ingeni-
Gus Mr.. Left, so as to resemble a bona
f1de government passports.
Make Their Escape.
With these documents and the
money. the Leffs hoped to escape. 1t
came after eight months in Siberia.
According to arrangements, Mr.. Left
sllpped away from work and met his
wife IN the forest, where she had gone
supposedly to cut wood They made
| where government officials are few,
and far between travellers changed
horses.
Here they met a Russian named
Alexander, a government clerk. He,
with woman's intuition. Mrs. Left
| felt to be the man to trust with the
secret of their circumstances. She did
so and gained his assistance He ar
ranged for their further flight in every
way possible, providing teams and
even gave them a letter of introduction
to his relatives at the first railway
station they would reach. The man
and wife thought that they would es-
cape detection better by travelling sep
arate and as strangers and thus. with
many privations the journey was made
to the first railway station.
They met Alexander's relatives, who
while the soldiers were scanning every
passenger at the station for possible
refugees. treated the escapers like old
acquaintance and thus aided them to
elude the soldiers.
At another station where a change
OF cars was necessary they were rec
ognized by a soldier who had accom-
panied them to the Russian frontier
| as prisoners, but he was in sympathy
with them and threw other possible
detectives off their trial.
An Anxious Morning.
At Minsk came a thrilling adven-
ture. Here, previous to their arrival,
two other political prisoners had es-
| capped. Alarm bells were ringing The
+, government officials and private detec-
tives were swarming around the rail-
road station like bees. but through
| luck the Leffs were unm olested.
| However, they decided they had
! best go to separate hotels, and ar
ranged to meet at a certain corner at
! 1880 o'clock the next morning When
the time came Mrs. Left was at the
appointed place, but Mr.. Left was not
| HIS wife waited anxiously, but for sew
| eral hours her husband did not come
Finally they met about noon.
| The man had been kept up all night
| by soldiers who demanded his pass
| port and his reasons for coming there
He had told them he wanted work and
by chance happened to know the name
TONERS that he intended to work
| there, and after some hours of in
quiry and searching through his eff
| fects he was left in peace, about day
break He had lost much sleep for
| several days before and, thoroughly
| exhausted. had flung himself down on
| the bed for short rest He fell asleep
| and did not awaken until nearly II
| a. m. Then he left the hotel and met
his wife.
| She decided that they had better
| separate again, as they could thus bet
| ter escape. She had friends in Minsk
| and some who owned country homes
near by. With one of these she stay
ed until her husband made. his way
| to New York, and had been there for
some time.
| Then, Mrs. Left. after many close
| calls evaded the Russian officials, and
! Here their baby, now about two years
| old was born. The mother attended
night school and studied English. In
! this branch, both she and her hus-
band have acquired considerable pro-
| fciency. They are interesting and en-
PERTAINING. In spite of their hardships
| and suffering they are both very
| cheerful and optimistic. Mr.. Left ex-
poets to again take up civil engineer
| ing as soon as he learns English we'll
| be understood. At present both are
active socialists. Mrs. Left delivered
an address at the socialists picnic at
Garfield park, Sunday May 1, in her
own language.
In their comfortable home Mrs.
Left was playing the piano. and Mr..
Left was studying his English lesson
| when the visitor called.
Il am glad to see you, and my hus-
| band is also,'' said Mrs. Left, who
speaks a little better English than Mr..
Left. Il am glad to get acquainted
with people here. and they are most
| is a fine place! People have been
very friendly, and have treated US so
nice.
"Of course in Russia, we were ac-
quainted and understood everything
| that was said, and sometimes we get
| homesick, but it seems so good to
know that here we are not in danger
of being taken back to Siberia.
THAT country-ah, sometimes in
| the night. 1 dream we are there, and
| imagine that we are being tortured or
| hunted again. Then I wake up, and
| it seems most blessed that we are
safe.
SAINTS" said Mr.. Left, 'is that they are
so ignorant. They know nothing.
They think that the car is God and
are afraid even to think anything
| against him. Most of them have new
er been beyond their own province,
and can not tell, often anything about
| the next town..
For Safe and Sane Fourth.