The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1914-07-03
A RUSSIAN
WAY
By M. QUAD
Copyright. 1914. by Associated LIT
erary Press.

A man mined Bogoff came to the
United States in 1865 and acquired ii
tie to some lands in Montana. He re
turned to Russia. where be died with.
out knowing the value Of his property.
A syndicate bought up all the sur.
rounding land and wanted that belong.
ing to Bogon's heirs.
As a member of the syndicate l was
sent to Russia to put the matter
through. There was just one thing to
be kept secret Bogoff had paid about
500 for property worth over 100000.
l vas to get hold Of the land as cheap.
ly as possible. giving no hint of its
real value. Bogoff was II native of the
port Of Narva, on the gulf of Finland.
and one day l landed there in search
Of information. l had my passport
and other credentials and Anticipated
no trouble. but l was ignorant Of the
way things work in Russia. After tax.
ing up quarters at a hotel l called
upon a lawyer to make inquiries and
secure assistance. Yes. be had heard
Of the Bogoffs and thought the family
could easily be found. was to call
again on the morrow and meanwhile
be would gather such information as
he could.
Two hours later the chief Of police of
Narva entered my room with two of
his men. The astute officer, questioned
me for three long hours and was more
suspicious at the finish than at the be.
ginning. 1t was so queer that Bogoff
should have purchased that land, so
queer that be hadn't reported it on re.
turning. so queer that l should make
such a long journey to see the heirs,
30 queer that l should seek out q law.
yer instead of calling at the police sta
ton. | knew exactly what all this
meant. Had | said to the lawyer in
the first place that there was a ''divvy"
In the matter for him and for the chief
Of police and two or three other off.
Gals all would have gone we'll.
When the chief realized that l could
not be bIed he had all my papers taken
to his Office. The police were ordered
to look upon me as a suspicious person.
and a detective was detailed to watch
me day and night.
Thinking l might carry on the bust.
ness from st. Petersburg, l went to
that city and again called upon a law.
yer first Of all. He was sharp enough
to realize that the property was of con.
siderable value. and without any beat,
ing around the bush he told me that be
would find the heir and put the matter
through for the sum of $4,000. | re-
fused to bride him and as q result soon
discovered that no lawyer would have
anything to do with the case. and only
two days had passed before l was sum
lice. He closed the interview by say
ing that l would be Swallowed while l
remained at the capital and by advis-
Ing me to take no further steps on my
own account to discover the Bogoffs.
! had not been provided with money
to bride any one. l must either defy
the police and work up the case single
handed or return and report a failure.
Being firmly convinced that Mrs. b..
gof was in Narva. ! secretly left ST.
Petersburg for that town. Securing
rooms In q boarding house and disguis-
ing my personal appearance to a con
siderable extent, prosecuted my in
quiries under n excuse and another
until ! at length discovered the woman.
She was living in her own home and III
poor circumstances and was rejoiced
at the prospect Of selling the land.
which she remembered her husband
referring to as a poor investment on
his part.
| must have the assistance Of a no
tary to make out the papers. and 1t
was while seeking this assistance that
the police got track Of me again. As
soon as they interfered I was baked.
They not only warned every notary in
Narva against me. but the widow was
obliged to take a journey and go into
hiding. Things might have stopped
there had ! been a cool and placid man.
When ! found the police bounding me
again l lost my temper and gave the
chief my opinion Of things In general
and of his own conduct in particular.
I was arrested: on what charge | never
knew.
As soon as ~incarcerated ! asked leave
to communicate with the American
minister. This request was refused. !
was not allowed books. writing mate
rails or other food than the regular
prison fare and was. in fact. treated
in all respects as a criminal. On the
third day the chief Of police sent for
me and asked If l would leave Russia
Il given my liberty. replied in the
negative and was returned to prison.
My threats that the matter would be
thoroughly sifted by u representative
only made him smile. and be quietly
Informed me that he would keep me in
prison for the rest of my life if need
be. On the seventh day be sent for
me again. l had now changed my
mind. saw that l could be sent oil
to Siberia II the officials 50 desired
and that there was no longer the
slightest hope Of accomplishing my er
rand. therefore answered him thai