Jasper Weekly Courier, Volume 47, Number 47, Jasper, Dubois County, 4 August 1905 — Page 3

Horrors of Prison

on Sakhalin Island

At one time the barrows were weld ' 'h ,,! knout without 1I uro m f rrt ' days later without regaining conI to the handcuffs, hut bow the for "" " '"' to ,or f"r alm Komleff had been In: 1 mr 1b the u,re usual method. No ! ' wu smart enough to do hit bust to do this by convicts who bated

matter where the convict may turn. without tear of .let. -ion lue t,ui.ar

The

Russian Prison Colony aid Its Terrible Tragedies.

he drags with him the

hiird. n He even sleeps with It on a

lunch ma.Je specially for the purpos.

Cori.'jral Punifhment.

Ivan Grusdeff .- nt' n to SO

him. Hut as they could at leant bar lashes with the knout for giving an

unwelcome authorities could not find proof

against him, and the conucta feared

How Ion i, he rrndemned to he gin with him they cor;i.).-re,l him a ..ftviw v. as brought Into the office

convenient man in the . eutlon. r s ol t lie uCTor at nie nannaiin proou.

DESCRIBED BY A RVSSIAN WRITER

office. After the expiration of his penal servitude be became a :tt . r He start. ! :i -tnall -.tore air! . ! only oc i asionally. "For a year they had no v ution-

ac-

Terrible Cruelty of the Keepers and the Exe. cutioners Methods of Punishment That Stagger Humanity Dreaded Knout" and How It Is Applied.

The Interest of the world In the P. rilan penal syetem in awakened by Che capture of tho Island of Sakhalin hy tho Japanese. From time to time : ring the past quarter of a century , vlllzed world has been shocked

houses for fh ials are located on the side of a rather steep bill. Tha prison is a long way up the mountain 1 1 i a low one story building, an. I dOM not i ommand the view nor Intrude Itself upon the observer.

chained to the barrow " I asked. ' For two years; and the sOBVtSt before him bad lit pt in this hel for three years." I approached the ' bei." The head end of the bench Is worn out with the friction of the chain. The wood

had rubbed up against the iron for r ln Prison. Many judgments .-,. m a cumulate d. and they cal l .1 me

out." grumbles the convict. The punishment is very cruel, and j would i.e intolerable if the sssrleta did not . use thetr burdens now and then. It is Impossible to chain the i convicts so fast as to absolutely pre vent their freeing themseJvos. With ! the heln if their rnat..i uimntlniKii I

th. y ,r. a e the chains with soap and nls ; rttitlously under the window

' Your name-' "Ivan t.rusdeff. The doctor throws a glance at the documents, and gasps. Merciful Haav! Eighty lashc!" The devil'" exclaims the Incpector. Highly." repeats the assistant.

execute them. Wall

men for three rubles.' "Say, Tolstych. Is It true that you knout, d a convict to death fur 15 ruhles?" "This Is Sakhalin, your honor," H lllMlt the torturer.

An undersized, hairy little man makes honor!"

to like an echo.

I knouted (0 "Eighty." whisper the clerks. Every

OffTs ro-1y with a gtotft redI 1. and clear traces of former punishmt-uts became risible. I stood near the doctor, whose faos was flushed with shamo. Ivan Wa.-jutin." Ivan neared the

, horse." "Off with all clothes." said the executioner. It was a long while before ' he grasped the meaning of the words.

"Lie down." Wassjutin mounted the "horse astride. Take your hands off. He down; put your arms around the horse." Wassjutin emi r.:' 1 the "horse." It was humiliating, horribly humiliating, to see a naked man stretched on that

"horse" and awaiting the cruel li

one looks curiously at the man who Chruspel. the executioner, looked UkO

Is about to receive 80 lashes with the a dog int the Inspector's face.

knout. The d.jctor examines the convict. The minutes pass very slowly. The

' Thirty rods." Chruspel picked up a bundie of rods, drew one out of

physician shregs his shoulders. "Are the bundle with astonishing agility.

you well?" "Yes, sir, quite well, your retired a step, and waited.

ai a tU ..iorvn dR at .1 1 j v n 1 1 tr vT Lr XX u

L ,,W .,..- I.r,lr.. f UO, i.n.t.T UIUII-l)ur.lll..lil.. a..... " '

v...t .... , ... iiui iji ii a i iiiiil .,,.... i ,

erv waiK IH necunm. mi'i i-iuiu.ia uaii

one of tho attitud" of a mongrel cur sneaking around the kitchen door

Quite woll. you say" "Yes. six."

"Have you no pains around the

beyond measure at the tales of cruelty Houses of s ttl. rs line both sides of

:,, which the Russian convicts in this va.-t prison have been subjected, and the depthe of degradation to which ! ... urn i- human being have btea Ight Hut KuHhia has been careful b it litt !o of the true picture of the ; and should reach the outside world, rod newspaper and magazine writers . Kn land, France and the I'nit.'d tt l have made repeated attempts t secure authentic descriptions of the ItttOM in this great prison land, rod f the atrocious cruelties prac- : there, but none have r betl f ouccessful. Much has be. n i ad at. and the world would ' i treaty credit these ptctoren of the : i ;nation. It has remained for a Rat -inn to HI a practically authentic picI of Sakhalin, and thrtiRh the plct is tempered by seeing things fi m the Russian standpoint, it is still plctnra that is so korribto that it ftn b-.imanity. This story of the I ran of Sakhalin has been pub- I 1 in book form, and it is only I

i :.-:.-.ted extracts from the MM ; .t an give here: The First Impression. F rst impressions are likely to le

the hill. Nothing horrible, nothing

somber Is revealed at first sight. Y'ou are Inclined to rejoice over the appar. nt tesp. lability of the place, and driving up the road to Korsakoffak rou smile and think: "Well, this is very neat, very neat, indeed." Hut wait! Sakhalin is a swamp, the surface of which is covered by pretty meadows, It looks charmingly green, but a step and you sink in the detp, eold, sticky and viscoui mire. The remark about the neatness hardly escap. s your Hps when you hear around the corner the rattling of chains. Harnessed to a cart, grasping the shaft in their hands, convicts are drafting refuse to the sea. What a depressing sight to see men doing the work of horses. The mad leads past the prison, and one can lee the grimy window panes behind Heavy iron bars. Right above us is the hospital and directly opposite the mortuary. The Chain Prison. Th chain prison of Sakhalin It Intended for Um criminals of the worst kind. Officially it Is called the "prison for the testing of convicts." while the

rlrld. I shall certainly never prison for convicts showing signs of

t the moment when our eteaa rstornaittg, or the "free prison.' is !i came alongside the jetty at us. d for convicts who have passed

K rakoffsk. The landing was crowd i I with men. A few more steps and I a l..Tt in that sea which I so v uraed to fathom. It:r;n' the months I passed among . :;.:rts at Sakhalin I could not fr n.vseif from two impressions Which held tne in thrall, tortured mo n 1 .ipproHsed my soul like a heavy ! rdea. They still are holding my I il under their ban and still are i - pressing it. The first of these iml -sii.ns concerns my trip to Sakhalls, Our steamer, which transted the convicts from Odessa, roll ndSd me of a huge barge. Mke those - ed in our sea -coast towns for tow-

' the test of tb ' "chain prison."

incredible agonies. Hut still for a few hours each month they manage to rid

themselves of their incubus. . . . All around us we see angry faces. ! They peer hopelessly Into the future. The glances are cold, hard, somber j and bitter. . . . Among the chained convicts many are captured fugitives, relapsed murderers, and many still waiting to be sentenced. Why were you convicted?" Sus pectod of murder." "And you?" "Sus

pected of th ft." "And you?" "Susj pected of murder." Nothing but j "suspects!" "And you?" "Killed two SMB." The reply came frank, sharp i and firm. . . . The Female Prison. Thf prison for women is very mall It consists of one ward which hold? tes DSrSOSS. The women convicts of Sakhalin are punished for their crimes in a special manner. The are given Way to settlers as so-called "life ; mates." Only those are in prison 1 whose rases have not been finally I pssssd upon. Two women arise as we :it. r One is an old Teherkessian from the bills of Caucasus, who does not speak a word of Russian. The other Is a young woman She was

banished for life because she ha.', induced her godfather to kill her bus band. ' Why?" "I was married to him against my will, and I lov. d my godfather. 1 thought they would send us away together. But they sent him to one place and me to another." In Sakhalin she committed a crime

rare in the annals of the island. She

No, sir; none at all"

'Do you know where your heart Is.

and keeping an SJTS SO the window! you idiot NO pain in mo sine, for fear of boiling water. It is Kom- Never? Don't you understand me, you

leff, the oldest executioner of Sak- ; fool? baliu, but now retired. He heard , ally?'

Don't you feel pains occasion-

'Our chain prison is had. v. ry bad." hail j0fPn,i,.,i her life mate with

remarked the inspector. "We are

gun He got himself into a fight

SSlMtBg a new one, but it will take wlth tne Svttw?rs. Nine men sur-

years to get it ready. . . , "Attention!" calls out a guard.

rounded him. and were beating him. She rushed to her hut. grabbed a

rattling of chains, and the convicts rjfl,. anfj 8not into the group.

rise from the benches. On BsstSff Sunday two of the convicts fled from the prison, in spite of the fact that the convicts in a body had given their "word of honor" not to attempt an escap. As a punishment, all of them were put In chains. It is moist and close. Not an attempt at ventilation No attempt at making the place habitable. No effort to make

-.- v

"You must have learned to love your life mate?"

. . is e t m .A

in course; wou.u i nave imKm . that T,lrnanoff a trarnp. was to be f.,r bim? I might have been killed. nanpd A!, xanriroffsk for SOOtlag

. . . . ii m i w . . l j '

i L Jl L

1CLS1 1 CH PVT

Hes a good fellow: I hoped I could

live with him to the end. and now there's a fine mess to be in.' She dries her tears and sobs si U-ntly. "Nothing will happen to her." say the inspector. "She will be convicted and given to some settler in one of the distant settlements. Women in Sakhalin are not punished." PSftaBS some people may consider this impunity. Hut what greater pen ally coul i th. re be for a woman who loved well enough to risk her life.

at a guard. And now he came from

"No. sir. never." The physician looks wrathfully at the imbecile. "Look at me. lon't

his settlement to apply for the pros- you ever cough? Cough?" "No. sir; pective job. j I never cough!" ' Nobody can hang as well as V I The doctor is beside himself with He had ! an--. ! 1'. men in Sakhalin, antr. He throws a look of hatred

and. being a specialist, hoped to earn th. three ruble?. In the meanwhile, pending the execution, he hired himself out to tho wife of a settler to mind her rhi'.dr. n. Such are the customs of Sa'.halin. Konib-ff came from Kostroma, in central U; sis, u iu re he had studied for the ministi;. and was fond of

and who was sestesosd now to be Scripturtl txts. particular!, from the I St."

'given away" to another man? What a dreadful custom, reminding

one of bygone ages! In the days of robbery in broad daylight, and for j had a hard time to save him

at the convict. His glance socms to say: "Lie. you devil, lie. why don't you"" Hut the convict cannot see through it. "No. sir; never." The doctor sits down and calmly enters: "Heart failure." In his anger he br.-aks th" pen. The inspector locks at the doctor's certificate. "Exempt from corporal punishmen. Take him

Everybody heaves a sigh of

Old Testament. He was sentenced ri ST. "The damned idiot, sai.l in to v. ar.s' hard labor for highway doctor later to me In confidence. "I

serfdom it was customary to give people "away." toy-ins with their life and happiness. Of all the prisons in RykoffSh this little prison impressed Bs most sadly. The Executioners. "Hallo, baby!" 'Halb, uncle!' "DOS'! you call me nucle, baby, for I am your fodfgjtkor, or really your life mat. s codfather." merrily ex

attempted murder. He fiel In latl from Sakhalin, but was OSttgM nt th" narrowest point of the Taitar straits, having almost crossed over the eostlseet For this a't-mpt he issstvsd M Utahs with the i nout. and his time was extended anoth r 20 years. Executioners were very busy in those days, and Terrki. a famous Sak halin executioner, needed a helper.

claims Tolstyeh. the old executioner j The convicts drew lots, and KOSalef

mLtffG

existence tolerable. Not even the

usual DOB rid chests are to be seen

the refuse and dumping it Into (:, sen Ami these convict stations

hii l settlement, ,,mwl to me like anywh.-re. Hare benches, filthy straw

mattr. ss. s are iMin.nci logcin. r m

: i. trou- dumping grounds. It made me sad to think that down In the prison settlements and all around me all traces of the human which may have remained in this refuse were irretrievably doomed to l' fish. Th isOOgd impression concerned Sakhalin Its.-'f My first steps on the island ap PStOStU took mo hack at least N rssn In the history of Russia. The grievous compulsory toil, the cringing i : vility and doffing of caps and many Othst signs brought to my mind the days of serfdom. The first Impression of Korsak

the bead end of the benches. A mangy, lean cat plays SSSOSf the benches and purrs ingratiatingly. The convicts are fond of animals, for they alone regard them as human In the center of the room is a tabl or rather a tall bench. It is triangular ln -diape. wet nnd dirty, covered with bread crumbs nnd filthy tea cans. We enter a cell, where we lind two USHllrtl chained to barrows

"let's sen your Instmm. nt!

chains raitb

to the barrow ..how us the Impb'in. nt

of Sakhalin. Ar.d how do you rime to be his godfather"" I ask. Ha. ha, your honor. I knouted him." "Have you kSOtttSs many people"' Itolstilh : ru les. "Well, just as many as you see hereabouts, your honor." Tolstyeh Is about '-" years old. He does not look a day over 4it. He h a BOd-htOhhSg man. with

fine mustache and carefully shaved

chin. He is wealthy, according to Sakhalin ideas, and is somewhat of dude. Tolstyeh wears a coat, top bOOtSi and even a leather cap. which is the acme of Sakhalin fashions. He always jokes and is full of fun. "Why were you banished?" "BSOSSSS Of the old woman!" He had killed his wife with s hatchet. "Why did you do It?" She was no good." When he came to Sakhalin he did not lose courage. He soon found out what he was best tilted for Cruel by nature, strong and agile, he became an executioner. Man is born to be an artist. He makes an art of everything. C.ive him any instrument, and he will soon use it like a virtuoso. The Inspector complained: "With s skilled exec.it loner, it is hard to tell whether he knouts as terribly as it looks and sounds. Vpparenily he deals a terrible blow. Your heart stands still when he

catches hold of the knout. And then

was chosen for the post.

Hut Komb -ff still dreamed of free

dom. In 1889 he again broKS jail, was caught again, and received 13 years additional. "Fi 1 1 y five year;' bard labor." pr I ' ly exclaims Komleff. BssMOs, h was sentenced to 4." lashes with thy knout. Terski "waited" on his puph. "Well, dear SfhotSr, lay thee down, and I win show thee how to knout," said Terski. And he "showed" him. Thirteen years later Komb ff said to me. "I am still rotting." He bared his back. His body looked as if it had been seared snd branded with bo! Irons. It was terrible to see. Thirl white scars covered a portion of his back, and elsewhere Instead of s) ü; was seen a thin reddish membrane The punishment must have ben sorn thing dreadful. Thus SM execution er Jested with another. Bttl s'on Terski was detected taking a bribe from a convict and promising to spare him in consideration. Terski was- sentenced to IM blowwith rods, and Komleff was called up. n to admin'ster the punishment.

"You taught me to handle the knout. I will show you what can U don with rods." he grinned. Terski is rotting yet. What SS IM to Komleff was chill's play to Komleff 's re taliation. "According to tl !aw f Moses."

He was

as sound as a bell. But what could I do? Eighty lashes mean sure death. What the devil do they mean by sentencing a man to such punishment?" The corporal punishment was administered at five o'clock. We acc n.panied the physician to the StSSS. The "horse" stood in the gangway; two bundlee of rods carefully tied together and about six feet long, lay alongside the "horse." Seven n. n were IhMi up again.-t Cie wall of the doctor's office. The executioner stood in the doorway with a knout ir. his hand. The atmosphere was oppressive. "Forward"' Ivan Wassjutin. a Sty POtng fellow, almost c boy, was the first to come forward. T.ehind him v.ere two mountaineers from aucasus. a Russian who had escaped from a Siberian prison followed the billsmen. They had all

been sentenced to corporal punish- i

Go ahead!" The rod whistled

through the air once or twice before, the inspector counted one. Then another whistling sound, and a red strlpe was seen on the iuaklng body. "Two. three, four, five." chruspel threw the rod away and took up another. He walked over to the other side of the horse. Five more blows fell on the other side off the body. Every five blows required another rod, and Chruspel changed his position, for eacu rod. The sound of the rod whistling through the ajr almost broke one's heart, and the interval between) two blows seemed liHe an eternity. The inspector counted: "Twentynine, thirty." Warsjutin rose on the horse and sat astride. His eyes were filled with tears. 'Get off!" "Two and a half minutes," said tho doctor. I thought it had lasted an hour. Then came the Caucasians' turn. rhrusjel laid them down on the horse one after another. He used the knout on them "in accordance with the verdict. " A look at the inspector explained to Chruspel what he was to do. He grasped the knout in the middle, which is the punishment of he "half knout" Bardunoff trembled and shivered. He looked helpless like a hunted rabbit, and attempted to smile. Chruspel poked him in the ribs. "Lie down." Bardunoff convulsively clasped the horse and pulled himself together. Chruspel swung the knout with an nous movement. This was not a punishment "in accordance with the verdict of the court;" this was a prints transaction. according to the customs of the Sakhalin prison inspectors. The room was perfectly still; not a

i breath was heard.

Chruspel gajted inquiringly at the inspector. The latter looked about for a moment ln confusion, glanced at the doctor snd me. and finally made a sign to the executioner. Chruspel grasped the "hslf knout " A sigh of relief was heard from everyone in the room. Bardunoff's holy trembled convulsively. Heaven knows what terrible blows the man had expected. For the comparaMely weak, yet cruel, lash seemed to him child's play. Former Methods. "When I used to come to roll call,' boasted K . "I was in the habit of saying: 'Good morning, dogs. Good morning. Jailbirds." And they always replied. Joyfully: 'Good morning, your honor.' For they knew that I was la good humor. If I came and did not call them dogs they knew that something was brewing. "When I ordered knouting they fainted with fear. I used to say. "Knouts and spades to dig a grave." I wanted to make them believe that H M one would be knouted to death.

My assistants pretended that they were .aiming me. The convicts were wallowing in the dust before me, and wept for mercy. But corporal pun ishstest Is no good. In my opinion nothing beats solitary confinement. Worse than knouting. Two weeks of solitary brings them all to their senses. Come, and I will show you." We entered a gangway which was narrow and dark. On both sides were narrow cages, with tiny windows la each door. The. air in the gangway i..ide breathing impossible. It smelted like a dog kennel. The moment wo red the gangway blood curdling oaths and crie were heard on all sides. The convict howle j in frenzy and attempted to burst their doors. I was reminded of a madhouse and off Dante's Inferno. "Let Qussoff out," commanded tho inspector. The guard approached his cage.

ment. The verdict was read out loud. I the cell arore a maddened roar:

Don t come near, aon t ome near; I will murder you!" ' Well, perhaps you'd better leave

yj.bim." calmly remarked K. r "Don't you see now that this Is mora

effet?! ,k.in knouting? Knouting lo nothing. W DORASHKVrrgCKi

if he wants to. his knout wlJI fall ; Jested the fiend, "eye for eye. to. th weakly sn-J imTWsiy. Those rogues I for tooth. 1 can knout. I .; taught

orr!'. is distinctly pleasant. There of torture

Ia urfMn. t th. nrmt lanc to re The barrow, which weighs about

mini you of the galleys. It Is a neat lnrt pounds, is welded to the chain I 't, plAOS. Two rows of pretty little around the convicts ankles.

Ts nmtv barrow soueals. the

...I t .. ti . i nov how to eo ii. ni wiere is m uov. .... ..... -

.Iii, .... .. ... - .

way to control them. Tolstyeh brougnt the art of kn ut

inn to perfection, but lie bled th

Convict (NhSr, who had attempt

ed to e.icnpe. mil who wa.. sentence! t.i he k-nonted fr cannibalism, ha-!

convicts. If he was well paid, in? to i. tai on o m - wi. convict arose sftei a hundred blowe , of KomlcS s hfesa, He ilSl thr.

all those pr. sj nt standing up. Then followed the doctor's examination and the investigation of previous -crperal

punishment, and the doctor sign

report. Tho dOSSSMSl was handed to the convict, who bad to certify (3 advance that he had received the punishment. The Kus.-iar.s ..1 eyed and signed the papers: the letters which composed Wassjutin's signature were almost an inch apart, for his hand did not tremble, but fairly danced over the paper. The Caucasians could m-ither read nor write, aud th.-y did not understand Russian. TgkS your shirt off Off with it! ' The Caucasians failed to understand.

A volunteer interpreted with

gestures, attempting IS show th.-m what was wanted. They stared sullenly, suspiciously, and without un.I'Tstan.'.'.nr finally th y slowly undrsSSSs The do tor approached one of them with a tube and an asculataion hammer, but the Caucasians Jumped hack terrified. Finally the doctor gave up In despair.

It as Hardunoff's turn "Were vou ever punished before?" "No. sir!" 'Rag html A ISSN rubbed B&rdun-

Not for the Drawing-Rooru. A woman of recently acquired wealth went into an art gallery and asked for a paiiring f S OtrtSlS size. "I hav just what you want." said the dealer. He showed her a beautiful animal painting, but she looked at it for a few minutes and :hen shook her head: "It won't do." she said; "I want this plo tore for my drawing room." "Hut It's

many a beautiful thing.' ventured the dealer.

"Not for a drawing room." anuounrd the woman, conclusively; you sosHStl have a cow in a drawing room."

to ho

Didn't Seem Impossible. "Do ou think you could learn love me" " he ack-1 the lady, as

looked into her trembling orb. Weli. " she said, a-chly. "popolsr education has advance! with such rapid) strides that one can almost learn anytiling tu tnae daya'. - tra .-u.;leo, j