Identifier: siberiaexilesyst01kenn (find matches)
Title: Siberia and the exile system
Year: 1891 (1890s)
Authors: Kennan, George, 1845-1924
Subjects: Siberia (Russia) -- Description and travel Siberia (Russia) -- Exiles
Publisher: New York : Century Co.
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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Tomsk,,are unable to walk is sometimes very large. In the year1884, 658 telegas were loaded there with exiles of this class,and if every telega held four persons the aggregate num-ber of incapables must have exceeded 2500.^ Such astate of things, of course, is the natural result of theovercrowding of the Tomsk forwarding prison. When the sick and infirm had all taken the placesassigned them in the invalid carts, Captain Gudim tookoff his cap, crossed himself and bowed in the direction 1 Some convicts are extremely skil- by applying irritating decoctions to a ful in counterfeiting the symptoms of slight self-inflicted wound, and they disease, and will now and then succeed even poison themselves with tobacco in deceiving even an experienced prison and other noxious herbs, surgeon. If necessary for the aecom- 2 Report of the Inspector of Exila plishment of their purpose, they do not Transportation for 1884, p. 31 of the hesitate to create artificial swellings MS. DEPORTATION BY ETAPE 377
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A CONVICT IAKXr TASSINCi A 8I1KINK NKAK TOiMSK. 378 SIBERIA of the prison oliurcli, and then, turning to the convicts,cried, Well, boys! Go ahead ! A safe journey to you ! Party — to the right! Party — march! shouted oneof the under-officers, and with a clinking of chains whichsounded like the jingling of innumerable bunches of keysthe gray throng, hemmed in by a cordon of soldiers, beganits long journey of 1800 miles to the mines of the Trans-Baikal. The marching convicts, who took the lead, wereclosely followed by the telegas with the sick and the infirm;next came three or four carts loaded with gray linen bags;and, finally, in a tdrdntas behind the rear guard of soldiersrode Captain Grudim, the naclidlnik of the convoy. Thecolumn moved at the rate of about two miles an hour; andlong before noon it was enveloped in a suffocating cloud ofdust raised by the shuffling, fetter-incumbered feet of theprisoners. In warm, dry weather, when there is no wind,dust is a source of great mise

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