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The Author in Cossack Costume 
 
ESCAPE FROM 
 
 SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 By 
 
 yOHN GODFREY JACQUES 
 
 in collaboration nxjiih 
 ADELAIDE D. WELLMAN 
 
 PACIFIC PRESS PUBLISHING ASSN. 
 
 MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA 
 
 Kansas City, Mo. St. Paul, Minn. Portland, Ore. 
 
 Brookfield, 111. Cristobal, Canal Zone 
 
-^r(<^ 
 
 ,<D3 
 
 Copyright, 1921, by 
 
 Pacific Press Publishing Assn. 
 
 Mountain View, California 
 
 FEB 21 i'^?! 
 
 0)CI.A608791 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 The complete story of the sufferings of hu- 
 manity because of the great world war can never 
 be written. Now and then there comes to us a 
 record of individual experiences which gives 
 something of an idea of the intensity of human 
 passions, and of the hopes and fears and suffer- 
 ings of the world, during those awful years. 
 Such a story is this. 
 
 The hero of this story is a young Russian 
 evangelist of a Protestant "sect." At the out- 
 break of the war, the priests of the Greek 
 Church, under cover of insuring greater security 
 to the state, took occasion to wreak vengeance 
 on those who had dared to teach the people any 
 other way than that of the established church. 
 Along with many others, our author was ban- 
 ished, being sent to the most northern penal 
 station of western Siberia. 
 
 The terrible prisons en route; the contact with 
 the worst of criminals ; the fellowship with other 
 religious prisoners; the surveillance of tyranni- 
 cal priests; the sojourn in the lonely forests of 
 the far north with hardened criminals and in 
 proximity to wild tribes; the meeting with a 
 brother minister in the faith who was likewise 
 an exile, with only a few words in passing; the 
 sudden decision to break for liberty; the hasty 
 
 (7) 
 
8 INTRODUCTION 
 
 nocturnal visit home ; the six thousand mile flight 
 across Siberia; the perilous and painful journey 
 on foot through Manchuria, over frozen snows, 
 with no guide but the twinkling stars, walking 
 at one time for thirty hours, with torn feet, 
 without rest; the journey to Shanghai; the voy- 
 age across the Pacific, with a narrow escape from 
 becoming a prisoner of war, — all this makes the 
 story a most adventurous and thrilling one. 
 
 In reading this book, one cannot fail to get 
 a glimpse of the great warfare that is constantly 
 waged between the forces of darkness and light, 
 between superstition and enlightenment, be- 
 tween tyranny and true democracy. The as- 
 sumption of spiritual control and the coercion of 
 men's consciences by ignorant and even drunken 
 priests, cannot but impress the reader with the 
 utter wickedness of the old regime in Russia, 
 and of any system where the state assumes con- 
 trol of religion. 
 
 There is also a golden thread of God's care 
 and overruling providence running through this 
 story. The escape, a soldier's assistance offered 
 in a time of greatest perplexity, the "chance" 
 meeting of a boy late at night in a great city, 
 who proved to belong to the same "sect," when 
 there was no other who could shelter the fleeing 
 exile, and many other such things that seemed 
 to "happen" at just the right time, cannot but 
 
INTRODUCTION 9 
 
 impress one that God hears the cry of His chil- 
 dren in their distress and answers them. "This 
 poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and 
 saved him out of all his troubles." Psalm 34 : 6. 
 We heartily commend this book to all English- 
 speaking young people, and pray that it may 
 inspire in those who read it such a love for 
 truth, that they too may be willing to suffer, if 
 need be, rather than disobey God. 
 
 M. E. Kern, 
 
 General Secretary Young People's 
 Society of Missionary Volunteers. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 I. What Liberty Meant in Imperial Russia 17 
 
 II. In the Clutch op the Russian Bear . . 37 
 
 III. Banishment 55 
 
 IV. A Petition to the Czarina 69 
 
 V. On the Siberian Border 85 
 
 VI. Semi-Freedom 95 
 
 VII. An Exile Station 105 
 
 VIII. The "Arrested" Testament 115 
 
 IX. A Penal Island 133 
 
 X. A Favor from the Czar 145 
 
 XI. Looking Toward Europe 155 
 
 XIL A "Wolffs Passport" 173 
 
 XIII. The Beginning of a Perilous Journey . 183 
 
 XIV. In Disguise 189 
 
 XV. Hiding 205 
 
 XVI. A Futile Attempt at Flight .... 215 
 
 XVII. Afoot and Alone 221 
 
 XVIII. Encountering Russian Guards .... 243 
 
 XIX. A Happy Transition 263 
 
 XX. A Prisoner of War 271 
 
 XXI. Like a Dream 281 
 
 (11) 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 The Author in Cossack Costume . . . Frontispiece 
 Map Showing the Location of Towns Mentioned in 
 
 the Narrative 16 
 
 Odessa 19 
 
 In the Crimea 21 
 
 A Caucasian Mother 26 
 
 A Pass in the Caucasus Mountains 30 
 
 The Black Sea Port of Sebastopol 33 
 
 The Finest Cathedral in the Caucasus .... 39 
 
 Under Arrest 41 
 
 A Russian Family Drinking Their Accustomed Bev- 
 erage — Tea 45 
 
 A Glimpse of Odessa 49 
 
 One of the Least Heavily Shackled Exiles ... 57 
 
 A View of the City of Kiev 59 
 
 Devil's Bridge, in the Caucasus Mountains ... 63 
 
 General View of the Kremlin, Moscow .... 67 
 
 The Largest Bell in the World, Moscow .... 68 
 
 An Exile in Solitary Confinement 71 
 
 A Fine Specimen of Muscovite Architecture ... 74 
 
 "Holy" Moscow 76 
 
 Tolstoy 78 
 
 Church of St. Basil, Moscow 81 
 
 Characteristically Russian 86 
 
 The Great Market of Moscow 89 
 
 Tomsk University 91 
 
 Sleds Used to Transport Exiles ...... 97 
 
 A Peasant Abode in Northern Siberia .... 101 
 
 A Siberian Peasant Woman 106 
 
 An Ice Jam on a Siberian River . . . . . . 108 
 
 Not Handsome, but Happy Ill 
 
 On the Georgian Road 113 
 
 A Russian Family 117 
 
 A Typical Peasant Home in Russia . . . . . 119 
 
 A Hollow Log Fishing Canoe on a Siberian River . 123 
 
 Weeping, Not Laughing 127 
 
 A Russian Village Post Office 131 
 
 A Fur Hunter in the Boundless Forests of Siberia . 135 
 
 Katun River, a Tributary of the Ob 138 
 
 A Siberian Greek Orthodox Priest 142 
 
 (13) 
 
14 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Nicholas II and His Family . ^ 147 
 
 Drying Bear Skins 150 
 
 Scenery Along the Katun . 153 
 
 A Siberian Family 157 
 
 Tiflis, Capital of Transcaucasia 161 
 
 Railway Station at Omsk 165 
 
 Hide Market of Kazan Tartars 167 
 
 Old-Time Farming Methods 171 
 
 On the Volga 176 
 
 Mount Ushba 179 
 
 A Railroad Bridge Near Ufa 185 
 
 Vladivostok 191 
 
 Railway Station at Irkutsk 193 
 
 Boating on Lake Baikal . 195 
 
 Railway Station at the Boundary Between Siberia 
 
 and Manchuria 199 
 
 A Mountain Road in the Altai Region .... 202 
 Doctor Attending an Exile Who Has Fainted Under 
 
 the Knout . 207 
 
 Street Scene in Harbin, Manchuria 210 
 
 A Native of the Far Northern Province of Yakutsk, 
 
 with His Saddle Pony 217 
 
 A Makeshift Tent on the Russian Steppes . . . 222 
 
 The Troitzko-Sergiev Monastery 227 
 
 A Manchurian Convict 233 
 
 A Peasant Family 237 
 
 Caucasian Tribesmen 241 
 
 A Mongolian Plainsman 248 
 
 One of the Scenes of Greatest Danger .... 253 
 
 A Village Priest 255 
 
 A Small Portion of the Nizhni Novgorod Fair . . 258 
 
 A Chinese City Street . 261 
 
 Jumping the Rope 268 
 
 The Old City of Mukden 269 
 
 A Section of China's Great Wall 275 
 
 Golden Gate, "the Gateway to Freedom" .... 279 
 
 Nicholas Romanov, the Last of the Czars, in Exile . 284 
 
 The Ancient City of Tobolsk, the Biblical Tubal . 285 
 
 On Pacific Union College Farm 287 
 
CHAPTER I 
 
 WHAT LIBERTY MEANT IN 
 IMPERIAL RUSSIA 
 
 THE giant acacia tree that shaded the 
 doorway of my grandfather's home in 
 the Causasus, shook its yellowing leaves in 
 the autumn breeze like myriads of tiny ban- 
 ners, as I passed out from beneath its shel- 
 tering boughs on a September day the year 
 before the beginning of the great war. 
 
 In the adjacent chapel — which stood on 
 my grandfather's land — a general meeting 
 had been in progress for some days past. It 
 was attended not only by delegates from dif- 
 ferent parts of the Caucasus, but also by 
 ministers from other sections of Russia; for 
 this little town of Alexandrodar was to some 
 extent a center for our work in that country, 
 being one of the first places where a church 
 of our faith had been organized in the land 
 of the czars. My parents, when they were 
 young people, became charter members of 
 that church; hence I was reared in the faith 
 we all love. 
 
 At this meeting, request had been made 
 that I go and assist our minister located in 
 
 (17) 
 
18 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 the Black Sea city of Odessa. The few years 
 that had passed since I finished my school 
 course, I had spent chiefly in evangelistic 
 work in the Caucasus; but consent was given 
 to the proposed transfer, and I was starting 
 for a brief visit to my father's home, a hun- 
 dred miles distant, before setting out on the 
 longer journey. 
 
 When, after spending a day with my par- 
 ents, I bade them good-by, it was well that 
 we did not foresee the circumstances under 
 which we should next meet. 
 
 Instead of taking the ordinary railway 
 route to Odessa, I chose to go by steamer 
 across the Black Sea, as I hoped to be able 
 thus to see my only brother, who was in mili- 
 tary service at a post near the shore. I could 
 also, in this way, gratify a long cherished de- 
 sire to get a glimpse of the beautiful Crimea, 
 the Switzerland of Russia. 
 
 Eventually reaching the port from which 
 I should take passage, I sailed away from the 
 shores of my beloved Caucasus. To my deep 
 regret, I was unable to obtain the expected 
 interview with my brother. A matter of less 
 serious disappointment was the fact that the 
 steamer passed some of the most romantic 
 
Odessa 
 
 Stairway leading from one of the principal streets down 
 
 to the shore of the Black Sea. 
 
 (19) 
 
20 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 portions of the Crimean coast at night and 
 consequently I did not have a view of them. 
 To compensate myself, as far as possible, for 
 this loss, I was early on deck next morning. 
 The vessel kept close to shore all day, and 
 a delightful panorama moved continuously 
 before us. 
 
 With evening and darkness came also rain, 
 in such torrents as to suggest an attempt to 
 raise the sea's level. I found a quiet place 
 in the deck cabin, and there busied myself 
 writing English. From my childhood, the 
 study of that language had possessed an ex- 
 traordinary charm for me, though I could 
 not have explained why. When only about 
 eight or ten years old, I saved money to buy 
 a large Russian-English dictionary, and that 
 volume I conned most persistently. Doubt- 
 less you would hardly have known that it was 
 your mother tongue I was trying to speak; 
 yet those boyish struggles were not without 
 reward when afterwards, under more auspi- 
 cious conditions, I essayed to master the lan- 
 guage that has become to me a symbol of 
 much that is best in life. 
 
 But let us resume our Black Sea voyage. 
 Later in the evening, as I was crossing the 
 
In the Crimea 
 
 (21) 
 
22 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 upper deck in the half darkness, I came into 
 collision with a young man whom I was thus 
 brought to recognize as a former schoolmate 
 of mine. He had been for some years a ma- 
 rine, and that accounts for his preference for 
 the wind-swept deck rather than the cabin. 
 
 Not many years before, through the in- 
 fluence of Seventh-dav Adventist friends, this 
 young man had been led to accept our faith; 
 and he had since endured great hardships — 
 for to be a Christian in Russia, except in the 
 legal sense, implied persecution in those not 
 remote times. 
 
 When, in medieval days, western Europe 
 was emerging from barbarism and adopting 
 Christianity, Russia, not to be outdone, sent 
 commissioners to various countries, to select 
 a new religion for her. The choice fell to 
 Greek Catholicism, and priests were engaged 
 to go from Constantinople to teach the Rus- 
 sian people the forms of that church. 
 
 Form and force were predominant features 
 of the religion acquired by the great nation of 
 the north, as was indicated by the practice in 
 vogue in those early days, of driving large 
 companies into the water and compelling 
 them to receive the rite of baptism. 
 
LIBERTY IN IMPERIAL RUSSIA 23 
 
 Greek Catholicism was the only Christian- 
 ity known to Russia until the time of the mis- 
 sionary awakening of the last century, when 
 some of the evangelical churches began activi- 
 ties there. 
 
 That the state church had lost none of its 
 dictatorial character in the course of the years, 
 was often demonstrated before the rule of the 
 czars ceased. Near the beginning of the pres- 
 ent century, religious liberty for all the "sec- 
 tarians" was announced; but in reality they 
 had less liberty thereafter than before, when 
 they depended upon secrecy for safety. 
 
 The old Russian conception of religious 
 liberty did not include liberty to express 
 one's convictions. Though the imperial gov- 
 ernment had adopted what was supposed to 
 be a very liberal policy in reference to the 
 "sects," yet, like the Jewish leaders in apos- 
 tolic times, it required that they should not 
 "speak at all nor teach" of their faith. 
 
 The reply in the two cases was the same: 
 "We cannot but speak the things which we 
 have seen and heard." Acts 4: 18, 20. 
 
 The first Seventh-day Adventist in Russia, 
 so it is recorded — an aged man who had been 
 to the United States, where he learned our 
 
24 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 faith — was arrested, after his return to his 
 native land, on the accusation that he was 
 teaching doctrines not in harmony with those 
 of the Greek Catholic Church. 
 
 This man stuttered so badly that he could 
 scarcely talk, and to accuse him of conduct- 
 ing any kind of propaganda seemed quite 
 ridiculous. 
 
 He had industriously spread our doctrines; 
 but his method was such that he appeared to 
 be the one taught instead of being the teacher. 
 He would ask some one to read to him, indi- 
 cating what he wanted to hear read — a text 
 of Scripture or other matter bearing on "pres- 
 ent truth"; and thus both the reader and any 
 who might be within hearing learned the 
 grounds for our belief. 
 
 An effort was made to have the old man 
 exiled; but the judge, for very shame, would 
 not pronounce sentence against him. His 
 affliction served as a safeguard. 
 
 When I reached Odessa, among the first 
 persons I met was one of our members who, 
 a short time before, had concluded a two-year 
 term of imprisonment for the Word's sake. 
 His rapid aging during those two years, and 
 the air of constant apprehension that still 
 
LIBERTY IN IMPERIAL RUSSIA 25 
 
 clung to him, gave a hint of what Russian 
 jail life was. I learned more about it later. 
 
 I was soon called to go with one of our 
 ministers to a village some distance from 
 Odessa. There were a number of candidates 
 for baptism ; but to administer that ordinance, 
 we must needs go at night to an isolated place 
 outside the town, even choosing a dark and 
 stormy night, in order the more effectually to 
 avoid being observed. Experience had proved 
 that all these precautions were necessary. 
 
 In at least one instance, in the Caucasus, 
 a convert who had been baptized into our 
 church, was forcibly rebaptized by priests of 
 the ''Orthodox" Church — after the medieval 
 fashion. Others suffered much more severe 
 punishment. 
 
 At another town that we visited on this 
 same tour, a child of one of our members had 
 died the day before, and there was much per- 
 plexity as to the disposition to be made of the 
 body, the local priest having refused permis- 
 sion for interment in the public cemetery. 
 After our arrival, it was learned that the 
 priest had gone from home. Then the rela- 
 tives of the dead child quickly and quietly 
 proceeded with the burial. Not infrequently, 
 
A Caucasian Mother 
 She carries not only her babe, but also its cradle. 
 
 (26) 
 
LIBERTY IN IMPERIAL RUSSIA 27 
 
 bigots of the state church disinterred our 
 dead; and often only by appeal to the civil 
 authorities could we secure a place for burial. 
 
 At still another town, a young man and 
 his wife had become interested in the Bible, 
 and had been attending our meetings. The 
 priest, learning of this, came one day to their 
 home to remonstrate with them; and the 
 young man, to justify their course, called at- 
 tention to numerous scriptures that show our 
 teachings to be sound, and those of the Greek 
 Church the contrary. Thereupon the priest 
 struck the man mercilessly with his waU^ing 
 stick. The terrified wife seized the stick from 
 the hands of the priest, in an effort to defend 
 her husband; but the priest then clutched the 
 heavy crucifix that was suspended from his 
 neck, and with it, beat his victim over the 
 head. The man died a Tew weeks afterwards, 
 in consequence of this abuse. 
 
 After the "sects" began missionary opera- 
 tions in Russia, an organization was formed 
 that was often called "the Black Society." 
 It was made up of zealots of the "Ortho- 
 dox" Church, whose alleged purpose was the 
 "protection" of that church against "spiritual 
 degeneracy" and loss of members. 
 
28 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 This society was specially active in Odessa. 
 Seldom could we hold a meeting without 
 having several of these disturbers of the peace 
 as unbidden guests, and it was their custom 
 to interrupt the services by noisy outcries. 
 They tried also to excite controversy, and 
 thus produce confusion. They often sent 
 women to act as spies on us. These feigned 
 sympathy with us, but listened for any word 
 that might be construed as an offense against 
 the state church. 
 
 At a gathering of Baptists near our place 
 of worship in that city, some of these men 
 were asked to leave ; and as they did not com- 
 ply with the request, they were led from the 
 building. One of them then loudly asserted 
 that he had been kicked out by the ''sectari- 
 ans," and he sanctimoniously added that thus 
 had Jesus been treated. In this way, he 
 caused great excitement. The police were 
 attracted to the scene, and much trouble re- 
 sulted for the Baptists. 
 
 These ' 'zealous brethren' ' — so termed — 
 came to our services in such numbers that 
 their testimony would suffice to condemn any 
 of our speakers they might accuse. Often 
 the leaders of our meetings were arrested at 
 
LIBERTY IN IMPERIAL RUSSIA 29 
 
 the instigation of these men, the most com- 
 mon charge being that of blasphemy against 
 God and the church; and in case of convic- 
 tion, the penalty generally was one or two 
 years in jail. There were always some of our 
 people under arrest or in jail in Russia. 
 
 But the more vehemently our work was 
 opposed, the more persons seemed impelled 
 to investigate the anathematized doctrines. 
 These persons were surprised to hear, in our 
 meetings, only the pure teachings of the 
 Word; and not a few chose to unite with us. 
 This enraged the priests; and they took re- 
 venge, whenever they could, by causing the 
 arrest and imprisonment of our workers. 
 
 Still, happily, there were a few men in offi- 
 cial position, in both state and church, who 
 stood for justice and equity. - When one of 
 our ministers in Odessa was arrested on the 
 charge of ''reviling God and the church," the 
 open-eyed old judge, perceiving the ground- 
 lessness of the accusation, reprimanded the 
 prosecutors, and acquitted the accused man. 
 
 Personally I met a similar spirit of fair- 
 ness more than once. In a Cossack town 
 where I held meetings not long before go- 
 ing to Odessa, partisans of the state church 
 
A Pass in the Caucasus Mountains 
 The horsemen are Cossacks — and all Cossacks are horse- 
 men, performing most astounding equestrian feats. 
 
 (30) 
 
LIBERTY IN IMPERIAL RUSSIA 31 
 
 raised a disturbance, and haled me before the 
 magistrate; but when I stated the circum- 
 stances to him, he said that I should be al- 
 lowed to defend my teachings publicly, then 
 the priests should have opportunity to refute 
 what I said, if they could do so. 
 
 The people gathered at the church to hear; 
 and the magistrate himself presided, seeing 
 to it that I received just treatment. The 
 priests objected to my going on the speaker's 
 platform, as that place, they said, was holy, 
 and my presence would desecrate it ; but there 
 was no other point from which I could be 
 heard well, and the priests were required to 
 grant me equal advantages with themselves. 
 
 Not only did the magistrate thus come to 
 my rescue in this crisis, but he also gave me 
 liberty to continue my work in the town; and 
 later a church of our faith was organized 
 there. 
 
 In another town in the Caucasus, as I was 
 speaking to a small company of Bible stu- 
 dents in a private building, a tall priest en- 
 tered, and questioned my right to address an 
 audience. In reply, I read Revelation 22: 
 17, "Let him that heareth say. Come." The 
 priest declared that the text had no bearing 
 
32 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 on the matter in hand; whereupon the people 
 present — most of them his own parishioners 
 — called to me: ''Read it to him again! He 
 doesn't understand." As he still denied the 
 application of the scripture, the people once 
 more called, "Read it again!" 
 
 His protests were at last silenced for that 
 time; but at our next meeting, two policemen 
 appeared, and each took hold of one of my 
 arms, as if to lead me away. I reminded 
 them that the law forbade the interruption of 
 a religious service, whether that service were 
 lawful or otherwise; and finally they con- 
 sented to wait till the meeting had ended. 
 At its close, I voluntarily preceded them to 
 police headquarters. 
 
 There, by way of explaining the situation, 
 I gave a resume of the offending discourse. 
 Some priests who were present urged that I 
 be taken away, lest I make converts of the 
 attaches of the place. Next I was taken to a 
 police station; and the sergeant, after hear- 
 ing the case, ordered me to leave the town, 
 else he would send me home by etape — that 
 is, with a company of prisoners traveling un- 
 der guard — which might signify a sojourn 
 of many days in jail on the way. 
 
IJBERTY IN IMPERIAL RUSSIA 
 
 33 
 
 I returned to the house where our meet- 
 ings had been held, and found scores of 
 people waiting for me. They begged that I 
 explain the Scriptures further to them; and 
 regardless of the danger incurred by both 
 speaker and hearers, I did so. We were not 
 molested again; and one of our older minis- 
 ters later joined me there, and baptized a 
 group of converts. 
 
 In a city on the Roumanian border, that I 
 visited after going to Odessa, I was arrested 
 for teaching supposedly heretical doctrines, 
 and the books I had with me were seized. I 
 
 The Black Sea Port of Sebastopol 
 
34 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 was not imprisoned, but had to report at the 
 district headquarters each day for a week. 
 There I learned that my books had been 
 turned over to some of the younger men con- 
 nected with the office, for examination as to 
 the grievousness of the heresy they contained. 
 
 At any time that the higher officers were 
 not present when I called, these young men 
 inquired, with much enthusiasm, concerning 
 the light they had found in the accused vol- 
 umes; and one of them soon afterwards, as a 
 result of his reading, accepted our faith. 
 
 Through his influence, the interest in the 
 truths we hold became so marked as to arouse 
 the priests, and they arranged for a promi- 
 nent opponent of the sects to go there and 
 combat our teachings. Through the police 
 department, an order was sent for me to meet 
 this defender of nominal orthodoxy; and I 
 could not well refuse to obey. 
 
 I had only enough time to reach the place 
 before the hour appointed. As I entered the 
 city, the cathedral bell was sounding its call 
 to the people to assemble for the contest. I 
 did not even know what was demanded of 
 me; but I went direct to a priest of the state 
 church whom I had previously found to be 
 
LIBERTY IN IMPERIAL RUSSIA 35 
 
 amiable, and from him I learned that three 
 hours each afternoon for three days was to be 
 given to the debate — for a debate the priests 
 had decided there should be — their chosen 
 orator and I to speak alternately for periods 
 of twenty minutes each. Mere boy that I 
 was, it was expected the weakness of my de- 
 fense would convince the people that I was 
 in error. But the truth of God is not weak; 
 nor did He who has promised to be with those 
 who are called to speak in behalf of the gos- 
 pel, fail me in those trying days. 
 
 The discussion was held in the courthouse, 
 which contained the largest auditorium in the 
 city. This arrangement was made in defer- 
 ence to my expressed wish. I did not want 
 to speak in the cathedral; for there, I knew, 
 the priests would not be willing that I should 
 stand where I could be heard easily. 
 
 Written regulations were drawn up, and 
 the opposers of the gospel were obliged to 
 conform to them, the court officials present 
 using their authority on the side of order. 
 
 I was the first speaker; and my presenta- 
 tion of the Scriptures did not inspire my an- 
 tagonist to eloquence. When his turn came 
 to speak, he became greatly confused, and im- 
 
36 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 plored the people to pray to the icons for 
 him; and his last period, he spent almost 
 wholly in appeal to these paganish travesties. 
 
 The audience manifested strong feeling, 
 some for me, others against me ; and probably 
 I should have suffered violence, had not the 
 diocesan, at the close of each session, thrown 
 his long cloak about me and walked by my 
 side. He felt responsible for my safety. 
 
 Notwithstanding the consideration shown 
 me at this time, I was forbidden to remain in 
 the city, or to return afterwards to instruct 
 those who might desire instruction. This 
 caused great dissatisfaction on the part of 
 many, specially of the young people, and the 
 priests had difficulty to quell the commotion. 
 
 Such was liberty in old Russia. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 IN THE CLUTCH OF THE 
 RUSSIAN BEAR 
 
 ON a December evening in 1914, it fell to 
 me to conduct the service in our chapel 
 in Odessa. The theme of the evening's dis- 
 course was the grace of Christ. 
 
 There were present in the chapel several 
 enemies of the gospel. Hence I requested our 
 people to disperse immediately at the close 
 of the service, to avoid disturbance; and I 
 likewise went directly to my apartment. 
 
 That same night, at half past one o'clock, 
 I was awakened by the ringing of my door- 
 bell. A cousin who was staying with me 
 temporarily, opened the door; and then I 
 heard a clanking of swords, which informed 
 me that my callers were none other than 
 policemen. There were an officer and two 
 subordinates. 
 
 I had no doubt as to the object of this 
 untimely visit. As an evangelist of a "sect," 
 I had been brought frequently into contact 
 with the police, and had been arrested a num- 
 ber of times. Yet, though such experiences 
 
 (37) 
 
38 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 in the past had always caused a degree of 
 agitation on my part, I felt strangely undis- 
 turbed on this occasion. The officer's face 
 seemed to me wholly benign in its expression, 
 and I greeted him with all the cordiality I 
 would feel for an intimate associate. 
 
 He accepted the seat proffered him, his as- 
 sistants standing guard at the door; and in 
 apology for coming at such an hour, he said 
 that he had been at the theater, and the play 
 did not end till one o'clock. I well knew that 
 he had come late in order to be the surer of 
 finding me. My cousin was greatly per- 
 turbed at the indications of trouble, but I 
 tried to reassure him. 
 
 The officer then exclaimed that it was a 
 pity he must do as he did, but that he was 
 compelled to ask me to arise and dress, pre- 
 paratory to going with him. When I had 
 complied with his orders, he suggested that 
 I leave my purse and watch, which otherwise 
 would be taken from me when I should be 
 searched at the police station, but that I take 
 a blanket, as a room would be given me there. 
 I knew what sort of room that would be. 
 
 Although I comprehended what the events 
 now occurring portended for my future, still 
 
The Finest Cathedral in the Caucasus 
 
 The Russian conquest of the Caucasus was marked by the 
 
 erection of cathedrals, which are therefore termed 
 
 "military cathedrals/' 
 
 (39) 
 
40 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 those initial hours of the long months of suf- 
 fering I was to endure were a time of peace 
 and restfulness — I would almost say, of joy; 
 and the memory of them was afterwards a 
 source of strength to me. 
 
 Before leaving my room, I inquired of the 
 officer the cause of my arrest; but he replied 
 that he did not know, and he in turn asked 
 me what it was. Although I did not know 
 what the specific charge against me was, I 
 did know that the priests of the state church 
 made use of any pretext they could find 
 for bringing accusations against "sectarians." 
 Since the beginning of the war, taking advan- 
 tage of the increased disposition of the civil 
 and military authorities to restrict individual 
 liberty, they had haled many nonconformist 
 ministers into court on the most groundless 
 charges. Often, too, a mere suspicion was 
 taken as sufficient evidence against an accused 
 person, and he was condemned without a trial. 
 
 When my preparations were completed, I 
 sought again to comfort my cousin, then ex- 
 pressed my readiness to go with the officer. 
 The darkness and storm into which I passed 
 from my doorway, were typical of what I 
 was soon to encounter. 
 
THE CLUTCH OF THE RUSSIAN BEAR 41 
 
 My custodian, seeing that I was not dis- 
 posed to offer resistance, dismissed his men, 
 and called a carriage for himself and me. In 
 
 <^'^#=.i 
 
 u Under Arrest 
 
 As an arrested person is conducted through Russian 
 streets, with one officer preceding, and another following. 
 
 a few minutes, we were at the police sta- 
 tion — a place wholly familiar to me before 
 that time. 
 
 One lone officer sat sleeping at the desk in 
 the protocol department. I was delivered into 
 his charge by my kindly captor, who then 
 
42 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 went his way. The desk sergeant, irritated at 
 being disturbed, crabbedly proceeded to write 
 a description of me, and afterwards he sum- 
 moned policemen from another room to search 
 me. These sleepily performed their task, not 
 neglecting to take from me any article that a 
 prisoner might use in an attempt at suicide, 
 as necktie or suspenders. 
 
 Then, at a signal, a guard appeared. Hav- 
 ing received his orders, he took me through 
 the building to a rear exit, and thence across 
 a small area to a low structure, where we en- 
 tered a basement corridor, dark and clammy. 
 Along the corridor were iron doors, on each 
 of which was chalked a number. I afterwards 
 learned that the number indicated how many 
 prisoners occupied the cell. 
 
 We stopped at a door that bore a figure 
 5, and I was given into the care "of the guard 
 of that cell. Inside the cell there was a small 
 lamp, which enabled the guard to see the 
 inmates when he peered through a tiny orifice 
 that he opened for the purpose. He turned 
 the lock, lifted the heavy bar, and swung open 
 the door; and there rushed out upon me a 
 stench that thrust me backward as a violent 
 blow would have done. 
 
THE CLUTCH OF THE RUSSIAN BEAR 43 
 
 The guard pushed me inside, and closed the 
 door. For a time, I was overwhelmed by the 
 vile odors that filled the cell. But as I became 
 somewhat accustomed to these, I saw that 
 there were five men crouching on the floor, 
 and one of these I recognized as a Baptist 
 evangelist who had sometimes attended our 
 meetings. Through him, I learned that three 
 of the others also were Baptist evangelists or 
 church officers, while the fourth was an actor 
 who had been arrested as leader in a street 
 brawl. These Baptists had been taken into 
 custody at almost the same hour as I, and 
 they had preceded me to the cell about half 
 an hour only. 
 
 The actor was quite hilarious, knowing that 
 his imprisonment was for a few days merely; 
 but the rest of us had no knowledge of what 
 our sentence might be. 
 
 To describe that dungeon fully would not 
 be permissible. The room was about six or 
 seven feet wide by ten long. There was a 
 very small barred window close to the ceiling; 
 but it was so obscured by dirt as to afford less 
 light by day than the dingy lamp gave at 
 night. The mildewed walls dripped water. 
 Former occupants of the cell apparently had 
 
44 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 deliberately planned to make the lot of who- 
 ever might be confined there after them, as 
 unbearable as possible. Surely no person 
 could long survive in that pestilential place. 
 For ventilation there was absolutely no pro- 
 vision; and of the filth, I cannot speak. 
 
 My courteous cell mates invited me to share 
 their couch of stone. Accordingly, I put my 
 blanket on the floor, which was ice-cold, and 
 sank upon it. As we could not sleep, we 
 whiled away the time talking together. One 
 of the Baptists, pastor of a large German- 
 speaking congregation, could not take part 
 in the conversation, as he did not understand 
 the Russian language, and none of the others, 
 aside from me, spoke German. This man 
 was known among the people of his sect 
 throughout Russia. 
 
 The morning seemed weeks delayed; and 
 when it came, we should hardly have been 
 aware of the fact, except that then the feeble 
 light of the lamp was extinguished, and we 
 could hear the sound of the electric cars in the 
 street above. 
 
 Our cell door creaked on its hinges, and the 
 guard brought in a pail of hot water, and for 
 each of us a little piece of prison bread. My 
 
HK i \^rmm.- TJi.ar^ flft ^ 
 
 mm. 
 
 ; V 
 
 'W^% 
 
 
 ■ '"W'm 
 
 
 k 
 
 k ' ^^ 
 
 
 (45) 
 
46 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 hunger was not sufficient to impel me to eat 
 such food, specially in those surroundings. 
 
 I hoped that some of my friends might 
 come to me, but none came. The day was 
 almost an eternity to me. At noon, there was 
 brought in a small serving of vegetable soup; 
 and I was then hungry enough to eat. The 
 thought occurred to me that the food provided 
 would sustain life; but not many days after- 
 wards, I discovered that jail fare was much 
 poorer than this "rest house" fare. 
 
 In the evening, some food was brought 
 for me alone, having been sent by friends. 
 Through the watchman, I learned that they 
 had tried to get permission to see me, but had 
 not succeeded. However, by persistence, they 
 prevailed in a measure; and the next morn- 
 ing, I was taken to the reception room in the 
 police station, and there was allowed to speak 
 for a few moments with three of the good 
 women of our church, in presence of the as- 
 sistant chief of police. Women could secure 
 such concessions sometimes when men could 
 not, as it was thought that they would be less 
 likely to connive at the escape of the prison- 
 ers. Brief though this visit was, it greatly 
 encouraged me. 
 
THE CLUTCH OF THE RUSSIAN BEAR 47 
 
 The second night, the demand of my system 
 for sleep was so imperative that I could but 
 yield to it, notwithstanding the situation. The 
 next morning, all the prisoners in the "rest 
 house" were taken, under strong guard, into 
 the small inclosure at the rear of the police 
 station; and there, closely watched by police- 
 men, we were privileged to breathe pure air 
 for five or ten minutes. Some of the prison- 
 ers from other cells evidently found satisfac- 
 tion in seeing us in the same position they 
 were in, and they boisterously derided us. 
 
 Soon the watch master took his place in the 
 doorway of the cell house corridor, and called 
 to the policemen to drive us in. As the line 
 of prisoners passed him, he told them off one 
 by one, pushing some along, kicking others. 
 
 The same morning, our guard informed us 
 that the religious prisoners would be trans- 
 ferred to the city jail that day. This was 
 welcome news. From the time of my arrest, 
 I had received intimations of the verdict that 
 awaited me, and from that verdict I had no 
 hope of escape. But what was inevitable, I 
 preferred should not be postponed. Often I 
 felt to say. Do with me what you will; but 
 what you do, do quickly. 
 
48 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 Before being sent to the jail, we were taken 
 to the court room, and there received sentence, 
 although we had had no hearing, nor had we 
 even been told what the accusation against us 
 was. The sentence was, exile to Siberia. 
 
 The time was to be as long as war condi- 
 tions prevailed. This did not mean simply 
 while the war lasted, but until the country 
 should be restored to normal conditions, which 
 we understood might not be till years after 
 the close of the war. 
 
 There was little to hope for. I knew that 
 prison bars and bared swords would long be 
 my guardians. Yet in those early days of 
 trial, I realized the constant companionship of 
 Jesus. But there remained to be developed 
 that patience which must characterize the true 
 follower of our Saviour. Often I found com- 
 fort in James 1 : 2-4. I was not permitted 
 to have my Bible, but that text was one I had 
 memorized in previous years. 
 
 It was now time for us to start ; for a party 
 of exiles was to be taken from the city jail 
 that night, on the way to Siberia, and we were 
 to be of the number. 
 
 I was required to leave my blanket at the 
 police station, and consequently I should be 
 
A Glimpse of Odessa 
 This is a modern city, as the width of its streets indicates. 
 
 (49) 
 
50 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 without bed or bedding during the long winter 
 journey into the frozen northland. 
 
 As we passed through the streets of Odessa, 
 I hoped to catch sight of some of our people, 
 but saw none. 
 
 We were led a number of miles outside the 
 city, the jails of Russia, for the most part, not 
 being located within the city limits. Finally 
 we came to a high brick wall, and were halted 
 at the massive gate. The leader of the guard 
 rapped on the gate; and the watchman inside 
 opened it slightly, but on seeing who were out- 
 side, closed it again, probably to report to a 
 superior for instructions. The captain of the 
 guard was impatient to be rid of his charge, 
 and he pounded loudly on the gate, while the 
 prisoners, shivering in the cold wind, wished 
 for the shelter of even a felon's cell. 
 
 Eventually the gate was opened to admit 
 us; and then we were subjected to that hu- 
 miliating performance, so often afterwards 
 repeated, the ''counting of heads." We were 
 next taken through a succession of gateways 
 in as many high walls surrounding the jail 
 buildings, and at last stopped in the receiving 
 room. There we were searched — the invari- 
 able program when a prisoner enters a Rus- 
 
THE CLUTCH OF / THE RUSSIAN BEAR 51 
 
 sian jail, and also when he leaves. But the 
 treatment here was more humane than that 
 we received in any jail later. 
 
 Afterwards our names were entered in a 
 book, and then we were searched again, more 
 carefully, every portion of our clothing being 
 examined. No convict could retain in his pos- 
 session a particle of metal, not even so much 
 as a needle. Nor was one allowed to keep any 
 money, though each could have held in trust 
 for him at the office of the jail an amount not 
 to exceed about forty cents. Those who were 
 citizens of another country could have ten dol- 
 lars thus deposited. 
 
 As one of the Baptist ministers was a Ger- 
 man citizen, the rest of us turned over to him 
 such small sums as we had. With these, dur- 
 ing the following weeks, he was able at times 
 to purchase, through the watchman, bread and 
 a few other articles of food, without which it 
 does not seem as if we could have kept alive. 
 
 After the searching, we were taken to an- 
 other building. As we passed along the cor- 
 ridors, we saw behind the iron gratings the 
 most pitiable mortals I had ever beheld — 
 ragged, dirty, emaciated, some of them insane. 
 As they caught sight of us, they crowded up 
 
52 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 to the gratings, to see what sort of beings 
 their prospective new comrades were. 
 
 A door opened, and in a moment we were 
 in the midst of the gaping throng. Besides 
 criminals of various classes, and prisoners 
 of war, there were several young Russian 
 Jews who had returned from France at the 
 beginning of the war, to serve their country, 
 but had been received as foes rather than pa- 
 triots. Some of their original number had 
 already met what was generally regarded, by 
 victims of the imperial Russian penal system, 
 as a friend — death. Those who still survived 
 sought means of ending their existence. 
 
 One aged man in particular among the pris- 
 oners excited our pity. He was in utter de- 
 spair, and must soon have lost his reason. We 
 did our utmost to comfort him; and as he 
 could not eat the abominable prison food, we 
 gave him a remnant we still had of the food 
 that had been brought to us in Odessa. He 
 regained strength and cheer, and was most 
 grateful to us. 
 
 About an hour after our arrival at the 
 place, more prisoners came in; and with in- 
 expressible joy, I saw among them my former 
 fellow worker, Elias Gorelic. Delight at see- 
 
THE CLUTCH OF THE RUSSIAN BEAR 53 
 
 ing this good friend made me oblivious, for 
 the moment, to what his presence there im- 
 plied to him. He had been arrested at the 
 same hour as I; but his home being in a dif- 
 ferent section of the city, he had not been 
 taken to the same police station. Other Bap- 
 tist prisoners raised our number to nine. 
 
 At noon, attendants brought into the cell 
 an immense wooden bowl, containing many 
 gallons of thin soup, in which were a few 
 small pieces of potato and cabbage and per- 
 haps a cupful of millet. They brought also 
 smaller bowls and wooden spoons, and under- 
 took to dish out some of the food to each per- 
 son; but almost before they could begin to do 
 so, there was a mad rush for the bits of vege- 
 tables, and even for the few grains of millet. 
 Some of the prisoners threw themselves upon 
 the large bowl, thrusting their filthy hands 
 into it, and there was wild screaming and 
 fighting, in spite of the attendants' free use 
 of cudgel, kicks, and oaths. 
 
 When the liquid that remained was divided 
 up, the wretched creatures who had not suc- 
 ceeded in getting any of the vegetables fell to 
 devouring the stuff as a famished wolf de- 
 vours its prey. One of the lunatics so gorged 
 
54 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 himself with it that he could riot walk. Cer- 
 tainly we did not attempt to eat any of it. 
 
 No one could have subsisted on the miser- 
 able substitute for food that was"' furnished us, 
 except for the coarse, half-baked bread served 
 each morning — necessarily only half-baked, 
 else it could not have been eaten, it was so 
 coarse. 
 
 There were continual quarrels, and not in- 
 frequent blows, among the inmates of the cell. 
 We tried to persuade them to act like human 
 beings, but they appeared almost to have for- 
 gotten that they were such. 
 
 On the evening after we reached the jail, 
 relatives of some of our company sent food to 
 us, though they were not permitted to see us. 
 Thus we were supplied with a good supper. 
 We shared it with the other prisoners, not 
 only as a matter of humanity, but to prevent 
 their taking the whole by force. 
 
 As the night approached, a messenger came 
 to our cell, and called through the bars the 
 names of those who would that night be sent 
 farther on their way into exile. Our party 
 were among those named, and none of us were 
 loath to leave the quarters we then occupied. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 BANISHMENT 
 
 THOSE who were to go were searched 
 again; and before this work was finished, 
 the clanking of chains was heard, and soon 
 the guards were putting shackles upon the 
 exiles. Some were secured hand and foot, 
 while others had only their hands fettered; 
 and the men were then chained in pairs. The 
 prisoner next me having been shackled, I was 
 awaiting my turn, when word came from the 
 captain of the guard, that the religious pris- 
 oners should not wear irons. 
 
 All were placed four abreast, the high doors 
 swung open, the order was given to march, 
 and once more we were in the open air. It 
 seemed unspeakably exhilarating to me, al- 
 though the cold wind whipped and penetrated 
 our insufficient clothing. A torch raised be- 
 fore our command, gave to the scene a sug- 
 gestion of the picturesque. 
 
 The preceding day, snow had fallen and 
 afterwards melted, leaving the ground almost 
 impassable. But the soldiers, with unsheathed 
 swords, drove us like cattle through the mud 
 and the darkness. 
 
 (55) 
 
56 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 Beside me walked, panting, an aged pris- 
 oner of war. He was too weak to keep up 
 with the others, and one of the soldiers kicked 
 him in the side by way of inducing him to step 
 faster. The poor man sank groaning to the 
 ground; but the column was not allowed to 
 halt, and consequently those behind stumbled 
 over him. After a while, he was again put 
 upon his feet, and driven forward. 
 
 We observed several persons following us, 
 and some of the evangelists recognized them 
 as relatives. They were endeavoring to come 
 within speaking distance, but were kept back 
 by the soldiers' swords. The guard hastened 
 our pace to a run. Steam rose from our per- 
 spiring bodies. The clang of fetters mingled 
 with the cries of the soldiers. 
 
 "Halt!" shouted the captain of the etape.^ 
 
 We were close beside a railway car; and 
 we were herded into it, and thrust into a 
 barred section. In about an hour, the train 
 to which the car was attached moved off. 
 
 * The French word etape has been introduced into the 
 Russian language, as into the English, being used to in- 
 dicate the quarters where prisoners are lodged when on 
 the way into banishment, also a party of exiles traveling 
 under guard, and further, their transport from place 
 to place. 
 
One of the Least Heavily Shackled Exiles 
 Many a Russian has worn a convict^s chains simply be- 
 cause he would not let his soul be chained. 
 
 (57) 
 
58 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 Most of the prisoners were smoking, and 
 this made the air of the car suffocating. We 
 traveled thus the remainder of that night, all 
 the next day, and till late in the second eve- 
 ning, when we arrived at Kiev. I was then 
 quite ill. 
 
 We were transferred from the railway car 
 to a street car, which had been constructed 
 expressly for prisoners, having no windows, 
 and but one door. I was knocked down in the 
 crowd, and I thought I should be crushed 
 before I could get up. 
 
 The old car creaked threateningly, and ap- 
 peared ready to give way beneath its load. 
 That, I knew, would mean death to some, but 
 I wondered if to others it might mean the pos- 
 sibility of escape. 
 
 When the tomb-like car stopped, and we 
 emerged from it, we were outside the city, be- 
 fore a brick wall that inclosed a low, damp 
 building where we were to spend what was 
 left of the night. We had to stand out of 
 doors during the long process of searching. 
 
 Having had little food during the day, we 
 hoped for something that night; but we re- 
 ceived nothing, as the supper hour was al- 
 ready past. 
 
(59) 
 
60 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 After being put into a cell, our little group 
 had worship together, as had been our wont. 
 The other occupants of the cell were some of 
 the prisoners who had been traveling with us. 
 At no previous time had we thought it wise 
 to invite others to join in our services; but the 
 mood of these men, after the day's wearisome 
 journey, encouraged us to ask if they would 
 like to unite with us, and they all readily as- 
 sented. We recited, from memory, verses of 
 Scripture, talked a few minutes, and prayed, 
 even the worst of the criminals repeating with 
 us the Lord's Prayer. All this was done very 
 quietly, lest the watchman should interfere. 
 
 Before the light of another day had discov- 
 ered our cell, a guard opened the door, and 
 called for us to make ready to start on the 
 march. After the inevitable searching, we 
 were hurried out of the building, still without 
 food, the breakfast hour having not yet come. 
 
 At the gateway, we espied the bent form 
 of an old man; and to each prisoner, as we 
 passed, he gave a tiny loaf of light bread. I 
 inquired the reason for this, and heard the fol- 
 lowing story about the aged man's benevo- 
 lence: Years before, his son had been exiled 
 to Siberia; and the father, in remembrance of 
 
BANISHMENT 61 
 
 him, and in sympathy for those who were 
 condemned to a like fate, had stood at that 
 prison gate each morning through all those 
 years, and given a loaf of bread to every 
 exile passing there. He had used up a large 
 share of his property in this way. A delicacy 
 indeed the light bread was to me. 
 
 The car that had brought us from the rail- 
 way station was not large enough to carry our 
 entire number; and going back, I was among 
 those who walked. To be thus in the free air 
 was a privilege, though we were driven four 
 or five miles through the deep snow. 
 
 All traffic was compelled to give way to the 
 etapCj policemen with bared swords clearing 
 a thoroughfare. 
 
 At the railway station, •we were obliged to 
 stand for an hour in the piercing wind, al- 
 though those who had walked were wet with 
 perspiration, and all were thinly clad. 
 
 The trip from Kiev to Kursk was the least 
 disagreeable part of our journey. Some of 
 our soldier guard were genial boys, and an 
 earnest conversation developed between them 
 and our company of evangelists. They mani- 
 fested wonderment that persons like us should 
 be banished. 
 
62 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 We were assured that we should not have 
 to stay at all in the jail at Kursk, but should 
 keep on to the next stopping place; but on 
 reaching the railway station, we learned that 
 the company with which we were to have gone 
 had already started, therefore we must lodge 
 in the dreaded jail. The hour of our severest 
 trial had struck. 
 
 We were taken in charge by soldiers for 
 the forced march of eight or ten miles to the 
 jail. In the searching there, I was the vic- 
 tim of a drunken, inhuman tyrant. He ap- 
 parently took delight in my suffering. The 
 room being cold, and the asphalt floor wet and 
 dirty, I was so rash as to suggest that I be not 
 required to disrobe, as I had nothing about me 
 that was prohibited. My tormentor was be- 
 side himself with rage at such presumption, 
 and raising his fist, declared that he would kill 
 me. But he did not strike. Instead, he de- 
 manded that I take off even my undercloth- 
 ing, although that was not customary. Each 
 garment, as I removed it, he threw in a differ- 
 ent direction. Then, as soon as he had fin- 
 ished, he began to rave because I was not 
 dressed again. 
 
BANISHMENT 
 
 63 
 
 After the searching was ended, we nine 
 requested the jailer to let us have a cell by 
 ourselves. At first, this request seemed to be 
 ignored, and we were put with a crowd of 
 criminals and other prisoners; but after about 
 half an hour, we were taken to a separate cell. 
 
 When the old man we had comforted at the 
 Odessa jail observed that we were about to 
 leave him, he clung to us, refusing to be left 
 behind; and he was not hindered from going 
 along. Perhaps the guard did not know that 
 he was not one of our number. This man was 
 
 Devil's Bridge, in the Caucasus Mountains 
 
64 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 an atheist, although he showed so emphatic 
 a preference for association with Christians 
 rather than with persons who shared his un- 
 belief. 
 
 The cell to which we were assigned was 
 much worse than the one we had left. Water 
 dripped from the ceiling, and the walls were 
 green with mold. The stench was beyond 
 comparison. The only way we could resist the 
 deathly dampness and cold was to run about 
 the room almost constantly. If we stopped 
 for a few minutes, the cold became unendur- 
 able. The thought of having to remain there 
 for a week was most alarming. We begged 
 the local inspector to let us have a few pieces 
 of board as a protection from contact with 
 the asphalt floor; but he replied that it was 
 not in his power to do anything for us. We 
 were dumb with agony. 
 
 The discipline in this jail was more than 
 ordinarily strict. An officer made a tour of 
 inspection three times a day. The inmates 
 of each cell were warned of his approach, in 
 order that they might stand in line facing the 
 corridor as he passed by. Once when some of 
 those in our cell were too weak and ill to get 
 into position in time, the officer sharply repri- 
 
;r>,' 
 
 BANISHMENT 65 
 
 manded us, and threatened to deprive us of 
 hot drinking water. The hot water was our 
 only source of warmth; and furthermore, 
 without it, we could not have eaten the hard 
 prison bread, famished though we were. 
 
 Having exhausted our strength in efforts 
 to combat the cold, we sought to devise some 
 method of securing a little rest and sleep. 
 We put some of our coats on the floor, and 
 lay upon them, crowded together literally like 
 sardines, and used the remaining coats as 
 covers. But soon we had to get up and run 
 again. 
 
 From the first night, we all had rheumatism 
 as a result of the cold and the dampness. Our 
 throats and ears also were affected. Not till 
 months afterwards was my hearing entirely 
 restored. One week in that damp, loathsome, 
 frigid cell made deep inroads upon our health. 
 In those days, I first learned the real value of 
 prayer. When the wretchedness of my con- 
 dition overwhelmed me, prayer was the only 
 way of escape from absolute hopelessness. 
 
 The promise of transportation from that 
 dungeon after one week, was not fulfilled, and 
 for aught we knew, our confinement there 
 might continue indefinitely. 
 
66 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 Meanwhile another detachment of prisoners 
 had arrived. This we learned when one of 
 them was placed in our cell. He had been an 
 imperial Austrian councilor, and freedom 
 had been offered him on condition that he 
 divulge the plans of certain cities in his prov- 
 ince. His face told something of what he had 
 suffered for his refusal to betray his coun- 
 try thus. 
 
 This man was of impressive appearance, 
 yet wholly unpretentious. He expressed joy 
 at the unexpected companionship he found 
 with us, and thenceforth he was one of us. 
 He took part in our devotional services, evinc- 
 ing perfect confidence in the Scriptures. 
 
 Our ninth day here was the acme of our 
 misery. That we could not much longer en- 
 dure such circumstances was evident. After 
 special prayer together, we determined to ap- 
 peal to the warden for removal to a less ob- 
 jectionable cell. 
 
 That same day, a state inspector visited the 
 jail. As soon as he saw us, he comprehended 
 the seriousness of our situation; and in a few 
 hours, we were taken to another cell. 
 
 Up to this time, the local inspector had been 
 very harsh; but after he learned that we were 
 
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 (67) 
 
68 
 
 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 in prison because of our religion, he was much 
 changed in his attitude toward us. 
 
 Our guard in the new quarters was remark- 
 ably unlike those we had had before ; and each 
 day, he prepared something palatable for us 
 to eat. 
 
 We were yet to see why Providence had 
 permitted us to be kept so long at Kursk. 
 
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 The Largest Bell in the World, Moscow 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 A PETITION TO THE CZARINA 
 
 NOW we could employ our time to other 
 purpose than that of fighting the cold. 
 Each day, we gave an hour to Bible study 
 together. The German minister was the only 
 one among us who had been allowed to keep 
 a Bible, and the rest of us often wished that 
 in former years we had gained more knowl- 
 edge of the sacred Word. 
 
 One peculiarity of our new cell was most 
 distressing. The ceiling was arched, and the 
 walls were circular. This construction was 
 said to have been intended as a means of tor- 
 ture. A person who has never been subjected 
 to the ordeal, cannot imagine the effect pro- 
 duced upon the nerves as the eyes follow the 
 circling lines, with no place to rest. In some 
 instances, this has even caused insanity, or 
 at least contributed to it. Any one who has 
 lain ill in a room where the wall paper was of 
 intricate pattern, and has spent weary hours 
 trying to trace out the design, will not think 
 that statement an exaggerated one. 
 
 At about this time, we asked the privilege 
 of sending a petition to the governor-general 
 
 (69) 
 
70 ESCAPE EROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 of the Odessa war zone. The object of the 
 petition was, to get leave to make the re- 
 mainder of om' railway journey as ordinary 
 passengers, under guard, as exiles sometimes 
 did, we to pay the traveling expenses. 
 
 This request brought us to the attention of 
 the warden, and frequently thereafter he sent 
 for some of us to come and talk with him on 
 religious subjects. On the wall of his office 
 hung a portrait of the former chief inspector 
 of the jail system of all Russia. This high 
 official was in sympathy with the sectarians, 
 and attended their services in Petrograd. 
 When the warden was informed of this, his 
 interest in us appeared to increase. 
 
 Some of the other officers of the jail also 
 gave evidence of being well disposed toward 
 us, and came to our cell repeatedly to talk 
 with us. Opportunity was given us to write 
 postal cards or short letters to our friends; 
 but of course these brief missives were cen- 
 sored, and if anything had been found in them 
 that the prison authorities did not approve, 
 we should have paid a heavy penalty. 
 
 Soon after Christmas, the priest of the 
 parish in which the jail was located, made his 
 yearly rounds to "bless" the cells. We were 
 
(71) 
 
72 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 notified beforehand of his coming, and all 
 stood during his presence, except one man 
 who was not well. Others of us had urged 
 this man to let us help him to stand while the 
 priest performed his ceremonies; but as we 
 had been treated leniently for some time, he 
 was emboldened to disregard the requirements. 
 
 The policeman in attendance on the priest 
 was enraged at such a breach of discipline, 
 and we feared he would have the transgressor 
 put into a dark dungeon. These dungeons 
 were so low a man could not stand upright in 
 them; and to the darkness, the noxious odors, 
 the suffocating lack of air, cold, hunger, soli- 
 tude, and the dampness caused by frequent 
 flooding of the floor, was added the prospect 
 of never again knowing any other existence. 
 
 The ceaseless rattling of the fetters on our 
 fellow prisoners made a sound pitiful to hear. 
 Such a sound heard in a machine shop or 
 a foundry would not be particularly painful; 
 but when we knew that it signified a cruel 
 burden borne perhaps for many years, re- 
 ducing wrists and ankles to skeleton-like size, 
 it was truly pathetic. 
 
 On stated days, we were taken into the 
 courtyard of the jail for a few minutes' 
 
A PETITION TO THE CZARINA 73 
 
 breathing spell. At these times, we delighted 
 in seeing the crows that came for the crumbs 
 we had saved for them. They brought to us, 
 in return, a suggestion of joyous freedom. 
 
 Thus three weeks wore away after our 
 change of cell. As each week passed, we were 
 told that on the next, we should leave this 
 place. Transportation from jail to jail was 
 not an agreeable experience. Often it in- 
 volved kicks and beatings, and divers forms 
 of discomfort. Yet we longed for it more im- 
 patiently than a child longs for an expected 
 holiday. 
 
 On the last day of our sojourn at Kursk, 
 the son-in-law of the German pastor, and the 
 daughter of another of our number, came to 
 the jail, and an interview with their relatives 
 was granted them. They brought food for 
 us all, sufficient for a few days; and blankets 
 and extra clothing, such as we had not been 
 permitted to bring with us. Thus we saw one 
 reason why -God had let us be detained so long 
 there; for the extreme cold of the Siberian 
 winter would have mocked at the light gar- 
 ments we had worn. 
 
 These visitors also brought money to pay 
 our fare for the rest of our railway journey, 
 
A Fine Specimen of Muscovite Architecture, the 
 Residence of a Moscow Merchant 
 
 (74) 
 
A PETITION TO THE CZARINA 75 
 
 in case the governor-general should consent 
 to our traveling by passenger train; but ap- 
 parently we were not in the category of pris- 
 oners to receive any favors from him. 
 
 This visit had still another and far greater 
 significance. After the first interview, we 
 prepared a petition to the czarina, in which 
 we respectfully asked that our sentence be 
 modified so that we should be sent to some 
 station in European Russia instead of the far 
 northern part of Siberia. Then the father of 
 the young woman obtained permission to 
 shake hands with her at the farewell inter- 
 view; and as he clasped her hand, he left in 
 it the petition, which had been written on thin 
 paper, and tightly folded. 
 
 She afterwards transmitted a copy of this 
 to a lady of the imperial court, who was her- 
 self a sectarian; and through this channel, it 
 reached the czarina, and ultimately the czar. 
 This meant much to us later. 
 
 The night after our visitors left, we were 
 awakened at about two o'clock, by a call to 
 march. Overjoyed, we sprang to our feet; 
 and quickly our packs were on our backs and 
 we were awaiting the opening of the doors. 
 During the searching and the forming of 
 
"Holy" Moscow 
 
 (76) 
 
A PETITION TO THE CZARINA 77 
 
 the command, I observed crouching on the 
 floor some women prisoners, — distressed look- 
 ing creatures, one of them, who had a babe 
 in her arms, being evidently near death. It 
 would not seem as if any heart could be un- 
 moved by the sight. Yet no mercy was shown 
 to these women. 
 
 Aft^r we had been taken into the prison 
 yard, the warden came out, and called to us 
 religious prisoners by name ; and when he had 
 found us, he presented to us three copies of 
 the New Testament. 
 
 An hour's tramp through the snow brought 
 us to the railway station. Our leader dis- 
 played more consideration than we had re- 
 ceived on like occasions before; for he found 
 shelter for us in the station, in order that our 
 perspiring bodies should not be exposed to 
 the intense cold outside. 
 
 There was questioning among the prisoners 
 as to whether we were to be taken through 
 Moscow; but when we were not far from that 
 city, our course was changed, so that we 
 passed to the east of that historic capital of 
 Great Russia. 
 
 We arrived at Tula late in the evening, 
 and were marched five miles to the jail. 
 
78 
 
 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 Tolstoy, Whose Estate Was 
 Near Tula 
 
 There we were put 
 in a large cell with 
 about one hundred 
 criminals. Among 
 these were many 
 thieves, who gath- 
 ered in groups, 
 each of which had 
 its leader. Some 
 of them were lay- 
 ing plans for their 
 next campaign — 
 for their depreda- 
 tions did not cease 
 in prison. They 
 were on very ami- 
 cable terms with 
 the jailers; and 
 we learned after- 
 wards that they 
 divided their booty 
 with them in re- 
 turn for certain 
 concessions. 
 
 While the pris- 
 oners lacked food, 
 they did not lack 
 
A PETITION TO THE CZARINA 79 
 
 tobacco ; and the tobacco fumes increased the 
 foulness of the air. Many of the prisoners 
 were tuberculous, and other communicable 
 diseases were rife. 
 
 After three days, we were taken from this 
 place, and headed toward Samara. The sol- 
 diers in charge of the etape were merciless. 
 
 We had been told that there would be a 
 change of guard at Penza, but that no trans- 
 port ever stopped at the jail there. However, 
 when we had waited an hour at the railway 
 station, for the guard that were to take us to 
 Samara, and still they did not come, we were 
 driven to the Penza jail. 
 
 As we stood before the gate, a little girl 
 appeared with a package of bread, which she 
 wished to give us; but the soldiers roughly 
 ordered her away. She left sorrowfully, dis- 
 appointed that she could not fulfill her mis- 
 sion of mercy. Possibly she had heard of the 
 benevolent old man at Kiev, and had thought 
 to emulate his example. 
 
 At the jail, we waited another hour or two. 
 We were informed that the soldiers were tak- 
 ing their baths, hence the delay. When at 
 last they were ready, we gladly continued on 
 our way. 
 
80 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 We crossed the Volga, and arrived at Sa- 
 mara in the evening, in a heavy snowstorm. 
 From the railway station, the lights of the 
 prison were pointed out to us. But to us, 
 they were not cheerful lights. 
 
 We waded through snow knee-deep to the 
 prison, and after the usual delay, were ad- 
 mitted through the first gate, then a second, 
 and still a third, and afterwards into the 
 searching hall. 
 
 The food in this jail was clean in compari- 
 son with that in the other jails, the bread was 
 more edible, and cooked grains were provided. 
 If all the food had been served to the prison- 
 ers individually, no one would have lacked 
 seriously. But only the bread was thus por- 
 tioned out. The other food was brought into 
 the cells in bulk, and the most lawless pris- 
 oners got nearly all of it. 
 
 The cells were the most habitable we had 
 yet occupied. But all classes of prisoners 
 were crowded together; and during the last 
 days of the sixteen that we spent there, there 
 was no room even to move about, and hardly 
 enough to sit down. 
 
 The thieves carried on their work here as 
 at Tula. One of them feigned interest in the 
 
A PETITION TO THE CZARINA 
 
 81 
 
 gospel; but when he found that his pretense 
 did not make me relax my vigilance in guard- 
 ing my belongings, he was in a rage, and 
 vowed he would take revenge on me when 
 we reached our destination. 
 
 Church of St. Basil, Moscow 
 
82 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 Thieving is as verily a habit as is the use 
 of stimulants. Some of these conjfirmed 
 thieves were really unable to be quiet after 
 night came on. Though they might want to 
 sleep, they seemed impelled to creep about 
 and seek pillage. 
 
 The Baptists who were with us wrote post 
 cards to friends in Samara, and these friends 
 came to see them at the jail. Gorelic and I 
 inquired whether there were any Seventh-day 
 Adventists in the city; and learning that 
 there were, we sent a request that some of 
 them visit us. A few days afterwards, our 
 minister who was stationed in the place, called 
 upon us. His wife had implored him not to 
 do so, fearing that he too might be arrested 
 if he thus identified himself with us; but his 
 conviction that he ought to come was so 
 strong he could not refuse to heed it. 
 
 Gorelic being too ill to go to the visitors' 
 room, I went alone to meet our guest. The 
 interview could last only a few minutes; 
 and even during that little time, we were 
 separated by two sets of grating, with guards 
 between. Not many words were spoken. Yet 
 the comfort it gave me simply to look into 
 the face of this brother, was beyond expres- 
 
A PETITION TO THE CZARINA 83 
 
 sion. When I was taken back to my cell, I 
 endeavored to communicate to Gorelic the 
 encouragement I had received. 
 
 Our good brother had brought us food and 
 also some money. As we were not allowed 
 to take the money, we asked that it be kept 
 for us at the office of the jail, and were told 
 that it would be; but we never saw any of it 
 again. 
 
 Most of the food was stolen from us in our 
 cell. If we had given some of it to the thieves 
 at the outset, we might have fared better. 
 
 In one large cell of the Samara jail was a 
 Prussian pastor with his whole flock, who 
 had been taken as prisoners of war — men, 
 women, and children, some sick, all dirty, 
 ragged, and half starved. The aged cleric 
 found diversion in keeping count of the ver- 
 min he caught in his clothing. The number 
 was in the thousands when he showed us his 
 record. 
 
 The hunt for body vermin — though not 
 the tally — was necessary in self-defense; for 
 so numerous were these parasites, that if not 
 destroyed, they would sap one's very life. 
 
 One day, we were startled by shrieks from 
 one of the other cells. Jailers ran in the di- 
 
84 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 rection from which the noise came; and soon 
 we saw them hauling a prisoner down the 
 stairs. The poor wretch's mind had given 
 way under the conditions to which he had 
 been subjected. 
 
 When Gorelic had partially regained his 
 strength, I became ill. Fortunately, as both 
 were not helpless at the same time, we could 
 wait upon each other in turn. 
 
 Some of the prisoners who arrived later 
 than we, were removed sooner. This, to be 
 sure, tended to discourage us. The covetous 
 chief jailer knew that we had a small sum of 
 money on deposit at the office, and he warned 
 us that unless we gave him an amount which 
 he specified, he would see that we remained 
 long where we were. When, after a little 
 more than two weeks, we were called to 
 transport, he tried frantically to get hold of 
 some of our little store, but did not succeed. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 ON THE SIBERIAN BORDER 
 
 THE train soon bore us over the Ural 
 Mountains, the natural frontier between 
 Europe and Asia. We received the accept- 
 able tidings that at Chelabinsk, we should 
 not be taken into the jail, but should stop at 
 the prisoners' transportation station until the 
 next etape, a few hours later. 
 
 We were marched through the city, a dis- 
 tance of about five miles. Only with diffi- 
 culty could I walk, being half sick; and my 
 pack seemed an almost unbearable weight. 
 
 As it was Sunday, many people were rid- 
 ing on the streets; and there were exclama- 
 tions of delight and clapping of hands, for 
 we were thought to be war prisoners, and 
 our presence was regarded as evidence of the 
 success of the Russian troops. In truth, 
 some of us were loyal Russian citizens. 
 
 At the transportation station, we were de- 
 livered over to the care of humane soldiers. 
 We had heard before that the Siberians were 
 more merciful toward exiles than were the 
 Russians, and this assertion was verified in 
 our contact with them. An explanation of 
 
 (85) 
 
T?* 
 
 86 
 
 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 their considerate disposition may be found in 
 the fact that many of them had themselves 
 been exiles, or were descendants of such. 
 
 Announcement was made that there were 
 too may prisoners for one transport, and some 
 must go to the jail and wait another week. 
 Our company were among those to wait. 
 With the memory of our recent experiences 
 still very vivid, the thought of having to un- 
 dergo a repetition of such experiences was 
 most depressing. 
 
 The scanty baggage we carried — bound 
 upon our shoulders with thongs — was mi- 
 
 
 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 H^^^fe 
 
 
 j^T 
 
 < 
 
 1 ^ 
 
 > 1 '^^^f 
 
 mm- 
 
 ■m 
 
 ijg 
 
 
 IH^ 
 
 n 
 
 
 ^^^^^^^^WBBBUi 
 
 h^Hhi 
 
 Characteristically Russian 
 
ON THE SIBERIAN BORDER 87 
 
 nutely searched. Then we were put into a 
 cell with the same class of criminals that we 
 had encountered at Samara. In this cell, 
 there were "bunks" — so decorous a term as 
 "berths" would be a misnomer. We could 
 not get possession of any of these; but this 
 was not wholly a misfortune, for we secured 
 a place near the bars, where the watchmen 
 could see us plainly, and thus we had their 
 protection. The watchmen in this jail were 
 apparently honest; yet, as they could not see 
 clearly so far into the poorly lighted cell as 
 the "bunks" were, the thieves operated there 
 diligently. 
 
 One morning, when the inspector made his 
 regular circuit, an Austrian prisoner of war 
 reported to him that one of the other prison- 
 ers had stolen some money that the Austrian 
 had concealed in his clothing. In acknowl- 
 edging that he had secreted anything about 
 his person, the man became liable to a pen- 
 alty of at least two weeks in a dark cell. And 
 further, the thief and his colleagues threat- 
 ened him with dire punishment for accusing 
 them. To avert these consequences, he re- 
 tracted his statement. But even after that, 
 the thieves beat him most brutally. 
 
88 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 Another morning, one of the ministers dis- 
 covered that the soles of his shoes had been 
 cut away in the night. The motive doubtless 
 was, to find any money that might have been 
 hidden inside. 
 
 During the first part of our stay here, the 
 warden would not permit the watchman to 
 buy food for us with the money held in trust 
 for us in the office of the jail; but later, per- 
 mission was given for him to do so. The 
 price charged us was probably three or four 
 times what the watchman paid; but in reply 
 to a demur on our part, he tauntingly sug- 
 gested that thereafter we go and make our 
 own purchases. 
 
 When the time set for us to leave Chela- 
 binsk had passed, and still there was no in- 
 dication that we should go soon, a riot was 
 started in our cell. The prisoners insisted 
 that they be allowed to see the warden. He 
 came, together with his subordinate officers, 
 all armed, and they entered the cell. The 
 spokesman of the prisoners then stated their 
 demands. The warden was very conciliatory 
 while standing among that hundred reckless 
 men, and he promised to do all he could to 
 hasten the time of their going. 
 
The Great Market of Moscow 
 
 (89) 
 
90 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 Nowhere else had our stay among the crimi- 
 nals been so trying. They were very bold, 
 stealing even in the daytime. I kept close to 
 my baggage all the while; but this provoked 
 their ire, and they became intent on doing me 
 injury. The misery of our surroundings 
 would have been unendurable but for the 
 comfort bestowed by Him who is rightly 
 
 called "the Comforter." 
 
 « 
 
 I met in this cell a prisoner of war — a 
 Prussian peasant — who, with his wife and 
 children, had been transported back and forth 
 from jail to jail, seemingly for no purpose 
 but to wear their lives away. There were 
 many others equally unfortunate. One man 
 was dying before our eyes. The feet of an- 
 other were frozen, and he could not stand. 
 He was sent to the jail hospital, which was 
 another step toward death. 
 
 While we were with these men, they joined 
 us each day in worship, and some evinced a 
 real respect for Christianity. One aged man 
 was inconsolable when he was taken from us. 
 He said he wished to remain with us till he 
 should die, or his condition should be bettered. 
 
 After spending two weeks at Chelabinsk, 
 we left for Tomsk. This journey required 
 
ON THE SIBERIAN BORDER 
 
 91 
 
 three days. The soldiers had told us that it 
 was likely we should stop at the two jails at 
 intermediate stations; but we passed them by, 
 and not at all reluctantly. Our spirits rose 
 hourly, for we hoped to quit cell life soon — 
 though not free, yet no longer to be confined 
 behind prison bars. 
 
 We reached Tomsk at night. When the 
 cold air struck our lungs, we could hardly 
 breathe. The temperature was forty degrees 
 below zero. 
 
 We were formed into orderly command, 
 four abreast, and were thus taken to the jail. 
 As the dry snow creaked noisily under our 
 feet, the sound was echoed by the forest. The 
 bright moonlight shone on the snow-laden fir 
 trees; and notwithstanding the wretched ap- 
 
 ToMSK University 
 
92 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 pearance of the prisoners, the scene on the 
 whole impressed me as really pleasing. 
 
 One man, being lightly clad, succumbed to 
 the cold, and fell by the way. He was 
 dragged to a sled in the rear, which was in- 
 tended for such emergencies. 
 
 The jail was a large, white building; but its 
 color did not typify what we found within. 
 Our small company had hoped that like the 
 political prisoners, we might have a separate 
 cell; but instead, we were put with a gang of 
 criminals. These seemed to consider the cell 
 as their own, and us as intruders. They dealt 
 out the food, giving us only very small serv- 
 ings; but we accepted this arrangement with- 
 out protestation, knowing that any complaint 
 would make matters worse. The one distin- 
 guishing feature of this jail was that the food 
 — what little we had — was fairly edible. 
 
 One of the greatest boons of our prison 
 existence was the few minutes spent in the 
 small, high-walled yard two or three times a 
 week. Though we were kept walking in a 
 circle, under guard, yet no wealth could have 
 purchased from us this respite. 
 
 On our third day at Tomsk, we were trans- 
 ferred to a cell in which there were only pris- 
 
ON THE SIBERIAN BORDER 93 
 
 oners of war. This was a decided relief to 
 us, as we had been compelled for months to 
 mingle with the worst of criminals. After 
 that, we did not see them except when taken 
 into the area. 
 
 In one cell that we passed at such times was 
 a most harrowing spectacle — a company of 
 war prisoners who were dying of filth and 
 hunger. 
 
 We had been only about a week in the jail 
 at Tomsk, when the jailer opened our cell 
 door, and read the names of those who would 
 the next day be transported; and our names 
 were on the list. There is nothing to which I 
 can compare our joy at the prospect of leav- 
 ing this, the last jail on our route. We knew 
 that the cold would be pitiless five hundred 
 miles farther north, where we were to be sta- 
 tioned, and that the transport by small sleds 
 would involve much suffering; but that did 
 not lessen our enthusiasm at the thought of 
 getting into the free outdoors. 
 
 One thing for which our little group had 
 prayed was that we should not be separated. 
 That we had kept together so long was ex- 
 traordinary; for in many instances, families 
 were broken up. 
 
•V:^ 
 
 94 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 On our last evening in jail, when we had 
 worship, several of the other prisoners wept 
 because we should have no more such oc- 
 casions together. 
 
 As we left the jail, we noticed a significant 
 change — the soldiers' swords were no longer 
 bare, but were in their sheaths; and for the 
 transport of about twenty-five prisoners, there 
 were only two guards. Precautions against 
 the escape of prisoners were little needed in 
 that snow-bound region. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 SEMI-FREEDOM 
 
 HAVING for so long a time scarce been 
 permitted to make a move without or- 
 ders, we could not readily accustom ourselves 
 to any degree of freedom. And freedom this 
 was to us, in contrast with cell life. Our 
 march through the city seemed almost like a 
 triumphal procession. 
 
 We were taken to the prisoners' transpor- 
 tation station to await etape. The windows 
 and doors of this building were barred, yet it 
 was different from the prisons. 
 
 On the wall, we found written, in pencil, 
 "You will receive nineteen rubles for warm 
 clothing, and about eight rubles a month for 
 food." To this was signed the name of a 
 prisoner who had occupied the same cell as 
 we at the last jail, but had started forward 
 the previous day. Before he went, we had re- 
 quested that he leave some message for us, at' 
 the first opportunity, as to how he fared; and 
 this was the way in which he had complied 
 with our request. 
 
 One by one, we were conducted to the office 
 of the pristav of Narym, in an adjoining 
 
 (95) 
 
m 
 
 96 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 building. There our places of exile were an- 
 nounced; and to each of those who most 
 lacked clothing, nineteen rubles was given for 
 the purchase of additional garments. One 
 elderly clerk declared that no money should 
 be given me, and he talked excitedly of the 
 great war expenses of the government. But 
 he left the room before I did; and after he 
 had gone, a younger clerk gave me the regu- 
 lar quota. 
 
 Later the guard took us to the market, 
 where we bought felt boots, fur mittens and 
 caps, and such other necessary articles as our 
 means would allow. Some of us afterwards 
 asked permission to go to the post office; and 
 this being granted, we hired a sleigh, and 
 with a guard, flew off through the streets. 
 Literally like flying it seemed to me, so de- 
 lightful were the comparative liberty and the 
 fresh air. 
 
 It was dark when we returned to the sta- 
 ^tion, and horses and sleighs were in readiness 
 for us. As we were taking our places in the 
 sleighs, one of the Baptist evangelists came to 
 us, in deep distress, to say good-by. A tele- 
 gram had been received at the station, de- 
 manding his return to Odessa, for trial on a 
 
SEMI-FREEDOM 
 
 97 
 
 charge similar to that which had sent him into 
 exile. Back over the dread route by which we 
 had come, he was taken. After all this, he 
 was acquitted of the charge; but he was 
 nevertheless obliged to make the terrible jour- 
 ney to Siberia again, because of the original 
 sentence. 
 
 Our long line of sleds moved off. As I was 
 not well, the leader of our guard thought to 
 
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 ^ ^ ~ "' '" "--i^^M^K^^ 
 
 g; :■■--: .- '' .i fv:,. .-■..,, ,^,^:^:^l,r^.^;^;.^:^■^^■^: :■:,,, .;.>.'| 
 
 1 
 
 
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 : 
 
 ^" 
 
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 m''4 
 
 ^^^^^^^^p" - -*'* 1 
 
 \ ': 
 
 
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 K 
 
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 f 1 
 
 p3 
 
 IP^Wiss^ 
 
 
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 u. 
 
 
 
 
 Sleds Used to Transport Exiles 
 
i'^' 
 
 98 ESCAPE mOM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 show me exceptional consideration by giving 
 me a place in a comfortable sleigh, with an 
 aristocratic prisoner. But this man was an 
 atheist; and his talk was so offensive to me, 
 that I preferred less pretentious company. 
 So I left him, and rode with Gorelic, in a 
 small sled. 
 
 Under a starlit sky, we rode out upon the 
 limitless fields of snow. When occasionallv 
 our driver stopped, we knew that a sled ahead 
 of us had upset. Such occurrences were fre- 
 quent, as the sleds were very narrow. 
 
 One of the prisoners of war seemed to be 
 perishing from cold. Such of my clothing as 
 I dared spare, I gave to him, or surely he 
 would have frozen to death. 
 
 Sometimes we thought we saw wolves, and 
 possibly we did; but in some cases, the dark 
 objects we had supposed to be wolves, proved 
 to be only bushes. 
 
 It was eleven o'clock when we reached the 
 village where we were to spend what was left 
 of the night. The people in the house where 
 we stayed, regarded us quite indifferently; 
 for a company of exiles stopped there every 
 night. After warming our chilled bodies, we 
 found places on the floor to sleep. 
 
SEMI-FREEDOM 99 
 
 Early next morning, we were called to 
 transport. At each village at which we halted 
 — ten to twenty miles apart — there was a 
 new relay of horses, also a change of drivers. 
 
 Some of the way, the snow lay smooth and 
 level; but elsewhere it was heavily drifted, 
 forming high ridges and deep valleys. 
 
 After the first night, we traveled mainly 
 on the ice of the Ob. This river is the only 
 highway in that part of the country, summer 
 or winter. The population is very sparse, 
 there being only little settlements along the 
 banks. Scattered timber began to be seen, 
 and a thicker growth as we advanced. 
 
 These were the last days of February. The 
 ice was then about ten feet thick. Had we 
 not been detained at Kursk, we should have 
 reached this stage of our journey at a time 
 when the temperature was far lower, and our 
 supply of clothing less adequate. We had 
 chafed and almost despaired at the long con- 
 finement in prison; but now we realized that 
 it was well the Father had seen fit not to 
 keep us from the trial, but rather to sustain 
 us through it. 
 
 On the second and third days of our jour- 
 ney by sleds, I was quite ill. The third night. 
 
100 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 we were at Kalpasheva; and as I then had a 
 high fever, it seemed necessary that I accept 
 the counsel of our captain, and remain at the 
 little hospital there. But Gorelic would not 
 consent to our separation. He did what he 
 could for me during the night; and the next 
 morning, he laid me in our narrow sled, and 
 with the aid of a prisoner of war whose good 
 will we had won, he endeavored to keep me 
 from falling off the unstable conveyance. He 
 had obtained a sled that had a frame of reeds, 
 and this made it more secure. Still, again and 
 again I rolled off into the snow. This, how- 
 ever, was not a grave catastrophe. 
 
 Where we spent the next night, there were 
 no beds, and the only food was fish, which I 
 could not eat. How I craved some broth or 
 other light food! But where was it to be 
 found? Gorelic had a difficult task in caring 
 for me. 
 
 On the morning of the fifth day, I was 
 somewhat better. That night was the last of 
 our journey. The room in which we stayed 
 was well heated; but we were obliged to open 
 the doors and the windows, and let the frigid 
 air in, as a means of driving the thousands 
 of bedbugs to their retreats in the log walls. 
 
SEMI-FREEDOM 
 
 101 
 
 When morning came, my condition was 
 further improved. Our hostess supplied us 
 with milk and cream; and for the first time 
 in four days, I was able to eat. 
 
 The people thereabouts were all Ostyaks. 
 This tribe, not many years ago, were con- 
 verted to Christianity — nominally, and in 
 part forcibly. In some of their homes are 
 still reminders of their former paganism, in- 
 cluding images, which are said to be wor- 
 shiped in secret. 
 
 The young horse attached to our sled was 
 not inclined to keep to the beaten track, 
 choosing instead to flounder in the deep snow. 
 
 A Peasant Abode in Northern Siberia 
 
102 ESCAPE EROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 Consequently the others went on without 
 us. Only with Gorelic's aid did the driver 
 finally get control of the animal. 
 
 At noon, we left the river, with its border- 
 ing forest, for the open snow fields. Ere- 
 long from out the whiteness appeared a small 
 village, and we were told that it was our 
 destination — Alatayevo. As we came nearer, 
 we were surprised to find such fair looking 
 houses. They were built of logs; but as tim- 
 ber cost nothing except the labor of getting 
 it out, the buildings were of generous size. 
 
 One more snow valley, little horse, and we 
 shall be there 1 Away he gallops, to overtake 
 the others. Some of the sleds ahead of us 
 were overturned, throwing the occupants into 
 the snow. Others of the exiles laughed at 
 the trifling mishap. They had not laughed 
 in m.onths before. 
 
 We stopped in front of a house which I 
 learned was that of the town constable. 
 There, for the last time, we were counted, and 
 then our guard dismissed us to find rooms for 
 ourselves. 
 
 We now had to part with our fellow pris- 
 oner the imperial councilor. This we did 
 with sorrow. He was taken farther north. 
 
SEMI-FREEDOM 103 
 
 With Gorelic and the young man who had 
 helped him to take care of me, I started in 
 search of a room; but after going a few rods, 
 I was too exhausted to walk farther, and said 
 that I would wait for them at the house where 
 we then were. The two others continued the 
 search, but later they returned and engaged 
 a room where I had stopped. We were to 
 pay a monthly rental of seventy-five cents 
 each. Afterwards we were convinced that our 
 location was providential. 
 
 Our host was celebrating his birthday an- 
 niversary, and guests were present at tea. 
 We were invited to eat with them. In these 
 isolated sections, every holiday is accounted 
 holy. Such superstitions are fostered by the 
 priests, as a means of gaining a stronger hold 
 upon the people. 
 
 I was inexpressibly relieved that I need no 
 longer see prison bars and bared swords, or 
 hear the clank of fetters and the harsh cries 
 of the watchmen. Henceforth our watchmen 
 saw us but once a day. 
 
 Had we been delayed a few days more, I 
 should have been too ill to travel. The second 
 day after our arrival, I could not rise. My 
 fellow exiles did everything they could for 
 
104 
 
 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 my comfort. They gave me the one bed in 
 our room, while they slept on the floor. They 
 also purchased material of which they made 
 a "tick," or mattress cover; and this they 
 filled with wild hay, which was abundant 
 there. A luxurious bed I thought it, after 
 having so long slept on the asphalt floor of 
 a prison cell. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 AN EXILE STATION 
 
 THROUGHOUT March, I was so ill 
 that I had to lie in bed nearly all the 
 time — a result, no doubt, of the exposure 
 and want of the preceding months. For 
 a still longer time, I could hear continually, 
 with all the vividness of actuality, the rat- 
 tling of shackles and the shouts of guards 
 which had sounded in my ears during those 
 months. 
 
 Late in April, I was well enough to walk 
 a short distance, with help, along the trail 
 that led through the deep snow between our 
 lodgings and the river. The sunshine was 
 then bright and cheery, though the cold was 
 still severe. 
 
 Even while suffering physically, I was 
 happy; for though under guard, yet I could 
 breathe the pure out-of-door air, and go about 
 freely within narrow limits. 
 
 In Siberia, as in many parts of Russia, the 
 people are unaccustomed to sleeping in beds. 
 A bed is commonly included in a bride's 
 dower, but it is merely for display. When we 
 were strong enough, we bestirred ourselves 
 
 (105) 
 
106 
 
 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 to get something else to sleep on than the one 
 poor semblance of a bed which our room con- 
 tained. The people were astonished that we 
 should think of indulging in such luxury; but 
 we deemed it a necessity, for protection from 
 the cold that came through the crevices in the 
 rough floor. 
 
 Although there was a boundless supply of 
 timber in the dense forests all about, the deep 
 snow prevented our securing any of it; but 
 we found birch saplings, and bent these in 
 such a manner as to give a springiness to the 
 
 A Siberian Feasant Woman 
 
 Doing the weekly washing in the river when the 
 
 temperature is thirty-five degrees below zero. 
 
AN EXILE STATION 107 
 
 beds we manufactured of them. At first, our 
 attempts aroused much ridicule; but after a 
 while, other of the exiles tried to imitate our 
 products. 
 
 A perplexing problem was, how to defend 
 ourselves against the hordes of bedbugs that 
 assailed us at night. To rid our room of these 
 pests was impossible, as the log walls fur- 
 nished innumerable hiding places for them. 
 By experiment, we learned that the creatures 
 could not swim. So we set the legs of our 
 bedsteads in cans of water, and thus were in- 
 sured against attack. 
 
 The people about us marveled when thej^ 
 learned of this device. All their lives, thev 
 had been tormented by these pestiferous in- 
 sects, often being ill in consequence. Yet they 
 had never resorted to even so simple a plan 
 of defense. 
 
 Immediately after arriving at our destina- 
 tion, we had written home; but not till near 
 the first of June did an answer reach us. In 
 the spring months, the breaking up of the 
 ice makes the river impassable for either sleds 
 or boats; and these northern stations are en- 
 tirely cut off from the world during that 
 period. 
 
108 
 
 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 For about three months of the summer, 
 river steamers come up from the south, bring- 
 ing flour and other supplies, and taking in 
 exchange pine nuts that the settlers gather 
 from the forests. Some years there are none 
 of these nuts to be found; but one good crop 
 pays for provisions for a number of years. 
 
 The large rivers of Siberia all flow toward 
 the north. In spring, the ice near the sources 
 of the rivers breaks up fully a month earlier 
 than that at their mouths ; and the broken ice, 
 as it is carried northward by the current, is 
 forced beneath the still solid ice of those 
 colder latitudes, causing it to burst with a 
 tremendous boom, like that of heavy thunder. 
 
 An Ice Jam on a Siberian River 
 
AN EXILE STATION 109 
 
 This broken ice forms immense dams, which 
 cause the rivers to overflow thousands of 
 square miles of the tundra. For this reason, 
 only the small patches of higher land along 
 the rivers are inhabited, except by the native 
 Tungus. The people of that wild tribe travel 
 over the swamps in summer, as over the snow 
 in winter, on skis. 
 
 The settlements become little islands when 
 the tundra is flooded; and there is never any 
 certainty as to the height at which the water 
 will cease to rise. The people always have 
 their canoes ready for use in case the water 
 should reach the houses. 
 
 In the month of June, the mouths of the 
 rivers become free of ice. Then the water 
 from the tundra flows back to the river beds. 
 The retreating water leaves a thick mud over 
 the land. In the remaining six or eight weeks 
 of the summer, there grows up in this mud a 
 coarse grass, man-high, which is the only fod- 
 der obtainable for horses and cattle. 
 
 The leanness of the stock, however, is 
 caused not so much by lack of food, as by 
 the cold. Each year, many domestic animals 
 freeze to death. Still others fall victims to 
 the big Siberian bears. 
 
110 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 As the horses and the cattle must be kept 
 in stables throughout the long winter, they 
 suffer from the confinement; and the owners 
 let them out in the spring as soon as patches 
 of ground can be found where the snow is 
 sufficiently melted off. 
 
 Not long after we reached Alatayevo, a 
 cow that had been let out for exercise, was 
 found dead, the body partially devoured. The 
 men of the village organized a bear hunt ; and 
 eventually they found the. guilty beast — a 
 big female bear. 
 
 With four or five cubs, she was snugly 
 sheltered in a natural tent formed by the 
 drooping branches of a pine tree. The weight 
 of the snow on the branches bent them down 
 so that their outer ends reached the ground, 
 but no snow could sift through the thick fo- 
 liage. 
 
 The old bear was killed, and the cubs were 
 captured. One of the cubs was given to the 
 children of the family that the chief of our 
 guard lived with, and it became very much 
 of a pet. I used often to see it when I went 
 to call on the guard. 
 
 I know of no more charming pets than 
 young bears. They are very playful — more 
 
AN EXILE STATION 
 
 111 
 
 SO than any kitten — amusing themselves for 
 hours at a time by turning somersaults, or 
 clutching the head in the hind paws and roll- 
 ing over and over like a ball, or performing 
 other comical "stunts." They are also very 
 chummy with their human friends. 
 
 This one soon learned to take milk from a 
 bottle. Having been accustomed, bear-like, 
 to sucking its paws, it had liltle difficulty in 
 substituting the bottle rubber for them. 
 
 Still more, it soon acquired the art of hold- 
 ing the bottle in its paws. A ludicrous figure 
 the little fellow made, sitting up on his 
 
 i'^^'^^l^^&^^^^W^^^^Iil^'fe^'i&iiE^Stoi^^^^^^M 
 
 ';:#ii^^:#a;:gi#a?»>^^ ' - ' ■ '" '' 
 
 .:-,:::^ *--i 
 
 ^^^ ■--■"-■' ''^^^hH 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 pmm^^^^^^^^^^^m 
 
 Ik 
 
 m 4 f 
 
 
 
 Not Handsome, but Happy 
 
112 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 haunches, with the bottle in his big paws. 
 And even little bears have very big paws. 
 
 When we had been in Siberia about two 
 months, all the exiles in our village were sum- 
 moned to the house of the head man of the 
 station, to get our apportionment of money 
 for the time we had been in exile — seven 
 rubles and twenty copecks a month for each 
 person. Later fifty copecks extra was added. 
 Ordinarily one ruble is equal to half a dollar 
 of American money; but because of the war, 
 the value had then fallen to about a third of 
 a dollar. No allowance was given in advance. 
 
 Meanwhile Gorelic and I had received a 
 few dollars from home. Exiles were permit- 
 ted to have only small amounts, any larger 
 sums that were sent to them being confiscated. 
 We purchased a few dishes, also fish and 
 meat, and sometimes a little milk. 
 
 The fish and the meat, and even the milk, 
 were frozen. Farther south, where there are 
 markets, milk is sold in solid blocks, carried 
 by a string or a stick, one end of which has 
 been frozen into the block. 
 
 The people of Siberia subsist almost wholly 
 on meat, fish, and tea, with an imitation of 
 bread. This last is made largely of small wild 
 
On the Georgian Road 
 This road, about two hundred miles in length, is the prin- 
 cipal highway across the mountains from the Caucasus 
 to Transcaucasia. 
 
 (113) 
 
114 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 berries, which are dried, ground, and mixed 
 with a dark, inferior flour that is shipped from 
 the south. White flour is a dainty enjoyed 
 by the wealthiest only, as are also any fruits 
 and vegetables that are imported. The few 
 potatoes grown in the country do not mature, 
 and are of very inferior quality. Hardier 
 vegetables could be grown, but the people un- 
 dertake nothing their fathers did not do. 
 
 Nature has attractions even in Siberia, es- 
 pecially in winter. I could almost be content 
 to live there — in freedom. The country is 
 beautiful. The great firs, bent under their 
 load of snow, seem like gray-haired patri- 
 archs. But the reflection of the sunlight on 
 the snow is so dazzling that it often causes 
 injury to the sight. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE "ARRESTED" TESTAMENT 
 
 SOON after our arrival in Siberia, we sent 
 home for a Bible; but because of the in- 
 terruption of traffic at the time of the break- 
 ing up of the ice, we had to wait a long 
 time for a response. In the meantime, we 
 learned that there w^as in the village one Bible, 
 the property of the church. It was in the care 
 of the school-teacher. We asked her to lend 
 it to us; and she did so, on condition that we 
 keep the transaction strictly secret. We had 
 also the Testament that was given us by the 
 warden of the prison at Kursk. 
 
 When news spread relative to the unusual 
 character of some of the exiles who had ar- 
 rived in the village, much wonderment was 
 excited. Many of the people, from curiosity, 
 came to see us, and some became interested 
 in the Bible. Among these latter was a young 
 Polish war prisoner. He ceased to associate 
 with the criminal exiles, and gave evidence 
 of a real desire to become acquainted with 
 the Scriptures. 
 
 In those times, we felt assured that the 
 things we had imdergone were not without 
 
 (115) 
 
116 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 benign purpose, and that God had something 
 for us to do on that outer rim of civilization. 
 
 The eldest son of our host was the first 
 person to whom our attention was turned as 
 one we might help. He was married, but 
 lived in the home of his parents, in accordance 
 with Russian custom. In the evening, after 
 the rest of the family had gone to sleep, he 
 would slip quietly into our room, which ad- 
 joined his own, and listen while we read 
 aloud. He was amazed as he learned of the 
 teachings of Jesus, which he perceived were 
 very unlike those of the priests. 
 
 This young man — called Alexander — had 
 forgotten the little he had learned in his boy- 
 hood about reading; and we offered to teach 
 him anew. We also gave him our Testa- 
 ment. He was delighted to possess such a 
 treasure ; and thereafter, early in the morning 
 and late at night, we could hear him reading 
 aloud in his own room. 
 
 The parents were grateful for our efforts 
 in behalf of their son ; and they were proud of 
 his ability to read, even stumblingly. They 
 once invited us to their part of the house, to 
 read the Bible to neighbors who were present. 
 Thus our missionary activities seemed to pro- 
 
(117) 
 
118 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 ceed smoothly; yet we knew, from former ex- 
 perience, that a conflict with the priest was 
 sure to follow. 
 
 Our earnest young pupil was often with us 
 at worship time ; and he wondered that we did 
 not bow before the pictures of the saints nor 
 make the sign of the cross. One evening, 
 we read Acts 17:25, which says that God 
 does not require to be "worshiped with men's 
 hands." From that day, Alexander would 
 not make the sign of the cross. 
 
 We had not expected such prompt and de- 
 cided action on his part; and we were fearful 
 that the opposition his course would create, 
 might discourage him. A few mornings later, 
 he told us that his wife had been grieving all 
 night, because she had discovered that he had 
 ceased to wear a crucifix. 
 
 Persons unfamiliar with the religious spirit 
 of imperial Russia, will not readily compre- 
 hend how seriously this young man's conduct 
 was regarded. That some of the exiles did 
 not show reverence to the symbols of worship 
 of the state church was not considered par- 
 ticularly shocking; but for a member of that 
 church to refuse to do so, caused great ex- 
 citement. 
 
A Typical Peasant Home in Russia 
 
 The yoke on which the wife and mother carries her 
 
 water buckets — though the men of the household may 
 
 be idle — is also typical. 
 
 (119) 
 
120 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 The idea of force in religion prevailed 
 there; and the general sentiment was, that all 
 must be compelled to conform to the usages 
 of the church. The priest was king and god. 
 
 We counseled our young pupil to act cau- 
 tiously, on his wife's account; but he asked, in 
 consternation, if we meant that he should do 
 contrary to the Bible teaching. This certainly 
 we did not advise; yet we knew that he was 
 not thoroughly instructed, and we feared that 
 the trial he would surely meet, might be more 
 than he could bear. 
 
 The parents, though hitherto they had been 
 friendly toward us, now became quite the re- 
 verse, and the father ordered us to leave the 
 premises. We were not obliged to obey this 
 order, as it was not given through the guard. 
 
 The son was treated very harshly by his 
 parents. They agreed with the people of the 
 village, that both he and we should be exiled 
 to a more remote part of the country, unless 
 he resumed his former religious observances. 
 Still the young man declared, "Never again 
 will I bow before the icons, or kiss the hand of 
 the priest, since I have learned from the Bible 
 how to pray." Frequently he found oppor- 
 tunity to come to our room for instruction. 
 
THE "arrested" TESTAMENT 121 
 
 When he sought to explain, to those who 
 tried to dissuade him from his course, why he 
 did as he did, they would not listen. 
 
 Some urged the father to beat him. In- 
 deed, as the climax of an altercation between 
 the two, the father did strike his son in the 
 face. Alexander had been a person of pas- 
 sionate temper, yet he was calm under this 
 provocation. He said to his father, that in the 
 past, he had not been a good son ; he had been 
 so ill-natured to his younger brother as to 
 make it necessary sometimes for the boy to 
 stay away from home. Yet his behavior had 
 not been severely censured; but now that he 
 had turned from his wrong ways, he was de- 
 nounced and beaten. 
 
 One Sunday morning about that time, the 
 priest of the parish visited our little village. 
 In the course of the church services, he 
 made extravagant and groundless accusations 
 against sectarians; and after this tirade, he 
 remarked the presence of some of the pro- 
 scribed class in the settlement, and charged 
 the people not to allow us in their houses. 
 
 As a result of this speech, we doubtless 
 should have met with violence, had we not 
 been under police protection. 
 
122 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 That afternoon, as we sat at our frugal din- 
 ner, the priest and his assistant, with a crowd 
 of the men of the village, came storming into 
 our room. We greeted them courteously, and 
 invited the priest to be seated; but he indig- 
 nantly declined, and demanded to see the New 
 Testament we had given to Alexander. He 
 asserted that it was not the same as was used 
 by the Russian church, and he had come to 
 "arrest" it, that it might be sent to the district 
 police, to ascertain whether it was orthodox. 
 
 Alexander had gone away some days before 
 on a fishing trip, and had not yet come back. 
 As he always kept his Testament with him, 
 the priest could not get it then ; but the father 
 was commanded to go and bring it to him. 
 Although the distance was considerable, the 
 father obediently set out by canoe to secure 
 the offending Testament. 
 
 The Bible that we had borrowed from the 
 school-teacher lay on our table when the priest 
 was in the room; but fortunately he did not 
 recognize it, else he might have made trouble 
 for the teacher. 
 
 Gorelic opened the Bible, and read there- 
 from refutations of statements the priest had 
 made in the church. The people present were 
 
THE ''arrested" TESTAMENT 
 
 123 
 
 astounded at Gorelic's boldness in presuming 
 to contradict the assertions of their priest. 
 
 Alexander's father, on reaching the place 
 where the son was, told him we had sent for 
 the Testament. Only by such trickery could 
 he have obtained it. The young man, though 
 deeply regretting that we should ask for the 
 return of the treasured gift, yielded it up ; but 
 when he came back home, he learned of the 
 deception that had been practiced on him. 
 
 We cannot say that this father was not 
 prompted by love for his son. Presumably he 
 believed that the only hope for the young 
 
 A Hollow Log Fishing Canoe on a Siberian River 
 
124 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 man's salvation lay in his giving up what he 
 had learned from the sacred Scriptures. 
 
 A brother-in-law of Alexander's, named 
 Paul, a man of some education, was at their 
 home during this time ; and he also studied the 
 Scriptures with us, and became convinced that 
 many of the teachings of the Greek Catholic 
 Church were erroneous. He likewise adapted 
 his mode of worship to his new convictions, 
 and thus incurred the disapproval of his rela- 
 tives and others; but they did not take such 
 rigorous measures to dissuade him as they had 
 employed with Alexander. 
 
 Paul was superintendent of a company of 
 carpenters, and he traveled from place to 
 place, overseeing their work. Wherever he 
 went that season, he spread the story of the 
 strange exiles and their strange religion. 
 Afterwards, as we passed over the same route, 
 we found that a knowledge of our faith had 
 preceded us to every settlement, notwithstand- 
 ing the limited means for conveying news. 
 
 As the parents of Alexander made it im- 
 practicable for us to remain in their house, we 
 sought a room elsewhere ; but not many of the 
 people of the village dared let us so much as 
 cross their thresholds. 
 
THE "arrested" TESTAMENT 125 
 
 One man agreed to let us share a room in 
 his house with an exile who already occupied 
 it, if the latter was willing. Later, when we 
 called to inquire as to this exile's decision, the 
 owner of the house had changed his mind. 
 Possibly he had learned of our identity. Thus 
 we were disappointed in our expectations. 
 
 One of the exiles at this station was a 
 wealthy manufacturer, who had obtained per- 
 mission for his wife to join him there. We 
 were on sociable terms with him ; and when he 
 heard of our having thought to take a room 
 with the exile before mentioned, he told us the 
 following story: 
 
 Before his wife's arrival, he had lived in a 
 house with this other exile and two or three 
 more; and one night, they extorted from him, 
 by threats and force, a large sum of money. 
 Then they warned him that no mercy would 
 be shown him if he should report what they 
 had done. 
 
 Certainly we were thankful that we had not 
 taken one of these unscrupulous characters as 
 a roommate. 
 
 The prospects for getting living quarters 
 were discouraging; but in due time, our heav- 
 enly Father directed us to a place He had 
 
126 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 provided for us. We called upon a man who 
 was in ill health and in very straitened cir- 
 cumstances; and when we proposed to rent a 
 part of his house, and laid upon the table 
 before him the few rubles we could pay in 
 advance, he gladly accepted this source of re- 
 lief from his financial embarrassment. 
 
 As we were moving to our new location, the 
 village was startled by the clanging of the bell 
 of the little chapel. A house on the outskirts 
 of the settlement was found to be on fire. As 
 a strong wind was blowing from that direction, 
 the whole village apparently was doomed ; for 
 the buildings were close together, there was no 
 provision for fighting fire, and most of the 
 men were away on a fishing tour. The women 
 frantically cried to the pictures of the saints, 
 and even carried these objects of worship to 
 the burning structure, imploring them to put 
 out the fire. 
 
 Gorelic and I hurried to the place, and did 
 all we could to save the homes from which we 
 had been excluded. Other exiles also helped. 
 
 The stables were connected with the dwell- 
 ings; and on the roofs of the stables were 
 stacked the remnants of the year's crop of hay. 
 On these high stacks and the grass-thatched 
 
THE "arrested" TESTAMENT 
 
 127 
 
 roofs of the houses nearest the fire, we sta- 
 tioned some of the people, and had buckets of 
 water passed to them from the stream near, 
 that any spark lighting on the inflammable 
 material might be immediately extinguished. 
 
 The burning building, we knew, could not 
 be saved ; and with such help as we could get, 
 we tore away the part that was not yet afire, 
 to prevent the flames from getting too strong 
 headway. 
 
 A cry was raised that a child was in the 
 burning house. I quickly prepared to make 
 
 Weeping, Not Laughing 
 
 The Russians are an emotional people, and sometimes 
 their mourning might be mistaken for laughter. 
 
128 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 my way in and rescue the little one ; but when 
 I had drenched my clothing with water, and 
 broken a window, preliminary to the attempt, 
 word came that the child was outside. 
 
 The only loss was the one building, with the 
 calves and sheep that perished in it. 
 
 Soon after the fire was out, some of the men 
 returned from fishing; and men and women 
 gathered about and gazed at us in bewilder- 
 ment. They could not understand why we 
 whom they had thought to be more danger- 
 ous to the community than were the criminal 
 exiles even, should have exerted ourselves as 
 we had done for their sakes. 
 
 The result of this incident was a genuine 
 gratitude on the part of the people. Most of 
 them were still distrustful of our religion ; but 
 some did not fail to see that the icons in which 
 they had been taught to believe, were power- 
 less to protect even themselves, as those in the 
 burning building had been reduced to ashes. 
 
 On the second night in our new room, I 
 was wakened by an exclamation from Gorelic, 
 just as a man was disappearing through a 
 window. There was another man outside, 
 who undoubtedly had been acting as sentinel. 
 He was one of the exiles we had known in 
 
THE ^^ARRESTED'^ TESTAMENT 129 
 
 prison. Our belongings were scattered about 
 the floor, and the little money we had had 
 was gone. 
 
 We gave chase to the intruders, but could 
 not overtake them. Afterwards we learned 
 that the settlers, and even the guards, found 
 it necessary to comply with the thieves' code 
 in the matter of punishing offenders, as there 
 were not enough guardsmen to control them 
 absolutely. 
 
 According to that code, if a man was 
 caught stealing, and could be overpowered on 
 the spot, he might be delivered over to the 
 guard, or even punished by his captors, and 
 such a course would be acknowledged as just; 
 but if he got away, then to bring any accusa- 
 tion against him, however strong the proof of 
 his guilt might be, was to call down upon 
 one's self the wrath of the whole "gang." 
 
 Several later attempts were made to force 
 an entrance to our room; but after the one 
 experience, we made sure that our doors and 
 windows were well fastened. 
 
 The family with whom we had taken up our 
 abode were genial in their attitude toward 
 us; and through their influence, others came 
 to be less suspicious of our religion. 
 
130 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 Not infrequently persons came to us to 
 inquire about the Bible. But they came 
 privately; for if they were known to be in 
 sympathy with us, they would be ranked as 
 outcasts, even by their own families. 
 
 At one time, as we were walking outside 
 the village, a young man hiding in the tall 
 grass by the roadside accosted us, requesting 
 that we come and talk with him. We did as 
 he asked, and explained to him the funda- 
 mentals of the gospel message we proclaim. 
 
 At the little shop where we often made pur- 
 chases, the owner's daughter sometimes waited 
 upon us ; and when no one was in hearing, she 
 eagerly asked us about the teachings of the 
 Bible. She wished to know how to pray to 
 Jesus. Her mother, on learning what the 
 daughter was doing, poui^ed out a flood of 
 wrath upon her. 
 
 For the sake of those who sought instruc- 
 tion from us, we maintained the utmost se- 
 crecy relative to such interviews; but when 
 the parents of this young woman had learned 
 of her having had religious conversations with 
 us, we did not hesitate to risk their greater 
 displeasure by going to them again. Through 
 their love of money, we gained access to them, 
 
(181) 
 
132 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 to make purchases; and then we tried to 
 impress upon their minds the truths of Scrip- 
 ture. Some members of the family became to 
 a degree mollified, but others were the more 
 enraged at us. 
 
 Again efforts were made to reclaim Alex- 
 ander to the state church. He was summoned 
 to the government headquarters of the dis- 
 trict of Narym — a village of the same name, 
 facetiously called a city — and there he was 
 interrogated in reference to his religion. The 
 priest, finding it impossible to overthrow Al- 
 exander's defense, raised a question as to his 
 sanity. But the civil officers allowed the 
 young man to go free. Still he was regarded 
 much as a criminal in his own village. 
 
 He was required to leave the parental home ; 
 but his wife became in a measure reconciled 
 to his course, and her family also were toler- 
 ant toward the ''new religion." 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 A PENAL ISLAND 
 
 BY the pressure of the water from the 
 south, the ice was carried away from 
 the point on the Ob where our settlement 
 was located; but as it did not find an out- 
 let at the still frozen mouth of the river, it 
 formed a dam, and the water gradually 
 spread out beyond the banks. The village 
 became completely surrounded by water, and 
 the country was soon flooded as far as we 
 could see. 
 
 The fish found more bountiful fare outside 
 the river channel than they had had inside, 
 and became almost too fat to move, whereas 
 they had been very lean before. Men some- 
 times waded out into the water and caught 
 them in their hands. 
 
 With the warm weather came wild ducks 
 in vast flocks. Hunters sold ducks for little 
 more than the traditional price of sparrows. 
 
 When, later in the summer, the water re- 
 ceded from the land, there arose from the wet 
 ground clouds of mosquitoes. The air was 
 full of them. They were in eyes, ears, and 
 nostrils. 
 
 (138) 
 
134 ESCAPE EROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 We obtained permission from our guard to 
 go by boat to a place on the river where 
 we could get some birch saplings, to make a 
 frame over which we could stretch netting to 
 cover our beds at night. In the forest, a 
 worse enemy than the mosquitoes attacked us 
 — myriads of gnats, which actually dimmed 
 the sunlight; We had thought we were in- 
 sured against their onslaughts, as we wore 
 netting over our faces, and had bound our 
 clothing securely at wrists and ankles. But 
 in spite of these precautions, many of the tiny 
 pests penetrated to our flesh; and such tor- 
 ture did they inflict, that we were ill for days. 
 
 The mosquitoes and the gnats rob the 
 people of Siberia of much of the enjoyment 
 of their brief summer. But before the sum- 
 mer is over, relief is likely to come in the form 
 of another calamity. Camp fires left burning 
 by careless hunters and fishermen, often 
 spread to surrounding brush and timber, caus- 
 ing forest fires that burn over hundreds of 
 acres. The smoke is sufltocating; but it is not 
 whollv an evil, for it does awav with the mos- 
 quitoes and the gnats. 
 
 When the weather permitted, Gorelic and 
 I spent a portion of the Sabbath in a seques- 
 
A PENAI. ISLAND 
 
 135 
 
 tered place a little distance from the village 
 — a depression in the river bank, with natural 
 seats of earth. Among the few who met with 
 us there for Bible study and worship was 
 the young Polish military prisoner. He ex- 
 pressed the hope that when the war was over, 
 he might return to his own country, and there 
 tell the good tidings of salvation. 
 
 One evening, ^ve were called to appear be- 
 fore the chief of our guard. He had not been 
 unfriendly to us up to this time, but now he 
 was quite changed. He read to us a com- 
 munication from the lieutenant governor of 
 the district, directing that in order to stop our 
 "propaganda," we* be transferred to Kolgu- 
 
 A Fur Hunter in the Boundless Forests of Siberia 
 
136 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 yak. The chief ordered that we be ready to 
 start for that place the next morning. 
 
 Reluctantly we put together our "seven 
 possessions"; and at the hour specified, we 
 were at the river's edge. The question came 
 to me as to why we should not have refrained 
 from speaking of religion, and thus have been 
 spared this new trial that had come upon us. 
 The thought of banishment to a still more 
 northerly station was most depressing. But 
 soon I could rejoice again in fellowship with 
 my Master, even in suffering. 
 
 In a large canoe, with two guards in charge, 
 we pushed off from the bank, and glided out 
 upon the "back" of the Ob. 
 
 As we passed out between the great forests 
 that bordered the river, the silence seemed al- 
 most holy. So profound was it that even the 
 sound of a drop of water falling from one of 
 our oars was audible. 
 
 That scene of the far north was as if nature 
 would concentrate the charm of an entire year 
 in the short summer. And the mirror-like 
 water, reflecting the beauties of the shore, 
 made them more than twofold. In delight 
 at the romantic view, guards and prisoners 
 united, appearing to forget their relationship. 
 
A PENAL ISLAND 137 
 
 From the water, there came to us a sound 
 of the dip of oars, although we could see no 
 boat other than our own, nor did the sound 
 of any reach us through the air. Not till 
 about an hour later did we meet the boat of 
 which the river had given us tidings — so far 
 does water transmit sound. The occupants 
 were fishermen, and half drunk. 
 
 Before night, we were at Narym, the seat 
 of administration for a large though little in- 
 habited territory. Our guards delivered their 
 papers to the chief of police of the district; 
 and as there was no possibility of our escaping 
 from that isolated spot, we were left to our- 
 selves for the night. 
 
 While I kept watch over our baggage, 
 Gorelic went in search of lodgings. He met 
 on the street a young Jewish prisoner of war 
 from Galicia — an intelligent, well educated 
 man — and through him, secured quarters in 
 the house of an aged Jew, who was also a 
 prisoner of war. 
 
 This young Jew was from the same city as 
 our former fellow prisoner the imperial coun- 
 cilor; and the next morning, he took us across 
 a branch of the Ob to a small island, where 
 we had the great joy of meeting again that 
 
138 
 
 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 fine-spirited Christian man. He had been 
 sent first to Kolguyak, but later had been re- 
 moved from there, because the conditions he 
 had to meet were seriously affecting his health. 
 When he learned that we were bound for that 
 place, he was dismayed. We were glad that 
 he was in a more favorable location now; for 
 he was an elderly man, and was not inured to 
 hardship. 
 
 At Narym, we met an editor of note, who 
 also was an exile. He averred that he stood 
 for the same principle as we — individual lib- 
 erty — though he was concerned most with the 
 civil aspects of the subject, and we with the 
 
 Katun River, a Tributary of the Ob 
 
A PENAL ISLAND 139 
 
 religious. This man afterwards escaped from 
 exile, and reached the United States. 
 
 Late in the day, we boarded the small 
 steamer that was to take us to Kolguyak, the 
 most northern of the penal stations in west- 
 ern Siberia. 
 
 As the boat drifted away, almost noise- 
 lessly, with the current, the setting sun was 
 spreading a veil of gold over the evening sky. 
 Flocks of wild ducks floating overhead be- 
 came lost to sight in the luminous glow, or in 
 the dark green background of firs. 
 
 Before entering upon the privations that 
 awaited us, we indulged, on the boat, in the un- 
 wonted luxury of an ordinary meal — such a 
 luxury as we had not enjoyed for long months. 
 
 During the night, the boat stopped at a 
 number of little villages — mere huddles of 
 fishermen's huts. At each place, the villagers 
 were all at the landing; for a call from one 
 of the small river steamers was an important 
 event in their lonely existence. 
 
 The next morning, we reached our desti- 
 nation, an island a mile or two across. The 
 population consisted of a few fishermen and 
 traders, with their families, and about twenty 
 exiles. 
 
140 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 During the short Siberian summer, boats 
 occasionally passed this island; and once a 
 month or so, one might stop. But in winter, 
 sleds drawn over the ice by horses were the 
 only means of travel. 
 
 We had been told at Narym that the one 
 fit associate we would find among the exiles at 
 Kolguyak was a young Austrian prisoner of 
 war. He had heard of us, and he met us cor- 
 dially when we arrived. 
 
 Other exiles also were very affable and 
 were profuse in offers of assistance. But we 
 recognized some of them as former cell mates, 
 with whom we could not safely mingle; and 
 we knew that to keep clear of them from the 
 first would be easier than to break away from 
 them later. Accordingly, we insistently de- 
 clined their aid. But one of them refused to 
 be repulsed, and seizing some of our baggage, 
 went with us on our search for a place to live. 
 
 We applied at the home of a trader, the 
 most well-to-do man on the island. This man 
 never housed exiles; but the military prisoner 
 and the thief who accompanied us assured him 
 that he need not fear to take us into his home, 
 as we were not criminals. Indeed, the thief 
 gave a very clear statement of our case. He 
 
A PENAL ISLAND 141 
 
 represented himself as having come from 
 Odessa, and having known of us there. As 
 a result of the intercession of these two, we 
 were so fortunate as to get lodgings with this 
 family. 
 
 Kolguyak is a desolate spot, not so much 
 because of the natural environment, or even 
 the isolation, though the unbroken forests 
 stretch far on either side; but the most dismal 
 feature of the place is its population — prin- 
 cipally criminals and semicivilized Ostyaks. 
 Still, the few Russians there are less ignorant 
 than would be supposed. They are really 
 better informed than many of their country- 
 men in middle Russia. 
 
 So far as religion was concerned, we had 
 more freedoni here than at Alatayevo. The 
 priest of the parish lived at a village twenty 
 miles away; and he did not come to Kolguyak 
 often. When he did come, his only errand 
 was to get a supply of the liquor made by 
 women of the island, in defiance of the im- 
 perial prohibition issued at the beginning of 
 the war. 
 
 On one occasion while we were there, this 
 priest, on leaving the steamer on which he had 
 come, gave whispered directions to a by- 
 
A Siberian Greek Orthodox Priest 
 He bears much resemblance to the one who visited 
 
 Kolguyak. 
 (142) 
 
A PENAL ISLAND 143 
 
 stander, who forthwith hastened off on his 
 commission; but he did not so quickly return, 
 and the priest became very nervous, as the 
 boat was to stop only a short time. Not until 
 it was moving away did the messenger reap- 
 pear. Then he tossed an immense bottle to 
 the priest, who succeeded in catching it; but 
 the stopper flew out, and some of the contents 
 gushed out into the cleric's face and beard. 
 For all his plight, he seemed well pleased with 
 the success of his mission. 
 
 Our host and his ' family were confirmed 
 users of this same brand of liquor — stronger 
 than common vodka; and they gambled also. 
 Yet they were very kind to us. 
 
 The house contained only two rooms; and 
 these the family shared not only with Gorelic 
 and me, but with our hostess's sister and the 
 latter's husband. 
 
 The thieves continued to inflict their society 
 upon us; but our former acquaintanceship 
 with them made us sure that their object was 
 to get access to the premises, with an eye to 
 plunder. Had we let ourselves be drawn into 
 association with them, we must have forfeited 
 the shelter of the trader's rude home. In- 
 stead, we soon won his full confidence. 
 
144 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 We sometimes slept out of doors. One 
 night when we had chosen to sleep in the 
 house — for what reason, I do not now re- 
 member — thieves forced an entrance into the 
 store, and carried away what money had been 
 left there. The trader never gave the least 
 intimation that he suspected us of being in 
 any way responsible for the raid; and obvi- 
 ously there was no ground for such suspicion, 
 as we could not have left the room where we 
 slept, without stepping over his body. 
 
 Here, as at Alatayevo, there were gnats 
 and mosquitoes in such swarms as sometimes 
 to obscure the daylight. It was unsafe to ven- 
 ture away from the settlement without care- 
 ful protection from these minute pests. They 
 were not so numerous about the dwellings as 
 elsewhere. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 A FAVOR FROM THE CZAR 
 
 WHEN we had been two weeks on the 
 island, the chief of the guard came to 
 us with an official document — the czar's re- 
 ply to the petition we had sent to the czarina 
 when we were at Kursk. 
 
 Six months had passed since the sending of 
 our petition, and I had forgotten the incident. 
 Not till some hours later did I recall it. The 
 experiences of those months had tended to 
 erase many things from my memory. 
 
 Our request had been that we be stationed 
 in Ufa, the westernmost district to which ex- 
 iles were sent. The czar's response was to the 
 effect that if we still wished to go there, the 
 Narym officials should see that we were taken. 
 
 Transfer to the city of Ufa, or to that vi- 
 cinity, would be a great concession; but the 
 district of that name is large, and some parts 
 of it would be, even more objectionable than 
 the place where we were. However, we sig- 
 nified our desire to be transferred, and looked 
 forward hopefully to improved conditions. 
 
 Then followed weeks and months of sus- 
 pense before anything further developed in 
 
 (145) 
 
 10 
 
146 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 reference to the matter. Each time that we 
 heard the signal of an approaching boat, we 
 expectantly looked for orders for our transfer. 
 Repeated disappointments became very dis- 
 heartening. 
 
 In a little open space in the forest, not far 
 from the settlement, stood a solitary tree, be- 
 side one that had fallen. To the seclusion of 
 this spot we often went, and there found cour- 
 age and comfort in prayer. This quiet retreat 
 became very hallowed to us. 
 
 The physical discomforts we endured were 
 not so distressing as the lack of freedom, and 
 the loneliness, among the drunken settlers and 
 the still more depraved exiles. We could not 
 so much as go across the river for a half hour 
 without leave from the guard; and we were 
 never allowed to go by ourselves. Yet we 
 were very grateful that we two were per- 
 mitted to remain together. 
 
 When, at intervals of several weeks, a small 
 steamer touched at the island, bringing us 
 intelligence from the distant world — per- 
 chance a letter from home — we were almost 
 overwhelmed with emotion. 
 
 Even so far north as we were, the heat is 
 sometimes extreme in summer, and the hu- 
 
(147) 
 
148 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 midity very oppressive. As we could hardly 
 sleep indoors now, we constructed a small 
 sleeping tent of two sheets, supplemented 
 with thin cotton cloth that we bought for the 
 purpose. 
 
 A few bricks formed our cooking range, 
 and the ground answered as chairs and table. 
 Our principal food was fish ; but we varied 
 this by the manner of cooking it. At first, 
 we fried it, European style. Afterwards we 
 tried boiling it. Next we adopted the Si- 
 berian method, that of baking. 
 
 Then we devised a plan for smoking it. 
 By digging in the side of the river bank, we 
 improvised a smokehouse, cutting a chimney 
 through from the surface. The fish that we 
 smoked there was much coveted by the people 
 of the island, who wished us to sell some to 
 them; and we were glad to eke out thus our 
 very scant funds. This enabled us to pur- 
 chase a little flour, also wild berries that the 
 Ostyaks brought into the settlement for sale; 
 and of the two, we made vareniki — a sort of 
 dumpling dear to the palate of a Russian. 
 When a boat came up from the south, we 
 could even give ourselves so rare a treat as a 
 morsel of vegetables. 
 
A FAVOR FROM THE CZAR 149 
 
 r 
 
 When we had tired of fish however cooked, 
 we resorted to the natives' custom of salting 
 and drying it. We could eat the dried fish 
 for a longer time and with better relish than 
 that prepared in any other way. 
 
 The summer in northern Siberia ends with 
 July, and we did not mourn its close. The 
 cold air of August served us a good turn, in 
 that it did away with the insects. 
 
 There are in this part of Siberia remnants 
 of a barbarous tribe called the Tungus, who, 
 unlike the Ostyaks and other tribes, have not 
 yet become at all civilized, but live their no- 
 madic life in the forest. 
 
 Often a fire built by some of the Tungus, to 
 roast their bear meat or other game, is left 
 when they move on; and thus forest fires are 
 started, which destroy great amounts of stand- 
 ing timber. The heaviest loss from these fires, 
 to the little Russian settlements, is that of the 
 pine nuts, almost their only source of income. 
 Such fires may rage from springtime till the 
 coming of the autumn snows. No effort is 
 made to check them, except when they en- 
 danger a village. 
 
 August brought a forest fire to our district 
 — grand, but appalling. The whole region 
 
150 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 was shrouded in semi-darkness. For a num- 
 ber of days, boats could not make their way 
 on the river. Birds beat about helplessly, un- 
 able to find food or home. Wild creatures of 
 
 Drying Bear Skins 
 
 the wood swam the river to the island, to es- 
 cape the fire; and fear made them almost as 
 tame as domestic animals. 
 
 So choked were we by the smoke, that we 
 wondered whether we should not be smothered 
 to death. But a change in the wind drove the 
 smoke away from us; and river, forest, and 
 sky again appeared, a bright, new world. 
 
 That August brought darkness of another 
 sort to me — darkness such as I had never 
 known before. In a Christian home and a 
 
A FAVOR FROM THE CZAR 151 
 
 Christian school, I had been instructed in the 
 principles of our faith; and for three or four 
 years, I had been a teacher of these same prin- 
 ciples, which I believed implicitly. 
 
 But now a procession of strange questions 
 ran through my mind: Why need I suffer 
 banishment, with all , its attendant misery, 
 when many good people so shaped their course 
 as not to bring upon themselves such conse- 
 quences? Instead of persisting in evangel- 
 istic work, why could I not give my energies 
 to other employment, in which I would avoid 
 the hardships I now had to meet? Was it 
 possible that our opponents were in the right, 
 after all, and that we were not warranted in 
 our interpretation of the Scriptures? 
 
 Though I could repeat from memory abun- 
 dant Bible texts in support of our faith, yet I 
 was impelled to study them anew from the 
 printed Word, to see if I was after all mis- 
 taken. My mind was so harassed, I could not 
 eat or sleep, but hid away in the forest, and 
 there studied and prayed. 
 
 The Sabbath had always been a delight to 
 me; and with its return at the close of that 
 week of turmoil, there came such peace and 
 happiness as I had never before known. That 
 
152 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 penal island seemed a glorified spot. A celes- 
 tial presence was as real to me as if it had 
 been visible. 
 
 Before we were transferred to that station, 
 our minister in Tomsk had written that he 
 intended to visit us ; but our being sent farther 
 away prevented the carrying out of his plan. 
 This was a grievous disappointment for us. 
 Now our minds turned to a visit from some 
 one else outside the settlement as a relief from 
 the monotony of our surroundings. 
 
 As we were having our morning Bible study 
 together on Sabbath, we espied two strangers 
 passing; and their appearance was so unlike 
 that of the settlers and exiles about us, that 
 we hastened out to meet them. They went 
 inside with us, and we learned that they were 
 connected with a government camp some 
 twenty miles away, where a company of men 
 were getting out railroad ties. 
 
 These two had had occasion to go by canoe 
 from their camp to the nearest steamer land- 
 ing, and on the return trip, had lost their 
 way in the dense smoke, and unintentionally 
 reached our island. They were Mennonites, 
 and as such, were exempt from the bearing of 
 arms, but not from noncombatant militarv 
 
Scenery Along the Katun 
 
 (153) 
 
154 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 duty. Hence it was that they were serving 
 their country in this far section of the earth. 
 
 They joined us in our Scripture reading, 
 singing, and prayer. One of the two was a 
 minister, and he was accustomed to conduct 
 religious meetings in their camp. We gave 
 them a small volume of Bible readings that we 
 had, and explained to them some of the dis- 
 tinctive doctrines of our church. When we 
 parted, it was as friends in Christ. A few 
 weeks later, we learned that the minister was 
 presenting to his congregation the subjects we 
 had studied together, and others that were 
 treated in the volume of Bible readings we 
 gave him. 
 
 Thus was the smoke of the forest fire made 
 the bearer of a message of cheer to us, and a 
 message of Bible truth from us. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 LOOKING TOWARD EUROPE 
 
 WE waited two months in vain expecta- 
 tion of an order for our transfer to 
 Ufa. Then, concluding that the matter had 
 been pigeonholed, we decided to send a tele- 
 gram to Kerensky, the leader of the socialis- 
 tic faction of the Duma, begging that the 
 imperial decree be carried out. 
 
 Of course, there was no telegraph line to 
 our little island, nor was there even a post 
 office nearer than Narym. But by a man 
 who was going to that place by canoe, we sent 
 a letter to the editor in exile there; and he 
 forwarded our message to Kerensky. 
 
 One morning in early autumn, we heard 
 the whistle of a river steamer, and hurried to 
 the landing to learn if there was any news for 
 us. A deputy sheriff of the jdistrict came 
 ashore, and informed us that we were to go to 
 Narym to attend to our affairs. 
 
 We surely were overjoyed. The steamer 
 was to leave in a few minutes, and we could 
 not well go so soon ; but we made preparations 
 to start at the first opportunity. We dis- 
 posed of such of our few belongings as we did 
 
 (155) 
 
156 ESCAPE PROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 not wish to take with us, giving to a sick exile 
 one of the very comfortable beds we had made. 
 
 Our host expressed the wish that we might 
 return, when free again, and continue to teach 
 Christianity to his family and others. Some 
 of these people, I believed, would have been 
 susceptible to the influence of the gospel, but 
 for their addiction to the use of vodka. 
 
 Unwilling to wait for the next steamer, 
 which might not come for several weeks, and 
 not having sufficient means to hire a canoe 
 to take us to Narym, we arranged to go to 
 Tymsk, a station about twenty miles below 
 ours, with an islander who was planning to go 
 there in a small boat. Steamers called at that 
 point oftener than at our island. 
 
 The time of starting was late afternoon. I 
 was amazed at the beauty of the sunset on the 
 Ob that evening. I have no remembrance of 
 having ever beheld a view more wondrously 
 lovely. A light breeze stirred the surface of 
 the water ; and as the sun sank below the dark 
 green rim of the forest, sky and river vied 
 with each other in brilliance. 
 
 With darkness came cold creeping upon us 
 from the shore. The breeze died away, and 
 our sails — made of grain sacks — flapped idly. 
 
LOOKING TOWARD EUROPE 
 
 157 
 
 A pair of oars was brought into use, but ere- 
 long one of them broke. Still it was made to 
 do service, and we kept slowly on. 
 
 As we passed close along the bank, we saw 
 a big grouse almost within arm's reach. None 
 of our boat's company having brought a gun, 
 the great fowl was in no danger. 
 
 A Siberian Family 
 
158 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 At a fisherman's hut farther on, our oars- 
 men — two exiled thieves — wished to stop 
 and rest. There fifteen or twenty men, rough 
 looking but seemingly well disposed, and un- 
 mistakably jolly, invited us to have supper 
 with them. We had brought food with us, 
 but we were not averse to a warm place in 
 which to eat, although the tobacco smoke was 
 so thick as to be almost solid. 
 
 The little village of Tymsk, being built in 
 the edge of the forest, cannot be seen from the 
 river, even in daylight. Yet we were in no 
 doubt as to its location, though we approached 
 it at about midnight; for a watch fire was 
 burning on the bank. The watchman proved 
 to be a Tartar exile from my native Caucasus. 
 We enjoyed the warmth of the fire, for the 
 night was cold. 
 
 The young Austrian prisoner of war who 
 was our only associate for some time after we 
 went to Kolguyak, had been transferred later 
 to Tymsk ; and he had urged that if we should 
 ever come to that station, we stay with him. 
 This invitation we now accepted. 
 
 His boarding place was the home of the 
 village lay assistant to the drunken priest we 
 had sometimes seen at Kolguyak. This assist- 
 
LOOKING TOWARD EUROPE 159 
 
 ant evinced real interest in our religion, and 
 remarked that there was too much commer- 
 cialism in the state church. 
 
 The next morning, we met a man who had 
 been banished on the ground that he spoke 
 German to employees in his mill, though he 
 declared that he did not speak German, but 
 the Dutch dialect generally used by the Men- 
 nonites, they having come originally from the 
 Netherlands. 
 
 Late in the evening of that day, a stampede 
 of every person in the settlement in the direc- 
 tion of the landing, heralded the coming of a 
 steamer. As I realized that this boat was to 
 take me from the scene of my banishment, my 
 feelings were such as I shall not try to put 
 into words. 
 
 The little steamer was northbound, and 
 would go as far as Kolguyak, but would not 
 call at Tymsk on the return voyage. Thus 
 we were obliged to go back to the island. But 
 we stayed there only an hour, then started 
 for Narym. 
 
 This boat brought us mail that had been 
 sent months before. Among it was my Bible. 
 My joy at receipt of the precious volume was 
 unbounded. 
 
160 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 There were two Chinese silk traders on the 
 steamer, one of whom entertained us with 
 Chinese singing. I had never before seen 
 chopsticks used, and I did not imagine that 
 soon I should make use of such myself. 
 
 When we reached Narym, the exiled editor 
 was the first to greet us. He had been influ- 
 ential in having the deputy sheriff send for 
 us; for he was on fraternal footing with the 
 sheriff, although one was an officer of the law, 
 and the other an offender against it. 
 
 We again saw the imperial councilor, with 
 whom our association had been so congenial, 
 notwithstanding the difference between us in 
 nationality, station, and age. One of his 
 keenest trials here was lack of agreeable as- 
 sociates. 
 
 At police headquarters, we learned that as 
 a result of the sending of our telegram to 
 Kerensky, word had come that we should be 
 permitted to go immediately to Ufa, without 
 convoy. 
 
 Navigation would close soon. A boat was 
 to leave for the south that night; and a man 
 was sent by canoe to notify the Baptist min- 
 isters still at Alatayevo, that they were at 
 liberty to start by that boat for European 
 
< 
 < 
 
 < 
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 H 
 
 o 
 
 >-^ 
 
 11 
 
 (161) 
 
162 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 Russia. They arrived at Narym in time, and 
 proceeded south; but Gorelic andl, for some 
 incomprehensible reason, went to sleep, and 
 did not wake up till the boat had gone. An- 
 other boat came the next day, though, and 
 that we did not fail to board. 
 
 Before leaving Narym, we met the Polish 
 exile whom we had known at Alatayevo. At 
 his request, I had ordered a Polish Bible for 
 him, which he had since received; and he read 
 it with great satisfaction. 
 
 When our steamer stopped at Kalpasheva, 
 we caught sight of one of our ministers, A. 
 Osol, in the crowd on shore, and had a few 
 minutes' visit with him. He had been ar- 
 rested at Tiflis, capital of Transcaucasia, and 
 banished to this station. His jail ordeal had 
 been worse than ours. 
 
 This minister, when a young man attend- 
 ing missionary training school, had been in- 
 structed in the care of the sick; and now his 
 knowledge in that line was put to excellent 
 use. Hundreds of the people applied to him 
 for aid, and he worked hard to help them. 
 About a year later, this good man died of 
 typhus fever, caused, undoubtedly, by condi- 
 tions he liad encountered in prison. 
 
LOOKING TOWAKD EUROPE 163 
 
 Our little steamer made better time than 
 the one om* friends were on, and we reached 
 Tomsk before they did. The next morning, 
 we made application for our safe conducts to 
 Ufa, at the office of the lieutenant governor 
 of Narym, who lived at Tomsk. 
 
 There we met the rest of our company. 
 Among them was the Baptist minister who, 
 after we had left the last jail on our way into 
 exile, about seven months before, was sent 
 back to Odessa for trial on an additional 
 charge brought against him by members of 
 "the Black Society." Had that charge been 
 proved, the penalty would have been two 
 years in one of the horrible Russian jails — 
 if death did not occur before that time had 
 elapsed. He was cleared of the charge, but 
 then he was returned to Siberia on the former 
 sentence, and arrived at our first place of 
 exile after we had been removed to the island 
 station. 
 
 Before the hour appointed for us to start 
 for Ufa, Gorelic and I sought out our minis- 
 ter at Tomsk. We were surprised to see, over 
 the chapel door, a sign announcing the serv- 
 iqes. All our meeting places in Russia had 
 been closed soon after the war began; but in 
 
164 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 Siberia, the land of exile, there was more 
 freedom for those not exiles, than there was 
 in Russia. 
 
 In a very happy mood we made the jour- 
 ney of three or four days to Ufa. We were 
 coming closer to the world from which we had 
 been so far separated. Instead of being trans- 
 ported by etapCj, we traveled by regular pas- 
 senger train, with no guards to watch us. 
 
 .When we reported to the governor, he 
 commanded that we leave the city at once. 
 The German Baptist was to go in one direc- 
 tion, another of the Baptists and I to the 
 little city of Birsk, about a hundred miles 
 distant, and Gorelic and the rest to a third 
 place. The governor would not listen to any 
 plea for a reconsideration of his decision. 
 
 At Birsk, I was encouraged at the prospect 
 of a not uncongenial abode. I secured a 
 pleasant room in the home of a family whose 
 son was a prisoner of war in Germany. They 
 said that I resembled him; and from their 
 bearing toward me, one^ might have judged 
 that I was really he. 
 
 As was customary, I must call at the police 
 station each morning. In ten days, there 
 came to the police a communication from the 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 I^^B 
 
 
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 j^^^g 
 
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 (165) 
 
166 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 governor, directing that I be transferred to a 
 village on the Tartar steppes. Evidently the 
 governor had set his face to make our lot 
 harder than it had been in Siberia. 
 
 From Tomsk, I had written to our mission 
 treasurer; and the day before I was to leave 
 Birsk, a reply carne, and with it some money. 
 The amount was much more than an exile 
 ordinarily was allowed to have ; but after some 
 delay, it was delivered to me. With it I pur- 
 chased such articles as I most needed. 
 
 The hour for me to start for my destination 
 had come. My companion in exile had al- 
 ready gone to his station. I had my "wolf's 
 passport" — a passport that does not give 
 the bearer a right to go anywhere except to 
 the point named, nor to tarry by the way, save 
 to eat and to sleep. 
 
 I was to travel without a ''black angel" — 
 that is, a guard — and had one week in which 
 to make the journey and appear before the 
 police at its end. My baggage was packed, 
 and the man I had engaged to take me by 
 wagon was already overdue. As I waited 
 impatiently for him, a strange thought sur- 
 prised me — one which I had meager time to 
 act upon or even to develop. 
 
Hide Market of Kazan Tartars 
 
 (167) 
 
168 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 I had been told that the last steamer of the 
 season would go to Ufa that night. Why 
 should I not board it, and endeavor to escape 
 exile? The thought of spending an indefinite 
 period on the cold, wild steppes of the Kazan 
 Tartars, naturally was not attractive to me. 
 With a rush of thought, my course was out- 
 lined. It was a hazardous one ; and in case of 
 recapture, my punishment would be such as I 
 dared not think of. 
 
 There was no time to deliberate; but I 
 uttered a brief prayer that I might be kept 
 from starting upon the project unless I could 
 carry it through. 
 
 The chief of police himself had left the door 
 of escape ajar for me. When the Baptist 
 who had been with me here went to the police 
 station to say that he was ready to start for 
 the place to which he had been assigned, the 
 officer inquired when I intended to leave ; and 
 being told that I was preparing to go the 
 same day, he said that I need not come to 
 notify him, as my comrade's statement would 
 suffice. 
 
 Had I myself told the police that I was 
 about to start for the Tartar territory, I 
 would not have violated my word ; but as the 
 
LOOKING TOWARD EUROPE 169 
 
 extraordinary lenity of the chief left me un- 
 committed, I did not feel that to evade the 
 authorities would be dishonorable. The ques- 
 tion was as to my being able to do so. 
 
 During the week that I was supposed to be 
 on the road, I would be comparatively free 
 from police surveillance. Even for several 
 days more, my nonarrival might be attributed 
 to some mishap. Thus I should have time to 
 go a long distance before my escape was sus- 
 pected, if I could but get away from Birsk, 
 where I was known to the police. 
 
 I said to my host, that as the man I had 
 hired to take me had not come, I should go 
 by boat. I did not tell him that the place to 
 which I now designed to go was not a place 
 of banishment, but my parents' home in far 
 southern Russia; and he apparently was not 
 aware that no boat was scheduled to leave 
 Birsk at that time, that would take me to the 
 Tartar country. 
 
 My first danger lay in the fact that the 
 steamer agent to whom I must apply for a 
 ticket, was, like all men in similar position 
 in Russia in war time, a sort of government 
 detective. If I should elude his vigilance, I 
 must pass between two lines of policemen in 
 
170 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 crossing the gangplank to board the steamer. 
 I took my baggage to the steamer station, 
 which was only a few blocks away, then went 
 back to my room, where I stayed till near the 
 time for the steamer to go. 
 
 How, I wondered, could I pass that double 
 row of policemen? One plan occurred to my 
 mind; but it might seem like an imposition on 
 the fatherl}^ spirit my host had manifested 
 toward me. It was this: The two daughters 
 of the family, being students in the gymna- 
 sium, wore the dress peculiar to such ; and any 
 one seeing them on the street with a young 
 man, would take for granted that he was a 
 brother or other relative, or at least a fellow 
 student. So I suggested to the parents that 
 the daughters accompany me to the steamer; 
 and ready assent was given to this proposition. 
 
 At the ticket window, a crowd of people 
 awaited their turn. The agent noticed me as 
 I entered the waiting room; and motioning 
 the others to stand aside, he inquired what I 
 wanted. This seemed to me like a challenge, 
 but I simply replied that I wished a ticket to 
 Ufa. He handed me a ticket, then asked 
 whether I would like a private stateroom. As 
 a safeguard against observation, a private 
 
Old-Time Farming Methods 
 Haymaking affords pleasure as well as employment for 
 
 both men and women in Russia. 
 
 (171) 
 
172 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 stateroom certainly would be desirable ; and I 
 answered that I would take one. Receiving 
 the key, I left the room, the first menace to 
 my dangerous undertaking safely passed. 
 
 Why I was treated as if I werq a dignitary, 
 I do not know. True, my clothing was of 
 good quality; and my eyeglasses, with black 
 ribbon attached, were such as were not com- 
 monly worn in that part of Russia except by 
 scholarly people. Yet I must believe that 
 more than natural influences were exercised 
 in my behalf. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 A "WOLF'S PASSPORT" 
 
 BETWEEN my fair young guardians — 
 who were wholly unaware of their office 
 — I crossed the gangplank, chatting busily, 
 as if quite unobservant of surroundings; al- 
 though I certainly was not forgetful of the 
 policemen ranged along either side. On deck, 
 we continued our ostensibly merry conversa- 
 tion until the whistle gave warning of the 
 steamer's departure; but I was careful to 
 stand where I was not conspicuous. 
 
 As the unsuspecting misses, having re- 
 turned to the wharf, saw the steamer head 
 toward Ufa instead of in the opposite direc- 
 tion, their faces told that they were puzzled; 
 but I waved them a reassuring good-by, then 
 went into my stateroom. 
 
 Scarcely ten minutes passed before there 
 was a rap at my door; and when I opened 
 it, the purser stood before me. He asked 
 to see my ticket. His request would have 
 caused me no concern, but that the Rus- 
 sian word he used for ticket was one that is 
 sometimes used to indicate a passport. In 
 my confusion, I produced my ''wolf's pass- 
 
 (173) 
 
174 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 port." The purser, after glancing at it, 
 questioned whether it entitled me to free 
 transportation. 
 
 I understood, then, that he had meant to 
 call for my ticket; and I handed it to him, 
 which was all he required. He may not have 
 observed that the place designated in my 
 "wolf's passport" was one we were leaving 
 farther behind us each moment ; or perhaps he 
 surmised my intentions, but was not dis- 
 posed to hinder me. 
 
 The next morning, we arrived at Ufa. I 
 almost expected that officers would be waiting 
 at the wharf to apprehend me; but I was not 
 molested. I went direct to the railway sta- 
 tion. To my chagrin, I learned that no train 
 would leave for the west till late in the after- 
 noon. Putting my baggage in a corner of 
 the waiting room, I concealed myself in the 
 manner that I believed to be most effectual; 
 that is, walking boldly about the streets. 
 This I did till time to board the train. 
 
 I bought a ticket for Samara, whence I 
 thought to travel by boat to Tsaritsyn. To 
 lessen expense, I would have traveled third- 
 class, except for the greater privacy afforded 
 by the second-class coaches. In these, a per- 
 
A ''wolf's passpoet" 175 
 
 son could have a compartment to himself, 
 and shut himself in, if there were not too 
 many passengers; but the third-class coaches 
 were not divided into compartments. I re- 
 frained from leaving the train at stations, as 
 to be seen by any of the gendarmes on duty 
 there might be disastrous for me. 
 
 I reached Samara the next morning, but 
 had not quite enough money to pay my pas- 
 sage on the steamer to Tsaritsyn. It was at 
 Samara that a minister of our church had 
 visited me in jail when I was on the way to 
 Siberia, and I now determined to hunt him 
 up; but the city is a large one, and I did not 
 know what part of it he lived in. When per- 
 sistent inquiry for him and for our church 
 brought no reward, I decided to find, if pos- 
 sible, a church of some of the other sects, as I 
 might in that way learn of the whereabouts 
 of our own. 
 
 I met an old woman carrying a basket of 
 vegetables, and I asked her if she knew 
 where the Baptist church was. She did not; 
 but she pointed to a chapel near, which she 
 said belonged to another sect. It was our 
 very own! In connection with this building 
 was the home of the minister I sought, whose 
 
176 
 
 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 visit to Gorelic and me in jail had been so 
 great a comfort to us. He and his family 
 received me hospitably; and the little time 
 spent with them was a season of refreshment 
 to me, spiritually and physically. He lent 
 me the few rubles lacking to pay my passage 
 on the steamer — which amount I sent back 
 to him a few days later. 
 
 On a better steamer than I had thought to 
 see in that part of the country, I proceeded 
 down the Volga. "Mother Volga" this river 
 is called, as it has its source in the region 
 where the Russian nation was cradled. 
 
 I felt more secure on the boat than on land. 
 I had a stateroom alone; and though nearly 
 
 On the Volga 
 
A "wolf's passport" 177 
 
 two days on board, I hardly spoke with one 
 person. Indeed, there were few passengers, 
 as travel on the Volga is limited chiefly to 
 summer, when many pleasure seekers make 
 the long journey down to the Caspian Sea. 
 
 During those early October days, the clouds 
 were dark and foreboding, as was the outlook 
 before me. Still I was grateful to the Father 
 who had brought me thus far. 
 
 On the second night, we reached Saratov, 
 where the steamer was to stop a number of 
 hours. Our denominational headquarters for 
 all of Russia were then located in Saratov. 
 I went ashore in search of them; and having 
 the address, I succeeded in finding the place. 
 
 There I learned that the work of the mis- 
 sion was advancing, though many of our 
 workers had been exiled, and others had been 
 called into the army. 
 
 Before leaving to go back to the steamer, 
 I drew most of the money the mission held to 
 my credit. This would meet the expense of 
 the rest of my journey homeward, and also 
 repay the amount borrowed of our minister at 
 Samara. 
 
 After another day of slow travel by boat, 
 I landed at Tsaritsyn. To avoid the distress- 
 
 12 
 
178 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 ing self-consciousness that I could not easily 
 throw off when alone, I made companions of 
 two Armenians who had been with the army 
 in the Caucasus. 
 
 Two more days by train took me, utterly 
 intoxicated with joy, to the town of my birth, 
 where most of my relatives lived. My par- 
 ents' home was a little farther on. 
 
 At the station, I pulled my cap low over 
 my face, and thought that sufficient precau- 
 tion against detection, as I did not suppose 
 I should be readily recognized after having 
 been absent for years. Indeed, so free did I 
 feel, away from all the reminders of exile, 
 that I did not fully sense the need of caution. 
 
 As I was leaving the station, I met an old 
 man, who addressed me by name. I was in 
 consternation. This might mean that I should 
 be cast back into Dante's inferno just when 
 I was about to enter Paradise. 
 
 The delight of my relatives on my ap- 
 pearance at the old homestead, was eclipsed 
 by grief when they learned that I came to 
 them a refugee. As for myself, I was weary 
 in body and in spirit. My sweet aged grand- 
 mother perceived this; and after a time, she 
 took me authoritatively by the arm — though 
 
Mount Ushba, in the Caucasus Range — Nearly as 
 High as Pikes Peak 
 
 (179) 
 
180 ESCAPE FflOM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 she was a wee body in comparison with my 
 six feet one — led me to her quiet apartments, 
 and left me there to sleep. 
 
 It is said of the disciples of Christ, that as 
 they waited for Jesus in Gethsemane, they 
 slept "for sorrow." (Luke 22:45.) I slept 
 in the ancestral home, whether "for sorrow" 
 or from exhaustion, or both. 
 
 I woke at the sound of footsteps in the 
 hallway. One of our ministers who was in the 
 village at the time, had come, by request of 
 my uncle and grandmother, to consider with 
 me plans for my future. Behind locked doors, 
 we discussed the question. 
 
 To remain in the home of my relatives 
 would jeopardize* not only my own safety, 
 but also theirs, and even that of the church. 
 The course I had had in mind from the first 
 — that of seeking concealment with a friend 
 who lived in the foothills not far away — was 
 declared to be impracticable. The suggestion 
 was made that I cross the Caspian into Per- 
 sia; but I had no ear for such a scheme, as I 
 knew of the revolutionary spirit prevalent in 
 Persia, the taking over of control of that 
 country by Russia, and Turkish invasions of 
 the territory. 
 
A WOLF S PASSPORT 181 
 
 With an air of conviction, the venerable 
 man told me to make a note of the following 
 names: Irkutsk, Harbin, Mukden, Shanghai, 
 San Francisco. Those five cities, he affirmed, 
 should mark my route. 
 
 Our interview was not long. It closed with 
 earnest prayer. The expression of confidence 
 on the good minister's face, and the prayer he 
 uttered, seemed to raise my mind above all 
 misgivings, and I unhesitatingly accepted his 
 counsel, though it might appear impossible of 
 execution. 
 
 I must see my father and mother before 
 starting on this long and venturesome jour- 
 ney. First I went to the home of a friend a 
 few miles from their home ; and thence, in 
 the evening, he walked with me over the fields 
 and the hills to the town where my parents 
 lived. At a little bridge near their home, I 
 lingered behind, in order that he might an- 
 nounce my coming; for I feared that to see 
 me unexpectedly would be too great a shock 
 to my delicate mother. 
 
 My parents were more startled than re- 
 joiced at my coming. Father could speak 
 but a few words, and mother seemed unable 
 to fathom the mystery of my presence. 
 
182 
 
 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 There were wearisome days and nights be- 
 hind me, and I looked forward to similar ones 
 to come. Therefore I begged that we sleep 
 as much as we could that night, specially as 
 the subjects we should be most likely to talk 
 upon were painful ones to us all. Accord- 
 ingly, with the benediction of my father's 
 prayer, we went to our rest. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 THE BEGINNING OF A PERILOUS 
 
 JOURNEY 
 
 BEFORE the first sign of dawn, we were 
 all astir; for I must leave ere the day 
 should betray me. My mother's heart evi- 
 dently was crushed with grief. If my family 
 could have had any assurance that I should 
 accomplish even so much as a tenth of the 
 proposed journey, they would have had hope 
 in reference to the remainder; but I might 
 not even be permitted to leave the first sta- 
 tion, and to be detected would imply a fate 
 far worse than death. 
 
 My success in evading capture hitherto, was 
 no proof that I should not be seized by the 
 next gendarme I met — except as it denoted 
 the protection of One against whom all the 
 minions of the czar could not prevail. 
 
 The farewell was agonizing. My father 
 led the way through the garden, and to a 
 footpath along the bank of the Kuma. Then, 
 with the friend who had come with me, I 
 passed out into the darkness. Equally dark 
 my future loomed. Yet I faced it with hope- 
 fulness and even enthusiasm. 
 
 (183) 
 
184 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 Though we kept as far as practicable from 
 public roads and human habitations, we neces- 
 sarily went near a little village; and the dogs 
 bayed at us with a noisiness that was no aid 
 to secrecy. 
 
 The morning had barely conquered the 
 night, when we arrived at the friend's home. 
 I spent the day in hiding there, intending to 
 take an evening train back in the direction 
 from which I had fled. 
 
 I did not dare examine the contents of my 
 purse, for my short stay with my family had 
 not given them opportunity to get more for 
 me than they had on hand ; but I knew that I 
 had enough to buy a ticket to Irkutsk, about 
 four thousand miles away. To ask for one to 
 take me farther would be to arouse suspicion; 
 for Irkutsk is not a great distance from the 
 frontier, and any man between eighteen and 
 forty-five years of age was forbidden to leave 
 the country in time of war. 
 
 When I called for a ticket, the agent's 
 face seemed to ask, "How is this, young 
 man?" But he raised no objection. As the 
 train bore me away, I was glad to see the 
 lights of the station vanish behind me. Each 
 danger passed was a cause of rejoicing, al- 
 
(185) 
 
m 
 
 186 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 though new dangers awaited me just ahead. 
 I had not been long on the train when it 
 stopped — for what reason, I did not know. 
 Soon a gendarme, lantern in hand, and ac- 
 companied by a subordinate, came into the 
 compartment I occupied. He looked about, 
 then came^o me, and ordered his subordinate 
 to search my baggage. This being done, he 
 raised his lantern to my face, held it there for 
 several minutes — so it seemed to me — turned 
 and left the car, and the train moved on. 
 
 I cannot explain this incident, except as I 
 explain to my own heart many incidents of 
 that journey — on the supposition that divine 
 power interposed to ward off harm. 
 
 My route lay through Ufa, the first town 
 at which I had stopped on my flight. That 
 locality might reasonably be regarded as 
 particularly unsafe for me, and I kept very 
 unobtrusively to my corner. After crossing 
 the Ural Mountains into Siberia, I felt less 
 apprehensive. 
 
 Although, in temperate climates, this was 
 the season of reddening leaves and harvest 
 ingathering, winter had already begun in Si- 
 beria. The country was covered with snow, 
 and glistening with frost. 
 
BEGINNING A PERILOUS JOURNEY 187 
 
 After eight days of continuous travel, I 
 was nearing Irkutsk. The question as to how 
 I should be able to go on from there, was still 
 unanswered. Even had I had enough money, 
 I could not have bought a ticket to cross the 
 border. Moreover, where nearly every young 
 man was in military uniform, my civilian garb 
 must attract undesired attention. Then, too, 
 I had no passport; and even before the war, 
 hundreds of times had I been required to 
 show my passport. 
 
 A wounded military engineer tried repeat- 
 edly to engage me in conversation, and I 
 could not well repulse him altogether. He 
 may have guessed my dilemma; for though 
 no allusion was made to it, after a while, he 
 offered to sell me his uniform and his railway 
 pass. He, being wounded, and having his dis- 
 charge, could travel in citizen's attire without 
 difficulty; and he could renew his pass in any 
 large city. The one he wished to sell me was 
 for Vladivostok; and to reach that place, the 
 railway crosses Manchuria. Thus the pass 
 would take me over the boundary line. 
 
 Was this young soldier actuated by pity for 
 me? Or was his purpose only mercenary — 
 to get the few rubles he asked of me? Or 
 
188 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 would he lead me into a trap, and then de- 
 liver me up to arrest? I did not fear to trust 
 him, and assented to his proposition. 
 
 The safest place to conclude our arrange- 
 ments, I thought, would be the home of our 
 minister in Irkutsk. I had his address; and 
 when we arrived at that city, we took a sleigh 
 — there were many such for hire at the sta- 
 tion — and the small Siberian horse that drew 
 it, galloped wildly away. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 IN DISGUISE 
 
 THAT there should be more religious lib- 
 erty in Siberia, the land of exile, than in 
 imperial Russia proper, which pretended to 
 allow its subjects freedom of conscience, was 
 strange; but that such was the case, I was 
 reminded by the sign on the residence of the 
 minister we sought, and on the chapel where 
 he presided — simply an announcement of the 
 services. Such a sign could not have been 
 seen in all Russia, on a building used by 
 members of a "sect." 
 
 As the minister was not at home, I briefly 
 told his wife of my errand. She became much 
 perturbed; but I did not think that remark- 
 able, considering how dangerous was the un- 
 dertaking to which she was asked to become a 
 party. Then she informed us that there was 
 a police officer in an adjoining room. I shall 
 not say that I was undisturbed at the news. 
 Our hostess explained that the officer was 
 there to get details in reference to her son, a 
 young man of military age, who was attend- 
 ing one of our missionary training schools in 
 western Europe. 
 
 (189) 
 
190 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 My soldier companion and I quickly de- 
 cided to go away for a while, and return 
 after the officer had gone. 
 
 We had passed only the first crossing, when 
 out from the crowd emerged a familiar figure 
 — the former superintendent of our Cauca- 
 sian Mission. He also was a victim of the 
 malice of "Orthodox" priests, and had been 
 exiled to this city. He was not imprisoned, 
 but must report daily to the guard, as must 
 all exiles. I made an appointment to meet 
 him later at the parsonage from which I had 
 just come. Then we separated, for the ever 
 needful purpose of avoiding observation. 
 
 We met again as agreed. Our hostess and 
 the superintendent regarded my project as a 
 very daring one. Yet, as they could suggest 
 no other, they gave me such encouragement 
 as they could. 
 
 When the exchange of clothing between the 
 soldier and me had been effected, he returned 
 with me to the station, pointed out the train 
 for wounded soldiers which was to leave for 
 Vladivostok that night, and left me. 
 
 I began to feel concerned because of hav- 
 ing no appearance of being wounded. I had 
 discovered in my baggage a strip of white 
 
(191) 
 
192 ESCAPE FKOM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 muslin, which doubtless some member of my 
 family had put there. The one who did so, 
 did better than she knew. I found a place 
 where I could not be seen, and made of the 
 muslin a sling for my right arm. This would 
 not only afford an apparent reason for my 
 being on the disabled soldiers' train, but it 
 would also exempt me from the military re- 
 quirements relative to saluting, and thus from 
 much exacting scrutiny. 
 
 I had to wait two hours at the station. I 
 was an object of some suspicion, or else I in- 
 terpreted mere curiosity as suspicion. Be 
 that as it may, I affected, as best I could, a 
 forbidding sternness, and boldly paced the 
 platform. 
 
 When the first signal was given for the de- 
 parture of our train, a crowd of wounded 
 soldiers began to gather. Some of them had 
 but one arm, others only one leg, while still 
 others were wounded in various ways. 
 
 As is common in Russia, there was much 
 crowding and jostling in boarding the train. 
 I could not manage my luggage very well 
 with my one free hand. When finally I was 
 seated, the soldiers in the same car began to 
 assail me with questions as to what regiment 
 
IN DISGUISE 
 
 193 
 
 I was of, what battles I had been in, how I 
 had been hurt, and many other particulars. 
 I had not expected such a fusillade, and 
 was unprepared for it. Any attempt to an- 
 swer must have involved me in endless em- 
 barrassments. Instantly I bethought myself 
 
 Railway Station at Irkutsk 
 
 to feign deafness. This was not an easy thing 
 to do without a moment's forethought. Still, 
 my questioners became convinced that I had 
 lost my hearing, and perhaps also my mind to 
 some extent. A few tried speaking loudly to 
 me, even shouting in my ears; but they soon 
 wearied of such efforts. There was specula- 
 tion among them as to the probable cause of 
 my condition — shell shock, exposure, or what. 
 
 13 
 
194 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 A man of middle age, who was in the same 
 compartment as I, assumed a paternal guard- 
 ianship over me, and prevented others from 
 annoying me with attempts at conversation. 
 He himself communicated to me, largely by 
 signs, any information he thought might be 
 of value to me. 
 
 When the conductor came into our com- 
 partment, I gave no intimation, at first, that 
 I saw him; but my self-appointed guardian 
 acted as spokesman for me. I had been un- 
 easy over the question of whether my pass 
 would be accepted, or instead, would get me 
 into trouble; and when the conductor marked 
 it and returned it to me without hesitancy, I 
 felt like shouting for joy. Had the fact be- 
 come known that although wearing a military 
 uniform, I was not a soldier, the consequences 
 would have been such as I was loath to con- 
 template. 
 
 Next morning, our train began to crawl 
 sluggishly up the mountains on the southeast 
 side of the renowned Lake Baikal, whose 
 waters are nearly a mile deep. At the time 
 when the railroad was under construction, it 
 is said, temporary tracks were laid on the ice, 
 and heavy trains run over them. 
 
1^ 
 < 
 
 < 
 
 pq 
 
 O 
 O 
 
 iz; 
 
 t-H 
 
 o 
 W 
 
 (195) 
 
196 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 The country in that vicinity is exception- 
 ally beautiful, contrasting strongly with the 
 dreary steppes over which we had come. 
 
 About noon of the first day after we left 
 Irkutsk, as we stopped at a station, ''Sisters 
 of Mercy" appeared, and led us to an eating 
 room maintained for disabled soldiers. There 
 long tables were spread with food, principally 
 soup and bread. 
 
 The "sisters" were very attentive to us; 
 and after I had finished my meal, some of 
 them volunteered to rebandage my arm. I de- 
 clined their aid, but one was persistent. She 
 wished to take me to a surgeon in the hospital 
 booth. I was becoming solicitous as to how 
 I could get away from her, for discovery that 
 my arm was not injured would be sure to lead 
 to grave developments. 
 
 At that juncture, the engine whistle gave 
 warning that the train was about to start. It 
 was a joyous sound to me. I still had time 
 to obtain some cotton batting, and with it I 
 thoroughly plugged my ears. This made the 
 role of deaf soldier easier, as I then really 
 could not hear much. 
 
 The practice of such deception was not 
 pleasing to me, nor was it inspired in any de- 
 
IN DISGUISE 197 
 
 gree by love of adventure, but only by the 
 hope of thus procuring freedom from the 
 tyranny of a despotic government. 
 
 At another station where we stopped, I 
 saw in a bookstand a copy of the works of the 
 Caucasian poet Lermantov. As his home had 
 been near my own, his writings had a double 
 charm for me ; and I purchased the book, and 
 read from it on the train. That volume of 
 Russian verse afterwards played a part I did 
 not plan when I bought it. 
 
 Three days of travel brought us almost to 
 the Chinese frontier, the next critical point in 
 my journey, I had thought that if we reached 
 the frontier at night, I might leave the train 
 and cross afoot unseen; but it was midday 
 when we drew near the line, and to pass the 
 border police unobserved would be impos- 
 sible. Besides this, when the train approached 
 a station, the doors were locked, and they re- 
 mained thus until we were well under way 
 again. 
 
 I had come to the limit of my resources. 
 In fact, my success thus far was not attrib- 
 utable to any shrewdness on my part. At 
 times when my actions had been such as to 
 avert suspicion, they were not premeditated, 
 
198 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 but were prompted by an impulse of the mo- 
 ment. Now my frightened heart could only 
 call out to Him who had kept me hitherto. 
 
 Gendarmes came on board to examine the 
 passengers. I heard the clank of their sabers. 
 Unless Heaven should interfere, I should 
 never again know freedom. Still, I believed 
 that I should soon be with friends in Har- 
 bin, although I had no conception how this 
 could be. 
 
 Two of the officers came to my compart- 
 ment, and one of them brusquely demanded 
 my papers. In the right-hand pocket of my 
 trousers was my railway pass. I knew that 
 it would be of no use to me now; yet, as it 
 was the only military paper I had, involunta- 
 rily I reached for it. My right arm being 
 bound up, I essayed to thrust my left hand 
 into my right-hand pocket. The gendarme 
 put a stop to my awkward endeavor by say- 
 ing that badly wounded soldiers need not 
 present their papers. Then he went on to 
 the next compartment. 
 
 I was dumfounded. There had been pass- 
 ing before my mental vision pictures of life- 
 long imprisonment, with all its agony and 
 torture. Now I could scarcely comprehend 
 
(199) 
 
200 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 that I had escaped the fate which, only a 
 few moments before, had appeared to be in- 
 evitable. 
 
 The next town at which we stopped was 
 Manchuria, the first station in the province 
 of the same name. I was much elated at 
 having passed the most dreaded ordeal of all, 
 the crossing of the frontier. 
 
 Our train went no farther; but with the 
 few soldiers who had not left it before we 
 reached the border, I was transferred to an- 
 other train. They were to continue across 
 Manchuria and into Russian territory again. 
 I did not intend to do so, but hoped to escape 
 from the train at Harbin, about two thirds of 
 the distance across. 
 
 Over the door of the compartment that I 
 occupied on the new train, was a sign which 
 indicated that the occupants were wounded 
 soldiers. Gendarmes going through the train, 
 saw the sign, and merely glancing into the 
 compartment, went on without calling for 
 our papers. Thus another peril was passed. 
 
 The journey through Manchuria furnished 
 scenes new to me. With real enjoyment I 
 watched them from my window. The dark 
 shadow that had hung over my road to free- 
 
IN DISGUISE 201 
 
 dom was now largely dissipated, and notwith- 
 standing difficulties that I knew I must yet 
 meet, I felt wonderfully light-hearted. Had 
 I known all that was still before me, I should 
 hardly have had courage to face it. 
 
 Late in the evening of an early November 
 day — the fifth since we left Irkutsk — our 
 train arrived at Harbin. A horde of vehicle 
 drivers, mostly Manchurians, beset the pas- 
 sengers as they alighted; and I hastily put 
 my luggage into an empty carriage, thinking 
 that in the confusion, I might get away with- 
 out being seen by the guard. Straightway 
 one of them accosted me, asking why I was 
 leaving the train. I answered that I wished 
 to stop a short time in the city ; but he showed 
 no inclination to let me go. 
 
 His attention was diverted for a moment; 
 and seizing my baggage, I dashed away into 
 the night and the fog. When I had gone a 
 few yards, I came upon an unoccupied pub- 
 lic carriage. Into this I threw my luggage, 
 and signaled the driver to hurry away. 
 
 I had the address of our Harbin mission, 
 but could not make the Manchurian cabman 
 understand it. The only course left to me 
 was to make inquiry of some one, though I 
 
202 
 
 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 knew that in so doing, I might leave behind 
 me a clue that would lead to my capture. 
 But no alternative was left me. 
 
 The pedestrian of whom I inquired, di- 
 rected me to the street I wished to find, and 
 the cabman took me to it ; but when I reached 
 the house, I learned that our mission had 
 moved. Where it was then located, the new 
 tenant did not know. 
 
 There was apparently no way of finding 
 the location, without exposing myself to too 
 much publicity. Even to be on the streets at 
 such an hour, was to attract the notice of the 
 police. I reentered the carriage, not knowing 
 
 A Mountain Road in the Altai Region 
 
IN DISGUISE 203 
 
 what else to do, and ordered the driver to go 
 ahead, although I could not tell him where 
 to go. 
 
 Soon I saw a boy of ten or twelve years 
 walking along the street, and I felt impelled 
 to ask him if he knew of any Seventh-day Ad- 
 ventists in the city. He replied that his fam- 
 ily wxre such. This surely was an astounding 
 coincidence, as there were but few of our 
 people in Harbin, and there were few persons 
 on the street that dark, rainy night. 
 
 I took the boy into the cab, and he guided 
 me to his home. The father was in prison be- 
 cause of his religious activities. The mother 
 and the other children were alarmed at the 
 appearance of a soldier — which, of course, 
 they took me to be — in their home at that 
 hour; nor were they reassured when I im- 
 pulsively threw aside the sling that had bound 
 my arm, exclaiming that I had masqueraded 
 long enough. The sense of security that I 
 felt at being among those who I knew would 
 not report me to Russian officials, naturally 
 caused a reaction from the tense secretive- 
 ness of weeks past. 
 
 My explanation half dispelled the fears of 
 the family, yet I overheard the mother saying 
 
204 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 to the elder son that he had better go for Mr. 
 Gardishar. I was surprised to hear the name, 
 for it was that of a former schoolmate of 
 mine, and I so stated to the good woman. 
 In response to the message sent him, he has- 
 tened to meet me; and his greeting left no 
 distrust in the mind of my involuntary host- 
 ess. Her hospitality thereafter was wholly 
 voluntary and cordial. 
 
 I gladly put off my military uniform, with 
 its lying epaulets, and donned my accustomed 
 clothing. 
 
 More than formal thanks were offered to 
 Heaven that night for my deliverance from 
 danger. Then I slept in peace, although to 
 the charges previously held against me by the 
 czar's government was now added that of 
 desertion. 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 HIDING 
 
 HARBIN, being a Russian city, but on 
 foreign soil, was policed even more 
 strictly than were the cities of Russia. In 
 the hotels, a newcomer was^ asked to show 
 his passport before taking off his overcoat. 
 Residents were forbidden to harbor any per- 
 son for one night even, without first notifying 
 the police; and failure to comply with this 
 requirement made the offender liable to any 
 consequences that might befall his guest. 
 
 Under these circumstances, the hospitality 
 accorded me by our people in Harbin meant 
 much both to them and to me. Those who 
 lived in rented quarters must keep the owners 
 of the premises in ignorance of my presence, 
 unless these could be trusted not to divulge 
 it, and were willing to risk the results. 
 
 The morning after my arrival in the city, 
 I was invited to the home of our former pas- 
 tor there, and was told that the owner of the 
 house had consented to my coming — a con- 
 sideration not to have been expected of a 
 stranger, in view of the responsibility in- 
 volved. The pastor himself was in prison be- 
 
 (205) 
 
206 ESCAPE FKOM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 cause of his labors in connection with a church 
 that was not indorsed by imperial Russia. 
 
 As far as practicable, I avoided being seen 
 by others than our own people. Of some of 
 the latter, I asked counsel in reference to my 
 future course; for how to get out of Harbin 
 was as perplexing a question as had been that 
 of getting in. The railroad was Russian, and 
 therefore not to be considered. Whatever 
 other method of travel I might choose, I 
 should be almost certain of arrest at the 
 bridge I must cross in leaving the city, if I 
 succeeded in getting even so far; and to come 
 into contact with the police meant for me 
 shackles and a dark dungeon. 
 
 One of the friends told of a man who some 
 time before had aided several persons to leave 
 Harbin; and it was proposed that his help be 
 sought in my behalf. I caught at this straw, 
 and one of our number was delegated to con- 
 sult with the man. 
 
 The securing of a passport was the main 
 object. To attempt this by irregular means 
 was not regarded by the subjects of old Rus- 
 sia as it would be by loyal citizens of a free 
 government. Yet, I would not have agreed 
 to such a scheme, if I had had the confidence 
 
(207) 
 
208 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 which I should have had in Him who had al- 
 ready brought me out of straits from which 
 no human trickery could have rescued me. 
 
 The man to whom I now looked for aid was 
 a Swiss, the Harbin representative of a large 
 foreign shipping company and of other im- 
 portant business interests. When I was in- 
 troduced to him, he manifested a desire to 
 help me, but said he had better turn the 
 matter over to a Polander in his employ, a 
 political exile. 
 
 This Polander was much less prepossess- 
 ing than his employer. Still, he claimed to 
 be able to get a passport for me, and urged 
 that I accompany him to see the police officer 
 with whom he should have to deal. This I 
 did not think a safe thing to do, but I did ad- 
 vance some money to him, which was declared 
 to be needful. 
 
 Day after day I must have tiresome inter- 
 views with this fellow, he promising, each 
 time, that I should soon have the desired 
 document, and making a pretense of explain- 
 ing why he did not yet get it. There were 
 also repeated requisitions for money. 
 
 I was disposed to cease the negotiations al- 
 together ; but friends advised that I defer such 
 
HIDING 209 
 
 action for a time at least. We looked upon 
 the Swiss as the responsible agent in the 
 transaction; and his position with respectable 
 business concerns, added to his appearance 
 of sincerity, offset in part the unfavorable 
 impression made by his "pool fellow." 
 
 In the meantime, another plan was sug- 
 gested. One of our church people told of a 
 Manchurian who might act as a guide to take 
 me on my way by horseback. This man was 
 brought to me. He was shrewd looking, and 
 knew the country well; but he was not one I 
 should have trusted, except for the assurance 
 of friends. 
 
 However, I was persuaded not yet to give 
 up the effort to get a passport, that I might 
 travel by train. 
 
 Eventually I seemed compelled to yield to 
 the importuning of the Polander, that I go 
 with him to see the police officer with whom 
 he was treating. My signature was said to be 
 the only thing lacking to obtain the passport. 
 
 While we were going to the office, the old 
 trickster presumed to coach me on the an- 
 swers I should give to questions that might 
 be put to me. As I would not resort to 
 falsehood, his coaching was superfluous. 
 
 14 
 
210 
 
 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 I was admitted to the presence of the offi- 
 cer I had come to see, the Polander being left 
 waiting in an anteroom. This officer informed 
 me that he understood I had lost my pass- 
 port; but he said that before he could issue a 
 new one for me, he must telegraph to my 
 home address, in order to verify my state- 
 ments as to name, place of residence, and so 
 forth. 
 
 I knew that such a message sent to the 
 police authorities in my native district would 
 mean my apprehension as an escaped exile. 
 I was in dismay, suspecting that I had been 
 
 Street Scene in Harbin, Manchuria, Where Russians 
 AND Manchurians Alike Are at Home 
 
HIDING 211 
 
 betrayed to the police, and that they simply 
 thought to extort more money from me, or to 
 work up their case against me more fully, be- 
 fore letting me know their purpose. I won- 
 dered whether I should even be permitted to 
 leave the room, except as a prisoner. 
 
 At this stage in the proceedings, another 
 officer came in, looked me up and down, then 
 went out. Still I tried to preserve a sem- 
 blance, at least, of composure. I said to the 
 officer with whom I had been speaking, that 
 I hesitated to assent to the delay of telegraph- 
 ing, as a reply might be long in coming, but 
 that I would take a little time to think what 
 I had best do. Then I decorously but quickly 
 left the room. 
 
 In entering the building, I had passed 
 through four doorways, each of which was 
 guarded. Had I now believed that I should 
 be allowed to pass out alone, I should have 
 endeavored to evade my uncongenial com- 
 panion, and get away from him altogether; 
 but it seemed more feasible to let him go with 
 me to the street, and rid myself of him as soon 
 as I could afterwards. 
 
 When out of doors once more, I felt as if 
 I had just emerged from a prison. But the 
 
212 ESCAPE FROM SIBEEIAN EXILE 
 
 Polander tenaciously kept with me. We were 
 still together when we met an officer of the 
 secret police. Undoubtedly the company I 
 was in was sufficient to mark me as a sus- 
 picious character; and without any question- 
 ing, the officer bade me go with him. The 
 old man protested, perhaps because he was 
 unwilling to give up hope of wringing the 
 very dregs from my purse ; but he was warned 
 that if he did not immediately "lose himself," 
 he would be taken along to headquarters. 
 
 Again, evidently, I was on the way to a 
 prison cell, and not now as a religious non- 
 conformist only, but as a fugitive from "jus- 
 tice" of the old Russian brand. The jail was 
 in sight, only a few rods away. 
 
 The officer intimated that three hundred 
 rubles might keep me out of it. I told him I 
 did not possess that much money. He then 
 reduced his figures to two hundred fifty ru- 
 bles, and again to two hundred. I had not 
 that amount, nor was there any way I could 
 get it, unless possibly some of my fellow 
 church members of but a few days' acquaint- 
 anceship should be moved to supply it. 
 
 I requested that the police officer go with 
 me, and I would undertake to borrow the sum 
 
HIDING 213 
 
 named. He objected, saying that if I did 
 not have the cash on my person, we would 
 go on to headquarters; but before we reached 
 that dread structure, he consented to do as I 
 wished, and we took a cab to the home of one 
 of my stranger friends. 
 
 When we came to the house, I left the cab, 
 but the officer cautioned me not to go out of 
 his sight. I rapped at the gate; and when 
 the host came to open it, he was not slow to 
 comprehend my situation. 
 
 How severe a mental struggle it may have 
 cost this good man to decide to advance me 
 a sum that must seem so large to a person 
 of his means, was not evident from his man- 
 ner ; and after reentering the house for a few 
 moments, he again appeared, got into the car- 
 riage with us, and directed that we be driven 
 to a bank. 
 
 While he was in the bank, my custodian 
 and I waited in a restaurant near. As we 
 ate, or pretended to eat, our borshtch — cab- 
 bage soup — the officer sought to convince me 
 that he was not a bad fellow. It was custom- 
 ary, he affirmed, for police officers to get 
 money in this manner. He even professed a 
 disinterested regard for my welfare, and 
 
214 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 asked that I write him if ever I reached a 
 place of safety. But I was content to bid 
 him a final farewell when our deal was closed. 
 
 Not many months later, the amount this 
 generous brother had lent to me was returned 
 to him, and I had the satisfaction of receiv- 
 ing acknowledgment of the payment. 
 
 I was little concerned as to how the spoils 
 were divided among the police officers, the 
 old exile, and the ostensibly benign and hon- 
 orable business man. I realized that not on 
 such as these, nor on such measures as they 
 employed, ought I to rely. I had subjected 
 myself to danger, loss, anxiety, and compro- 
 mise, in the attempt to get a passport, though 
 a passport would have been useless without 
 the special care of Him who had brought me 
 over thousands of miles without a passport. 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 A FUTILE ATTEMPT AT FLIGHT 
 
 IN harmony with the advice of friends, I 
 now engaged the Manchurian guide who 
 had been recommended to me, to go with 
 me by horseback to Mukden, about four hun- 
 dred miles south, not far from the boundary 
 line between Manchuria and China proper. 
 This young man could speak the Russian lan- 
 guage well enough to act as interpreter for 
 me, as well as guide, I having no knowledge 
 of Chinese. 
 
 Separated from Harbin by the railroad, is 
 the little Manchurian village of Fudziadzian. 
 There the Russian police had no jurisdiction; 
 and I made my way thither, that I might be 
 the safer while preparing to continue my 
 flight. I afterwards learned that the Rus- 
 sian police did not always let lack of author- 
 ity deter them from seizing one they wished 
 to make a prisoner. 
 
 To reach this village, I must pass through 
 a field where all sorts of offal had been 
 thrown, including dead bodies of animals and 
 even of human beings. There were open 
 sewers, and almost every conceivable source 
 
 (215) 
 
216 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 of vile odors, which were more in evidence 
 the nearer I came to the gate of the village. 
 
 My first business in the village was to visit 
 the horse market. I found it crowded with 
 dealers and customers, nearly all Manchuri- 
 ans. There was much bickering between the 
 two classes, the owners praising their animals, 
 and asking exorbitant prices for them, while 
 prospective buyers berated them, and offered 
 absurdly low prices. 
 
 When a dealer took the hand of a customer, 
 and drew over it his long sleeve, that meant 
 he was ready for business; and the price he 
 then fixed was the lowest he was likely to 
 accept. Any one who did not come to busi- 
 ness after clasping hands with a dealer, put 
 himself in great disfavor. 
 
 Adjacent to the market was a road where 
 horses could be tested before a deal was 
 closed. And there was need of testing them, 
 for all the tricks of the professional horse 
 trader were used to palm off worthless ani- 
 mals. Many of these animals had been 
 drugged to make them appear spirited and in 
 good flesh; some were balky, others vicious; 
 few were strong enough for the jaunt I had 
 in prospect. 
 
A FUTILE ATTEMPT AT FLIGHT 
 
 217 
 
 Negotiations were so protracted by the cir- 
 cumlocution necessary in dealing with the 
 owners, that I was obliged to spend three 
 days in selecting two horses, together with 
 saddles, riding whips, and feed, and getting 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 A Native of the Far Northern Province of Yakutsk 
 WITH His Saddle Pony 
 
 the required papers made out. Any one 
 found in Manchuria with a horse in his pos- 
 session for which he cannot show a deed duly 
 signed and witnessed, is liable to arrest as a 
 thief. 
 
 My guide took me to the home of a family 
 of his acquaintance, with whom I could stay 
 at reasonable cost until we were ready to start 
 
218 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 on our journey. My repugnance for every- 
 thing Asiatic, I here resolutely put aside, 
 knowing that contact with Manchurians on 
 the way would be unavoidable. 
 
 A young son of this family had worked 
 for a number of years on a steamer running 
 on the Sungari (Black) River from Harbin 
 to northern Siberia, and had learned to speak 
 Russian well enough to be understood. He 
 did me valuable service by drawing a map of 
 the route I was to take. 
 
 As the river was then frozen over, I could 
 cross on the ice, instead of having to face the 
 Russian guards at the bridges. My appar- 
 ently fruitless sojourn at Harbin had pre- 
 vented my beginning the journey before the 
 ice formed. 
 
 In starting on my way, I had to go through 
 old Harbin again; but coming from a Man- 
 churian town, in company with a Manchurian, 
 and being so bundled up as not to be readily 
 distinguishable from one of that race, I was 
 unnoticed by the police. Soon we were out 
 on the open highway, and started off on a 
 gallop. 
 
 The guide proved to be a poor horseman; 
 and before we were well under wav, his horse. 
 
A FUTILE ATTEMPT AT FLIGHT 219 
 
 being ill managed, fell into a ditch, laming 
 himself, hurting the rider, and dislodging the 
 
 In half an hour, we were once more in our 
 saddles. The roads were poor, but that did 
 not impress me as a serious handicap. 
 
 A short distance outside the city were sta- 
 tioned the last of the Russian guard. I 
 passed them without being accosted, doubtless 
 because they mistook me for a Manchurian. 
 I was beginning to feel jubilant at getting 
 away from Harbin; but my guide was not at 
 all jubilant. He lagged far behind; and when 
 I waited for him to overtake me, he dis- 
 mounted and led his horse. He complained 
 that he was suffering from the effect of his 
 fall, and that furthermore he was not dressed 
 warmly enough for such weather. I induced 
 him to remount, and we rode on for a little 
 while. 
 
 Again and again this performance was re- 
 peated, the fellow becoming continually more 
 spiritless. He talked of difficulties ahead — 
 uncertainty of securing feed for our horses 
 or food for ourselves, and what not; said he 
 was sick; and finally could not be prodded 
 any farther. 
 
220 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 What could I do? To go on alone with 
 the two horses was out of the question, and I 
 could ill afford to abandon one. Then, too, 
 to travel without guide or interpreter would 
 be to attract much attention in making pur- 
 chases and inquiring about the roads; and if 
 I had a horse to care for, there would be less 
 opportunity for concealment than if I had 
 none. 
 
 I determined to return to the horse market, 
 sell the animals, leave my baggage with 
 friends,* and start out afoot. 
 
 Though chagrined at the failure of my 
 recent efforts, I was not disheartened. 
 
 I reached Fudziadzian again without dif- 
 ficulty; but the sale of the horses and equip- 
 ment was not easily effected, and the amount 
 I received when I did sell them was much less 
 than I had paid. 
 
 After disposing of them, I ventured into 
 Harbin, to spend one more night with the 
 faithful friends there. Undeniably this was 
 a rash thing to do; but the encouragement 
 found in association with these good people, 
 outweighed the danger incurred. 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 AFOOT AND ALONE 
 
 "fTT^ALL and small" were on their feet 
 
 Jl early the next morning, and soon I 
 was ready for my pilgrimage. I dared not 
 encumber myself with heavy clothing, though 
 I knew that I should suffer from lack of such. 
 
 I carried a strong walking stick that a 
 young son of the family had provided for me 
 — a fortunate provision it proved to be — and 
 in my small traveling bag was some European 
 food to supplement the unpalatable Chinese 
 food I should purchase on the way. 
 
 As I was about to start, my hostess pro- 
 posed that I take with me a Chinese Testa- 
 ment that she had. I was very reluctant to 
 add so much weight to my luggage, but the 
 good woman insisted ; and I acquiesced, solely 
 in deference to her wishes. Erelong that vol- 
 ume served a purpose which neither she nor 
 I had foreseen. 
 
 Mukden was my intended destination. That 
 city was next after Harbin on the list given 
 me by the good man who had marked out for 
 me the seemingly reckless journey from the 
 Caucasus to America. It was also on the onlv 
 
 (221) 
 
222 
 
 ESCAM I^EOM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 practicable route for me to follow — if indeed 
 any route was practicable for a person in my 
 circumstances. 
 
 , The friends I was leaving could not express 
 any hope that I should ever see Mukden; for 
 the road led frequently across the railroad, 
 which was under Russian control, though on 
 Chinese territory, and was guarded by Rus- 
 sian soldiers. 
 
 I left a message to be sent to my parents in 
 case no word came from me inside of three 
 weeks, as a longer silence would indicate that 
 
 
 / 
 
 WTrti "^'^Tff [Lit" : liimi mtg 1 1 1 1 1 nil II ^'^iKai^l^l^^HI ^iH^^^BJi^ 
 
 A Makeshift Tent on the Russian Steppes 
 
AFOOT AND ALONE 223 
 
 I had been either captured or killed. Of the 
 two fates, I dreaded the latter least. But I 
 did not expect either. I set out assured that 
 I should yet accomplish what I was under- 
 taking. 
 
 On my horseback trip with the Manchurian 
 guide, I had learned the safest road by which 
 to leave the city, and I followed it "without 
 let or hindrance." The wind was icy cold. 
 My breath made a fringe of frost on my 
 camel's-hair skating cap, which was drawn 
 about my face, as a protection from both cold 
 and observation. 
 
 As the last of the Russian factory buildings 
 were disappearing from sight, I turned to 
 bid farewell to what had been to me a city of 
 perplexities. Then, as I hastened on, I saw 
 coming toward me a company of men who I 
 concluded were Russian soldiers. To elude 
 them, I turned off onto the prairie; and they 
 did not molest me. They may have supposed 
 me to be a Manchurian; or, like many of the 
 imperial Russian soldiers, ill fed and dissatis- 
 fied, themselves little better off than prisoners, 
 they may not have been averse to letting one 
 in similar plight better his condition if he 
 could do so. 
 
224 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 As I passed through the first village, the 
 inhabitants displayed much curiosity. It is 
 not improbable that they took for granted I 
 was a fugitive; for only a few days before, 
 several Russian soldiers had attempted to 
 escape from Harbin, but had been captured 
 not many miles away. 
 
 Snow was falling fast; and after leaving 
 the village, I could not clearly distinguish 
 the road. The nearness of the railroad was 
 evidence that I was not far out of the way; 
 but otherwise I should have preferred that 
 the railroad had not been so near, because of 
 the likelihood of encountering some of the 
 guards. 
 
 Presently, turning my face to one side to 
 avoid the cutting wind, I saw a Manchurian 
 coming behind me. He was not particularly 
 prepossessing, being bleary-eyed, like many 
 of the Manchurians, as a result of the smoke 
 from their open fires. But I was glad of the 
 prospect of being with some one who knew 
 the road, and he seemed equally pleased to 
 have company. He could speak a few words 
 of Russian; and these, augmented by signs, 
 enabled us to carry on a fragmentary con- 
 versation. 
 
AFOOT AND ALONE 225 
 
 Soon the man signified that he was going 
 to take a footpath that branched off from the 
 road. I asked what town lay in that direction; 
 and he replied, Shwang-chang-puo. When I 
 told him I was going to the same place, he 
 took me by the arm, and drew me out of the 
 road, making me understand that the trail 
 over the prairie was preferable, being more 
 direct. Certainly it was more desirable for 
 me, in that it was farther from the railway. 
 
 On the highway, we often met caravans of 
 Manchurian carts, with solid wooden wheels, 
 each cart drawn by four to eight mules. They 
 were hauling beans, millet, peanuts, and other 
 foodstuffs to the railway for shipment. 
 
 In a Manchurian village, one meets more 
 dogs than human beings. The dogs are a 
 hungry looking lot; and with a few bits of 
 bread, a stranger can often, though not al- 
 ways, make friends of a host of them. 
 
 In the towns that we passed through, I ob- 
 served bright-colored paper ornaments in 
 front of some of the buildings. My traveling 
 companion informed me that these buildings 
 were inns. I was soon to become more fa- 
 miliar with such places than was agreeable. 
 About the middle of the afternoon, being 
 
 15 
 
226 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 chilled and hungry, we stopped at one of 
 them, and called for a warm drink. The 
 proprietor replied that he had none, nor did 
 he have much food to offer, except roasted 
 peanuts and a sort of bean paste; but these, 
 with bread from my bag, made a fairly satis- 
 factory lunch. 
 
 A score or so of villagers who sat about the 
 place, inquired of my fellow traveler whether 
 I was a runaway soldier. They examined 
 me closely, even feeling of my clothing, but 
 exhibited no ill will. 
 
 Cold as we had been out in the wind, we 
 were colder in the inn; and after our lunch, 
 we traveled on. My good comrade could not 
 keep up with my accustomed pace, possibly 
 in part because his Chinese shoes were not 
 well adapted to walking. However, he knew 
 the country well, and often led me on short 
 cuts across the fields and through some of the 
 numerous little cemeteries, thus saving me 
 many milejs of travel. 
 
 Twilight overtook us in a heavy snow- 
 storm, which so hid the road that soon we 
 lost it utterly. Still I urged the Manchurian 
 along, even though we did not know where we 
 were going; for there was no shelter in sight, 
 
H 
 W 
 
 o 
 
 > 
 
 I— I 
 o 
 
 I 
 
 O 
 
 \4 
 
 N 
 Eh 
 
 o 
 (^ 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 (227) 
 
228 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 and thinly clad as I was, I should have per- 
 ished if I had not kept moving briskly. 
 
 Taking the course of least resistance, we let 
 the storm drive us. In a short time, we came 
 to a small clump of trees, among which were 
 a few graves with rude stone monuments. 
 Shielded from the storm by trees and monu- 
 ments, we rested there for a little while, and 
 tried to make out the directions. Then we 
 staggered ahead. 
 
 After about half an hour, we came upon a 
 road. We did not know whether it led in the 
 way we should go; but we followed it, and 
 before we had gone far, it brought us to a 
 little village. We did not seek lodging there, 
 for we felt impelled to push on. The one 
 thing we wanted was, to learn the route. We 
 met a young man on the deserted streets, and 
 of him we made inquiry. He graciously went 
 with us some distance, then gave us the in- 
 struction we needed. 
 
 We went some miles farther, when, through 
 the darkness and the storm, the outlines of a 
 building took form before us, only a few yards 
 away. It was an unwelcome sight; for I rec- 
 ognized the structure as the barracks of a 
 Russian railway guard. A soldier passed 
 
AFOOT AND ALONE 229 
 
 within reach of my hand. Happily, the night 
 and the snow rendered me indistinguishable 
 from an Asiatic. 
 
 Not long afterwards, we reached a small 
 settlement, and we thought best to stay there 
 for the night. Each house was inclosed by a 
 mud wall eight or nine feet high. We sought 
 to enter one of the yards, but the gate was 
 locked. Another and another were the same. 
 At last, we found one that was unlocked; but 
 according to Manchurian usage, we must not 
 approach within about two rods of the house 
 unbidden. My guide called to the inmates, 
 making known our desire to find lodgings. 
 A voice from within replied that there was no 
 room for us there. 
 
 We went outside the wall again. After a 
 time, a cart came in sight, drawn by several 
 mules. This we followed, and in its wake, 
 gained entrance to an inn. The proprietor 
 protested that his house was already full; but 
 eventually we persuaded him to make room 
 for us. 
 
 The inn, like most of the country houses, 
 was built of bamboo, and plastered with mud. 
 The window panes were of paper. For some 
 minutes after entering, I could hardly breathe, 
 
230 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 because of the smoke from the big kettle that 
 answered as a stove, and from the pipes of the 
 occupants of the room. These pipes were 
 made of bamboo, with clay bowls, and varied 
 in length from less than a foot to more than 
 two feet. 
 
 Place was assigned us on the platform that 
 must do duty as table, chairs, and beds for the 
 entire company. Soon the cook appeared, 
 and prepared over the fire something akin to 
 noodles, afterwards serving it in small bowls. 
 Cook, food, and dishes all looked very un- 
 clean; but I had had no warm food since 
 morning, and my vigorous boyish appetite 
 still stayed by me. So, sitting cross-legged, 
 like the Manchurians, I made my first attempt 
 to manipulate a pair of chopsticks — thus af- 
 fording considerable entertainment for the 
 spectators. 
 
 Weariness and the warmth of the room 
 made me feel disposed to sleep; but my suc- 
 cess in that direction was not enhanced by the 
 chatter of the other guests, nor by the thinness 
 of the rush mat which was all that modified 
 the hardness of the clay platform. More- 
 over, I was too chilled to sleep. My thought- 
 ful guide, observing my restlessness, asked 
 
AFOOT AND ALONE 231 
 
 our host for a blanket for me; and a piece of 
 an old bed comfort was brought. It gave 
 inadequate protection from the cold drafts 
 that came through the crevices in the walls; 
 yet in time I fell asleep. 
 
 It must have been. about three o'clock the 
 next morning when I awoke because of the 
 cold. We arose, paid the innkeeper the few 
 cents charged for our supper and lodging, and 
 took our leave. We hoped to reach Shwang- 
 chang-puo before the next night. 
 
 The storm had abated, though there was 
 still a strong wind. The moon looked down 
 full-faced on the snow-covered region. Its 
 light was sufficient to guide us, but the snow 
 hid the road. 
 
 The wind went through my clothes as if 
 they had been gauze. I soon became almost 
 numb from cold. To combat it, we ran. 
 From my eyes, smarting from the effects of 
 the smoke at the inn, tears streamed down my 
 cheeks, and froze there. 
 
 The conditions truly were not exhilarating; 
 but I asked the pitying Father for courage 
 and strength, and thanked Him for the kindly 
 guide He had sent me, without whom I should 
 have been much worse off. 
 
232 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 As we hurried along over the creaking 
 snow, I learned from my fellow pedestrian a 
 few Manchurian words, and this little knowl- 
 edge was afterwards very useful. 
 
 After some hours, our road crossed the 
 Russian railway, near barracks; but presum- 
 ably the guard saw in us only two natives, 
 for we passed unchallenged — except for the 
 dogs, which followed us a long way. 
 
 As they turned back, we saw ahead of us a 
 wayside shrine, which denoted the probable 
 proximity of a village. Within the shrine was 
 a dish of rice intended for the spirits that were 
 supposed to sojourn there, but appropriated 
 by the birds. The religion of the Manchuri- 
 ans has to do principally with evading evil 
 spirits, and appeasing those which cannot be 
 evaded. 
 
 In the village not far beyond, we stopped 
 at an inn to rest and warm ourselves. The 
 inmates were too intent on their smoking, or 
 too stupid, to heed our coming or going; and 
 I was relieved at being unobserved. 
 
 I was more relieved when, later in the day, 
 we came in sight of Shwang-chang-puo ; for 
 traveling was becoming very difficult, my 
 muscles being stiff and sore. 
 
(233) 
 

 234 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 To reach the city gate, we had to pass 
 around a long wall. The shelter of this wall 
 was most welcome. 
 
 Compared with other Manchurian towns 
 I had seen, this one seemed ancient, but neat 
 and orderly. 
 
 It lies near the Russian railway. Soon 
 after entering it, I saw a European on the 
 street ; but as he apparently did not notice me, 
 I felt little misgiving on his account. Later 
 I espied a Russian soldier, and this was 
 enough to admonish me that I should exercise 
 caution about being seen. 
 
 We went into a small eating booth, where 
 the warmth was most gratifying to our be- 
 numbed bodies. What my palate said to the 
 unaccustomed foods, I could not hear, because 
 of the louder cries of hunger. 
 
 Before I left Harbin, some of my friends 
 there told me that in Shwang-chang-puo there 
 was a native evangelist of our faith, who 
 spoke a little Russian. I had taken his ad- 
 dress, thinking he might help me to plan for 
 the remainder of the journey. But in that 
 strange Oriental city, how could I search out 
 any one, without making myself dangerously 
 conspicuous ? 
 
AFOOT AND ALONE 235 
 
 I decided to continue my journey; and my 
 volunteer guide declared his intention to go 
 along, although his only motive, so far as I 
 could learn, was the purely unselfish one of 
 looking after my welfare. 
 
 We started toward the south gate. Though 
 we could converse but little, yet we smiled 
 encouragement at each other; and I needed 
 encouragement, for I was nearly exhausted. 
 
 As we were passing the last compound in- 
 side the wall, the guide excitedly caught hold 
 of me, and pointing to the gateway, ex- 
 claimed, ''Yesua, Yesua!" Then he pulled 
 me into the yard, where there were several 
 natives. Their bearing was genial, and the 
 premises were exceptionally clean. 
 
 This was a Christian mission. My guide 
 had discovered the fact by the sign over the 
 gateway; and his exclamation "Yesua" was 
 an attempt to speak the name ''Jesus." The 
 native evangelists here knew the one I had 
 wished to find, and they directed us to his 
 home. Half an hour's walk, with some in- 
 quiry by the way, brought us to the house. 
 
 A middle-aged man of amiable appearance, 
 with his wife, welcomed us. Portraits that 
 had bjeen given to me in Harbin, of some of 
 
236 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 our missionaries in China, were an indication, 
 to this good couple, that I had been associated 
 with our people; and they appeared as happy 
 to have me in their home, as I was to be in 
 so hospitable a place. 
 
 My guide, seeing that I was now among 
 friends, essayed to leave; but he was not per- 
 mitted to go until he had received all due 
 courtesies. 
 
 My host and hostess had been but a few 
 years out of heathenism; yet the contrast be- 
 tween them and the non- Christians about 
 them, was very marked. The little group of 
 converts they had gathered, also gave proof 
 of a marvelous transformation of character. 
 
 In our training school that this evangelist 
 and his wife had attended, the students were 
 not taught European customs in lieu of Ori- 
 ental, except in so far as the latter were ob- 
 jectionable. Consequently the house in which 
 I found myself a guest was not unlike those 
 about it, except for its cleanliness. 
 
 The same was true of the food and clothing 
 of the family. The staple articles of diet were 
 millet, cabbage, and peanuts. To make the 
 food palatable for myself, I was obliged to 
 add salt, much to the amusement of the house- 
 
(237) 
 
238 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 hold. The Manchurians, instead of salting 
 their food in general, eat with it very salty 
 cabbage. 
 
 My host and some of his friends seemed 
 delighted with a chalk talk that I gave them, 
 the former translating to those who did not 
 understand any language I could speak. My 
 singing also evidently pleased them. I could 
 not pretend to an equal enjoyment of the 
 dirge-like Manchurian music, all of which 
 sounded alike to me, whether the occasion 
 was a funeral or a wedding. 
 
 I applied myself to the study of Chinese, 
 in order that I might better make my wants 
 known when I should resume my journey. 
 
 The evangelist begged that I remain with 
 him, learn the language, and do evangelistic 
 work among the people. This proposition 
 was not without appeal to me; but I knew 
 that even my brief stay there was hazardous, 
 for though I was in Chinese territory, any of 
 the numerous Russian soldiers seen on the 
 streets would not on that account hesitate to 
 seize me, should they have a hint of my 
 identity. 
 
 After a few days' recuperation, I started 
 out once more on my perilous trip. My host 
 
AFOOT AND ALONE 239 
 
 proposed to accompany me a day's walk, to a 
 village where some people lived who were 
 studying the Bible with him. 
 
 In going through the city, I met, near the 
 gate of the government building, my recent 
 guide. He wore a uniform, having obtained 
 a civil service commission. Though he could 
 not well go with me now, he manifested the 
 same brotherly interest in me as before. 
 
 The evangelist and I, after a walk of some 
 twelve miles, reached the tiny village that 
 we had set out for. Manchuria is much less 
 densely populated than China proper, and its 
 villages are fewer and smaller. The popula- 
 tion of the one to which we were going was 
 made up almost wholly of the various branches 
 of one well-to-do family. They were con- 
 verts of an evangelical church; and though 
 they were not so well instructed as those I 
 had just left, still their homes were a tribute 
 to the work of Christian missions. 
 
 I shall perhaps not be criticized for assert- 
 ing that the converts of our own missions give 
 greater evidence of the transforming power of 
 the gospel, than do those of any other mis- 
 sions I have visited — and I have visited those 
 of many different churches. 
 
240 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 We were received cordially by the villagers, 
 and later Avere requested to conduct an eve- 
 ning service. Again I resorted to the use of 
 crayon sketches to atone for my inability to 
 speak the language. This manner of teach- 
 ing quite captivated the little audience, and 
 they too would fain have had me take up my 
 permanent residence in Manchuria and teach 
 the gospel. 
 
 In truth, what I saw, during this journey, 
 of the influence of Christianity among heathen 
 people, fully convinced me that foreign mis- 
 sion work is worthy the best efforts of any 
 young man. The world offers nothing to 
 surpass it. 
 
 The patriarch of the little clan made us his 
 guests for the night, and all the men of the 
 settlement came and slept with us. That was 
 in accordance with their ideas of social ethics. 
 
 The morning was creeping over the wall 
 of the compound when I bade them adieu, and 
 once more started out, staff in hand. The 
 evangelist walked a little distance with me, 
 then I went on — alone. The full meaning 
 of that word "alone" is not easily learned. 
 
 In less than two hours, I had lost the road ; 
 but I found it again after a time. Then I 
 
(241) 
 
 16 
 
242 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 discovered that I was too close to the railway, 
 and must quickly take a different route. 
 
 This program was often repeated. The map 
 made for me by the young man at whose home 
 I stayed while preparing for the journey, was 
 of much benefit to me, but it did not contain 
 sufficient details; and when I endeavored to 
 obtain information of Manchurians along the 
 way, not only was I hampered by ignorance 
 of their language, but some apparently found 
 malicious pleasure in giving misinformation. 
 
 But though I often missed my way, I 
 seemed never to miss any of the dogs. They 
 assailed me in droves. In such cases, I plied 
 my walking stick with good effect. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 ENCOUNTERING RUSSIAN 
 GUARDS 
 
 REAOHING a village late in the eve- 
 ning, cold and tired, I was besieged, in 
 the inn, by a curious crowd, who felt my 
 clothes, my pockets, and my traveling bag. 
 Some spoke a few words of Russian, and they 
 began to question me. They gave me no 
 opportunity to sleep. 
 
 Then I thought of the Chinese New Testa- 
 ment that I had unwillingly put into my bag 
 at Harbin. I learned that some of the men 
 could read, and I asked one to read aloud to 
 the company. Soon he had attentive listen- 
 ers. I have seldom witnessed more reverential 
 attention to the Scriptures, in any land. 
 
 Notice being thus diverted from me, I lay 
 down on the brick bed, made a pillow of my 
 shoes, and with no covers, tried to sleep. 
 
 Repeatedly thereafter, in other villages, I 
 employed this device to get a little rest. And 
 I needed the rest, for I walked many miles 
 each day. 
 
 In shunning roads near the railway, more 
 than once I paid for my caution by being 
 
 (243) 
 
244 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 obliged to "back track." Often I climbed 
 hills to get a view of the roads. Sometimes I 
 could find no cue to the route, and could only 
 pray Heaven to lead, and blindly wander on. 
 And verily Heaven heard. 
 
 The increasing cold, though it added to my 
 discomfort, was an advantage to me, in that 
 it caused ice to form thicker on the rivers ; and 
 now I could cross on the ice without fear of 
 its breaking, and thus could keep clear of the 
 bridges, with their Russian guards. 
 
 Sometimes, in crossing thus, I had difficulty 
 in scaling the bluffs on the farther side. Nor 
 did I escape the Russian soldiers altogether. 
 In a little village that I came to at one time 
 as I left the river, one of these dreaded rep- 
 resentatives of the despotism from which I 
 was fleeing, caught sight of me. 
 
 I went into an eating house, knowing that 
 Russian soldiers in uniform were prohibited 
 from entering Manchurian buildings. He 
 stopped at the doorway, and ordered food 
 brought to him. Would he wait there to catch 
 me as I left the place? 
 
 I ate with relish the dumplings served for 
 me, notwithstanding the prospect awaiting 
 me outside, and the smoke and dirt within. 
 
ENCOUNTERING RUSSIAN GUARDS 245 
 
 My meal finished, I ventured on the street 
 again, but saw no more of the soldier. 
 
 My feet had become so sore from walking, 
 that I could hardly spur myself on. More- 
 over, not far outside the village, I found 
 myself almost completely shut in by swamps 
 and high bluffs. The only way I could proceed 
 was by a long bridge, at the farther end of 
 which was a Russian military post. Retreat 
 would give no assurance of safety, and would 
 be most disheartening. I decided to go ahead. 
 
 With feigned nonchalance, I started toward 
 the bridge, taking the precaution to draw my 
 knit cap close about my face. The natives 
 gazed at me in obvious astonishment, rightly 
 surmising, no doubt, that I was a fugitive, 
 and marveling that I should walk into the 
 very arms of my captors. 
 
 I met only one soldier, and he merely 
 glanced carelessly at me as I passed. Thus 
 I went on unhindered. 
 
 This escape from what had seemed like 
 inevitable capture, gave me new hopefulness; 
 and despite the crippled condition of my feet, 
 I hastened forward. 
 
 According to my map, the next city was not 
 so far but I might possibly reach it that night ; 
 
246 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 and the cities furnished more secure hiding 
 places than did the small villages. But as 
 darkness began to steal over the snowy fields, 
 and the city was not yet in sight, I knew that 
 I could not see to keep the road much longer. 
 Then I determined to follow the railroad; for 
 as I had so lately passed a military post, 
 there would not be another for some miles. 
 
 Natives warned me not to stay out after 
 dark, for fear of bandits. Still I went on. 
 
 Out of the darkness came sounds as from 
 a human abode. There were lights also. I 
 went toward them, but my advance was soon 
 blocked by a wall. I hunted for a gateway, 
 and found one, but it was closed and locked. 
 Likewise another and still another. Finallv 
 I came to one that opened to an inn, and 
 there I entered. 
 
 Before I had begun to eat the typical Man- 
 churian supper that was put before me, the 
 news had spread that a European was in the 
 inn. Men and boys flocked into the dingy 
 room, and pressed about me. But by that 
 time, I had become accustomed to such a 
 performance; and in spite of it, I slept. 
 
 When I awoke, the air of the room was suf- 
 focating. My head ached, and my eyes were 
 
ENCOUNTERING RUSSIAN GUARDS 247 
 
 inflamed by the smoke. Cattle had been 
 brought into the room, that they might be 
 protected from the cold, and to add to the 
 warmth of the inmates. 
 
 To get away from these surroundings, I 
 started out into the night, though my feet 
 were so sore and my joints so stiff that I 
 could not make my usual headway. Nor could 
 I see the road; but by means of my staff, I 
 felt my way along the railroad. 
 
 The figure of a human being emerged from 
 the darkness. I was certain that he was a 
 guard; but the darkness, though it did not 
 conceal me, did conceal my race, and I was 
 permitted to pass. 
 
 Then a horseman was heard near. It is not 
 improbable that he was a member of a band 
 of Mongolian marauders. But again I was 
 unmolested. 
 
 At dawn, a fog enveloped the country. 
 Seeing only a few feet ahead of me, I came 
 unexpectedly upon a barrack. Several dogs 
 rushed out, snarling ominously. Fearing not 
 so much the dogs as the soldiers, I beat ahead 
 as fast as I could; but the brutes kept after 
 me. I still think with regret of the walking 
 stick I broke in pieces on them. 
 
248 
 
 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 Before the soldiers located the din of the 
 dogs, I had contrived to get away, and was 
 hidden by the fog. Thus the same fog that 
 had betrayed me into danger, delivered me 
 from it. 
 
 In about an hour, I was at the gate of the 
 city. People were coming out to their work 
 in the fields. With them were mules, don- 
 keys, water buffaloes, cows, goats, sheep, and 
 dogs. It was a satisfaction, after my solitary 
 night walk, to see human beings again. 
 
 A Mongolian Plainsman 
 
 He may almost be said to spend his life on the back 
 of his horse. 
 
ENCOUNTERING RUSSIAN GUARDS 249 
 
 Our evangelist at Shwang-chang-puo had 
 given me the address of a Christian shop- 
 keeper in this city, and I readily located him. 
 When I mentioned the evangelist to him, his 
 face expressed genuine pleasure, and he re- 
 ceived me with a cordiality that was both 
 Oriental and Christian. 
 
 I was taken to a guest room that was in 
 strong contrast to the inns at which I had 
 stopped. Instead of straw mats, there were 
 beautiful carpets. The raised platform was 
 provided with bedding, which was rolled back 
 against the wall in the daytime. The prem- 
 ises entire were marked by the neatness that 
 invariably distinguishes the homes of Chris- 
 tians from those of the heathen. 
 
 After a few hours' rest, I started out again, 
 edging my way through streets teeming with 
 buffalo and mule carts, and with men smok- 
 ing long pipes. 
 
 The next day, the road again led across 
 the railway. I saw no way of avoiding it ; for 
 in all other directions, high hills closed me in. 
 
 Two Russian soldiers accosted me, demand- 
 ing my passport. As I had none, they talked 
 together as to what was to be done with me. 
 It was suggested that perhaps I was a run- 
 
-y. 
 
 250 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 away soldier. They themselves were experi- 
 encing the hardships of a soldier's life under 
 the rule of the czar, and they may have had 
 a fellow feeling for one whom they supposed 
 to be fleeing from such a life. Whatever their 
 reason, they signaled me to pass on. 
 
 To what influence, natural or supernatural, 
 I owe my deliverance from dangers through- 
 out that journey of several thousand miles, I 
 am willing the reader shall judge. 
 
 More and more my aching feet protested 
 against going farther. I wrapped them in 
 cloths, and tried to keep up my daily mileage ; 
 but I could not now make more than fifteen 
 or twenty miles a day. 
 
 Once a Manchurian invited me to ride in 
 his cart, and I did so; but it jolted so vio- 
 lently, because of the irregularities in the huge 
 wooden wheels, that I was not sorry when our 
 routes diverged, and I must again walk. 
 
 Many hundred miles still lay between me 
 and Shanghai, the last milepost on the trans- 
 Asiatic journey mapped out for me. Yet, 
 most of the time, I felt confident that I should 
 ultimately reach it. 
 
 One morning, after traveling several miles 
 before sunrise, I came to a town where there 
 
ENCOUNTERING RUSSIAN GUARDS 251 
 
 was a Christian mission, as I had been told by 
 the Christian merchant whose guest I had 
 been some days before; but there was little 
 ground for thinking that I could find it. 
 
 I went into an inn — a comparatively clean 
 one; and as many of the guests of the night 
 before had already gone, I hoped to have 
 better opportunity to rest than ordinarily. 
 But the heat of the room, after the severe cold 
 outside, caused a painful prickling of my 
 flesh. Then, too, I was alternately feverish 
 and chilly. 
 
 A Manchurian who was in the room, seemed 
 very benevolently disposed, and did what he 
 could for my comfort. I endeavored to tell 
 him of my quest for the mission; but my very 
 limited vocabulary apparently did not suffice 
 to make me understood. 
 
 The man left the inn. Soon afterwards he 
 came back ; and beckoning me to go with him, 
 he took me to a mission building where two 
 young natives were in charge, who I learned 
 were Catholics. They were very amiable. I 
 ate with them the most appetizing meal I had 
 eaten in Manchuria. 
 
 The head teacher spoke some English; and 
 in the course of our conversation, he told me 
 
252 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 that his assistant, though his services were of 
 much value, appeared to be unable to give up 
 the use of intoxicants. The converts of the 
 Catholic missions, in some instances, use in- 
 toxicants more than do the heathen. Yet I 
 could but acknowledge the good effect of their 
 teaching in the line of neatness. 
 
 This head teacher's knowledge of English 
 enabled him to give me more information in 
 reference to my route than any one else I 
 had met. He told me that the next town on 
 the railway was a Russian military fortifica- 
 tion. Hence I knew that there was need of 
 being most discreet. 
 
 As I was leaving the mission, a heavy cart 
 drawn by five horses came along. Accepting 
 this as a guide, I followed it till I reached a 
 place where the road had been flooded, and a 
 wide field of ice spread before us. The cart 
 then turned to the north. As my route lay 
 in general to the south, I kept on across the 
 ice. Footprints showed that others had gone 
 that way before me. 
 
 Having crossed the ice and climbed the 
 bank beyond, I found a great stretch of sand. 
 There was no trail, walking was difficult, no 
 sign of a shelter could be seen, and night was 
 
ENCOUNTERING RUSSIAN GUARDS 
 
 253 
 
 not far away. The hills beyond were covered 
 with a network of brush and roots of fallen 
 trees, which signified that all this space was 
 under water when the river was high. 
 
 I struck off to the northwest, to get away 
 from the sand wasteland after some time, I 
 
 One of the Scenes of Greatest Danger 
 
 came to a road that I thought might be the 
 one I should take. Then on ahead I caught 
 sight of the cart that I had followed from the 
 city. Again I trudged along in its wake. 
 
 We were now going toward the west, 
 whereas I should go south; but to the south 
 was a high bridge, and I dared not go near 
 it, because of its Russian guard. 
 
'-^ 
 
 254 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 Continuing to the west, I crossed the river 
 on the ice, and took the road that wound up 
 the steep bank on the other side. Presently 
 I came upon a little village in a nook of the 
 hills. Shielded as it was from the cold wind, 
 it was a real bit of summerland. Men were 
 threshing grain by driving horses over it. 
 The scene was an attractive one, except for 
 the hogs and the dirt — both prominent fea- 
 tures of Manchurian life. 
 
 This was the end of the road. What should 
 I do now? I had gained but little ground all 
 the afternoon, and I did not want to go back 
 over the route I had been traveling. I started 
 across the fields, hoping to reach a road that 
 would lead in the direction I ought to go. 
 
 Without warning, I found myself at the 
 edge of an old Russian fort. Hot and cold 
 chased each other up and down my spine. 
 The fort evidently had been abandoned; but 
 not far away I could see a garrison of sol- 
 diers, and they could see me if they should 
 glance that way, though probably they could 
 not see that I was a European. 
 
 I scrambled down a steep bank on the 
 farther side, and came out on a road. There 
 I overtook an old man, and of him I inquired 
 
A Village Priest 
 
 He ekes out his small income by tilling his small 
 piece of ground. 
 
 (255) 
 
256 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 the way to the next city. He pointed for- 
 ward; and I pushed on, to find a place to 
 stay that night. Ahead of us I could see 
 some men driving mules loaded with brush, 
 and soon I caught up with them. My lacer- 
 ated feet and tired muscles rebelled against 
 being driven any farther; but I rallied all 
 my reserve energy, and hastened along the 
 darkening road. 
 
 After a time, I came up with a caravan of 
 Manchurians taking produce to market. I 
 thought best to join them, in order to get 
 entrance to the city when we should reach it; 
 and they raised no objection. I chafed at 
 the slowness of their gait, yet I did not think 
 that I should do well to go on alone. 
 
 We met a company of Manchurian sol- 
 diers; but I was not in the danger from them 
 that I was from Russian soldiers. 
 
 Over hills and through valleys we went, 
 and finally, rounding a hill late at night, came 
 into a town. I helped the men of the cara- 
 van to put up their horses, then went with 
 them to a long, barn-like building where they 
 were to spend the night. 
 
 There was a Manchurian military training 
 camp in this town, and many of the soldiers 
 
ENCOUNTERING RUSSIAN GUARDS 257 
 
 were in the inn gambling. They were quite 
 friendly; but their very friendliness was 
 wearisome, for I greatly needed rest. I took 
 from my bag my Chinese New Testament, 
 and asked one of the company to read aloud. 
 This he did, while the others listened intently 
 — and I slept. 
 
 Before another dawn, I was again on the 
 road. About noon, I must cross the Russian 
 railway, not far from a military post; and I 
 could see that a little way ahead, the road, 
 winding about, again crossed the track, this 
 time close to the barracks. I stopped at a 
 country inn to consider what to do. Even 
 there I was not safe, as soldiers from the post 
 were likely to be about. 
 
 There was no way for me to go except 
 ahead, and ahead I went. As I approached 
 the crossing, I saw that an officer and a civil- 
 ian were on guard. The former halted me, 
 and asked where I was going. 
 
 Instantly the thought came to me that I 
 should appear unafraid, but make no reply. 
 The officer then told the civilian to repeat 
 the question in German, and he did so. Still 
 1 was silent, though I understood him per- 
 fectly. 
 
 17 
 
258 
 
 ESCAPE mOM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 Next the interpreter spoke in English — 
 very poor English, however. I replied, in 
 English, that I was an evangelist, and had 
 been visiting a mission station, and was now 
 on my way to the next town. This was all 
 true, though it was not the whole truth. 
 
 I suspect that the interpreter did not un- 
 derstand English well enough to know what 
 I had said, but disliked to confess his ig- 
 norance to his superior. He recited to him, 
 in Russian, an absurd story about my having 
 been sent on a tour of inspection of some sort. 
 
 A Small Portion 
 OF THE Nizhni Novgorod Fair 
 
 The diversity of goods offered for sale at this great fair, 
 formerly held annually, gave it widespread fame. 
 
ENCOUNTERING RUSSIAN GUARDS 259 
 
 The audacity of the fiction and the per- 
 plexity of the officer so diverted my mind 
 that I almost forgot, for the moment, the 
 peril of my situation; and doubtless my un- 
 concerned manner had to do with convincing 
 the guard that I had all due authority back 
 of me. I must have looked more like a hobo 
 than like any sort of inspector. 
 
 The guard seemed not to think of asking 
 for proof of my commission, or even for my 
 passport. After a few moments' hesitancy, 
 he gave me leave to go on — and I did not 
 need to be urged. 
 
 To some, this might seem like a mere novel 
 adventure; but it was much more than that 
 to me. My freedom and even my life were 
 at stake ; and when the incident was over, and 
 I realized what a position I had been in, I 
 was so overwhelmed I could scarcely stand. 
 
 As I passed through the next village, an 
 innkeeper hailed me, remarking that the sun 
 was already setting. But I went on. Dogs 
 attacked me in such numbers and so viciously 
 that I almost used up my second walking 
 stick on them. 
 
 Walking was torture to my bleeding feet, 
 and I knew that I could not keep up much 
 
260 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 longer. Still I was resolved not to stop until 
 I had passed Kwanchengtze, the terminus of 
 the Russian railway, which I was sure must 
 be a place of special danger, because of the 
 strong guard stationed there. A few miles 
 beyond that was Changchun, where the Japa- 
 nese railway begins. 
 
 The beauty of the night was an inspiration. 
 I lost all trace of the road, but kept the gen- 
 eral direction by the aid of the stars. 
 
 Down deep ravines, across marshes, and 
 through bamboo thickets, I struggled on. I 
 heard dogs barking, and shots fired. Whence 
 these sounds came, or whether they had to 
 do with me, I did not know. One thought 
 dominated my mind — Changchun. I did not 
 have strength to think of anything else. 
 
 About midnight or later I came to higher 
 ground. The air was colder, the stars were 
 hidden, and a sleet beat in my face. I did not 
 know which way to go. Across the desert of 
 snow, I saw carts coming toward me. I 
 waited till they came along, and then, inquir- 
 ing of the drivers, learned that they were 
 going the same way I wished to go. For 
 hours I followed them along the winding 
 road. After the lights of the Russian rail- 
 
ENCOUNTERING RUSSIAN GUARDS 
 
 261 
 
 way terminal came in sight, the cartmen 
 turned off on another road; but I continued 
 toward the station. 
 
 I almost held my breath as I passed the 
 buildings, each moment expecting that a 
 watchman would step out from the shadows. 
 But I saw none; and at daybreak, I reached 
 the first station of the Japanese railway — 
 Changchun. 
 
 Knowing that the Japanese were allied 
 with the Russians, I kept away from their 
 part of the town, though it looked much more 
 
 
 n 
 
 ^^MK^ '^■■MaHMHMHI 
 
 1 
 
 
 ^^L i i^H^H 
 
 H 
 
 : 4 
 
 i 
 
 
 ^^^^__^^ ' 
 
 i^^l 
 
 m 
 
 
 Hl^^ i^5>sg--At-ai;» ♦> «v«^?f 
 
 '• 'ZsHBIIIiii^^li 
 
 HHI 
 
 A Chinese City Street 
 
262 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 inviting than the Manchurian section. I en- 
 tered an inn, in hope of finding a place to 
 rest; but it offered no such boon. 
 
 I had walked continuously for thirty hours, 
 and felt that I could go no farther. The 
 pain from the torn flesh of my feet was sick- 
 ening. In my extremity, I even contemplated 
 attempting to board a train for Mukden, al- 
 though that would have implied almost cer- 
 tain arrest. I went to the station, but found 
 that no train was to leave until late in the 
 evening. 
 
 Praying for guidance, again I sought a 
 place where I might rest. Suddenly my at- 
 tention was attracted by the sign, "British 
 and Foreign Bible Society." Those words 
 meant to me renewed hope. 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 A HAPPY TRANSITION 
 
 THE elderly Chinese in charge of the es- 
 tablishment could not understand what 
 I said to him; but he tried to make me com- 
 fortable. 
 
 Later a young man came in, who spoke a 
 little English; and when, with him to act as 
 interpreter, the older man learned that I 
 wished to find a quiet place to spend the 
 night, he mentioned an English mission in 
 the outskirts of the town, and volunteered to 
 take me there. Early in the evening, we set 
 out. It was about as much as 'I could do to 
 keep up with the nimble Oriental. 
 
 On reaching the mission, we learned that 
 the superintendent was absent; but an Eng- 
 lish gentlewoman welcomed me very gra- 
 ciously, and as supper was in readiness, I was 
 taken directly to the dining room. There I 
 was introduced to a guest, Mr. Morgan 
 Palmer, a man perhaps thirty-five or forty 
 years old. 
 
 As I thought best to give a brief account 
 of myself before accepting further hospital- 
 ity, I told, in few words, of my exile, my 
 
 (263) 
 
264 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 endeavor to reach America, and my need of 
 rest. Our hostess assured me that I was free 
 to remain where I was as long as I might 
 desire to do so. 
 
 Mr. Palmer was restless; and soon he rose 
 abruptly, came to me, seized me by the arm, 
 and announced that I must go with him. His 
 residence, he said, would be a more suitable 
 place for me, being less public. 
 
 Two horses — one of which he had ridden, 
 and a servant the other — stood at the door; 
 for he had been on the point of leaving some 
 minutes before I arrived, but had yielded 
 to an invitation to stay for supper. He af- 
 terwards expressed his conviction that the de- 
 lay was decreed by Providence. 
 
 Despite the remonstrances of our hostess, 
 he hurried me out of doors, designated which 
 horse I should mount, and we rode off. I did 
 not feel quite positive as to whether I was to 
 be taken to a retired place to rest, as rep- 
 resented, or landed again in a dungeon. 
 
 After a ride of some miles, we stopped in 
 front of a large gate. Guards stood at at- 
 tention on each side. Mr. Palmer remarked 
 that they were not ''black angels" — a term I 
 had used in speaking of the Russian prison 
 
A HAPPY TRANSITION 265 
 
 guards — but his private attendants. In the 
 compound, servants took our horses, and 
 waited upon us. 
 
 The house was an old Manchurian struc- 
 ture, not elegant, but interesting. My host 
 ordered a bath prepared for me, and some of 
 his own clothes substituted for my worn and 
 soiled ones. 
 
 After supper, I observed that servants were 
 improvising a small bed — for me, I sup- 
 posed; but instead, it was for Mr. Palmer, 
 and I was to occupy his bed. Protests availed 
 nothing. 
 
 My emotions were perhaps akin to those of 
 Sojourner Truth, who, on the first night after 
 her liberation from slavery, not once suppos- 
 ing that the ''beautiful, high, white bed" in 
 the room where she was put was intended for 
 her, crawled under the bed to sleep. 
 
 Mr. Palmer had been several years in 
 China. In the earlier of those years, he 
 taught in the Peking University; but he was 
 now inspector for the government salt ad- 
 ministration in the provinces of Kirin and 
 Heilung-chiang. The salt industry is a gov- 
 ernment monopoly, importation of that com- 
 modity being prohibited. 
 
■^%i 
 
 266 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 In the book ''A Thousand Miles of Miracle 
 in China," is told the part acted by this ener- 
 getic American in the rescue of missionaries 
 in the interior of China at the time of the 
 Boxer uprising. But these things I did not 
 learn till later. 
 
 The first night in that blissful haven, I 
 could sleep but little, so affected was I by 
 the change in my situation. I remained there 
 for a fortnight. My host went about his 
 business each day, leaving me to rest, read, 
 or do whatever I would; but the evenings we 
 spent together, and most congenially. 
 
 Still I knew that I was liable to capture 
 there, for Russians might at any time call at 
 the house, or my presence might in other ways 
 become known to the Russian consul. 
 
 One evening, Mr. Palmer, knowing that I 
 wished to reach Shanghai, suggested a plan 
 by which possibly I might accomplish the 
 journey. A hundred miles or so away, in the 
 city of Kirin, lived a German who was known 
 to have helped refugees to get from place to 
 place. Mr. Palmer proposed to send an at- 
 tendant with me to interview this man. As 
 we could reach the place by the Chinese rail- 
 way, a passport would not be required. 
 
A HAPPY TRANSITION 267 
 
 The next morning, my host accompanied 
 me to the Chinese railway station, and pur- 
 chased tickets for me and the servant who 
 was to go with me. The train was full, and 
 a howling crowd outside were trying to get 
 on board. We succeeded in getting standing 
 room, but many were not so fortunate. 
 
 Reaching Kirin, we took a carette to the 
 home of the man we sought. He was quite 
 affable. Because of my speaking the Ger- 
 man language, he apparently took for granted 
 that I was a German; and he explained that 
 he was connected with an organization whose 
 object it was to help fellow countrymen reach 
 the fatherland. He had funds at his disposal 
 for that purpose, and operated a sort of "un- 
 derground railway" across the hills, with buf- 
 falo carts as vehicles. He did not claim that 
 this method of travel was safe. Indeed, he 
 admitted that serious mishaps sometimes oc- 
 curred to persons traveling thus. 
 
 But a hitch in negotiations developed. 
 When the man learned that I did not expect 
 to go to Germany and join the German army, 
 he lost all interest in me. 
 
 I could only go back to Mr. Palmer's home 
 and seek to evolve another plan of operation. 
 
268 
 
 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 Mr. Palmer was disposed to write to our 
 missionaries in Mukden, in reference to my 
 future, and this he did. After that, he was 
 obliged to be away from home for a number 
 of days ; and at his suggestion, I took a horse- 
 back ride each evening during his absence, 
 attended by one of his servants, the darkness 
 shielding me from observation. Russian-like, 
 I might almost be said to have grown up on 
 a horse, and I gloried in that form of recrea- 
 tion. Thus I was recuperating strength while 
 awaiting developments. 
 
 Soon after my host's return, one of our 
 Mukden missionaries also arrived at the place, 
 
 Jumping the Rope 
 In Russia, only skilled horsemen are accounted as men. 
 
(269) 
 
v;^ 
 
 270 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 in response to the letter sent him. He was 
 on his way to Harbin, but designed to come 
 back; and it was arranged that he should 
 bring my baggage along. Then I was to go 
 with him to Mukden. 
 
 It was a real trial for me to bid good-by 
 to Mr. Palmer, and his regret at our parting 
 evidently was no less than mine. 
 
 In company with my latest-found friend, I 
 made the journey to Mukden by the Japa- 
 nese railway. At each large station, Japanese 
 officers eyed us quizzically, but each surprised 
 us by making no demand for passports. 
 
 I spent the Sabbath quietly at the mission. 
 Across the street was the Japanese consulate, 
 and my host was solicitous lest I should be 
 seen by some of the attaches. 
 
 The officers of the mission provided me with 
 funds, trusting to a satisfactory adjustment 
 later — which was duly effected; and thus 
 equipped, I took train on the Chinese railway 
 for Shanghai, four days distant. 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 A PRISONER OF WAR 
 
 ANEW sense of freedom came to me, as 
 I was no longer in momentary expec- 
 tation of a call for my passport. The jour- 
 ney was not unpleasant, the trains being 
 fairly clean. About one third of the passen- 
 gers were Europeans and Americans. 
 
 As we went farther south, the contrast with 
 Manchuria was marked. The population is 
 much more dense, and the Chinese people are 
 puny in comparison with the Manchurians. 
 
 On reaching Shanghai, I engaged one of 
 the rickshas that beset me, the coolie who 
 drew it pretending to know the address I 
 gave him; but he wandered about for hours 
 before he found our mission headquarters. 
 
 News of my coming had preceded me from 
 Mukden. Afterwards I learned that an ex- 
 perience with an impostor some time before, 
 had made our missionaries here skeptical 
 about the truthfulness of my representations; 
 but their bearing toward me gave no intima- 
 tion of their suspicions. 
 
 As I was sinking to sleep that night in a 
 room at the mission, there came to my ears 
 
 (271) 
 
272 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 the words of the following hymn, sung by one 
 of the residents of the mission compound: 
 
 "Be not dismayed, whatever betide; 
 God will take care of you. 
 Beneath His wings of love abide; 
 God will take care of you. 
 
 'Through days of toil, when heart doth fail, 
 
 God will take care of you. 
 When dangers fierce your path assail, 
 God will take care of you. 
 
 *'No matter what may be the test, 
 
 God will take care of you. 
 Lean, weary one, upon His breast; 
 God will take care of you." 
 
 There was but one more name on the list 
 of cities by which my route had been outlined 
 ere I fled from my home in the Caucasus. 
 That name was San Francisco. 
 
 Most of the steamers plying between San 
 Francisco and Shanghai carried the flag of 
 one of the allies of imperial Russia; and on 
 board such craft, I should be almost certain 
 to be rearrested. That would imply return to 
 exile — or death, which would be a less griev- 
 ous calamity. 
 
 In six weeks, however, a United States 
 steamer, the China, was scheduled to sail ; and 
 
A PRISONER OF WAR 273 
 
 I was assured that whatever might be the al- 
 liances of the United States, she would not 
 deliver up to a despotic power any person 
 whose only offense was that he worshiped 
 God "after the way which they call a sect." 
 Acts 24:14, A. R. V. 
 
 I waited the six weeks for the American 
 steamer. In the meantime, the activities of 
 the missionaries, and the marvelous results 
 seen, deeply interested me. Some of our mis- 
 sionaries urged- that I remain in China and 
 join them in their work. Others compre- 
 hended that I would not have there the gov- 
 ernment protection that I would have in 
 America. 
 
 Aside from the matter of personal safety, 
 there was another consideration that deterred 
 me from accepting the proposition to remain 
 in the Orient. That was the conviction that 
 I ought to complete the course indicated by 
 our venerable minister in the Caucasus, which 
 I had been enabled to follow thus far not- 
 withstanding seemingly impassable obstacles. 
 
 Yet mission effort in China appealed very 
 strongly to me. Surely there is nothing to 
 which the energy and ability of a young 
 person can better be directed. Just one 
 
 18 
 
274 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 thought restrams me from returning to that 
 country now, to devote my life to proclaim- 
 ing the gospel that has wrought so remark- 
 able a change in the lives of a few individuals 
 among China's millions. That one restraining 
 thought is — nearly two hundred million souls 
 in my own native Russia who are in the dark- 
 ness of Greek Catholicism, to whom I hope 
 soon to go with the message of salvation. 
 
 As the time drew near for me to leave 
 China, warning came from the American con- 
 sul, that I must take special precautions to 
 avoid observation when I should start for the 
 steamer, as the Russian consular agents would 
 be watching for deserters — with whom I 
 might be classed. 
 
 Accordingly, it was agreed that, instead of 
 going to the steamer station, whence a launch 
 took passengers to the vessel, several miles 
 out in the bay, I should go by railway to a 
 suburb, Woosung, and from that point by 
 motor boat to the vessel. 
 
 Some of our missionaries went with me to 
 the station where I was to take a train for 
 Woosung; and while waiting there, we all 
 noticed that a man was watching us. To de- 
 termine whether he was spying upon me, we 
 
o 
 
 m 
 
 w 
 o 
 
 o 
 o 
 
 GQ 
 
 (275) 
 

 276 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 left the station; and soon after, we saw him 
 on the street. We did not return to the sta- 
 tion until we had barely time to board the 
 train ; and thus we eluded the pseudo sleuth. 
 It was well for me that he was not an adept 
 at his business. 
 
 From Woosung, we hastened to the pro- 
 tection of the Stars and Stripes floating over 
 the steamer. Most of our missionaries at 
 headquarters came off to spend the evening 
 with me on board, as a warm friendship had 
 developed between us; and the occasion was 
 the happiest I had known for what seemed 
 to me like a long time. '"■- , 
 
 When I awoke next morning, Shanghai 
 was no longer in sight, and the China was 
 making good headway toward the land of 
 liberty. 
 
 At about eleven o'clock, a vessel was 
 sighted in the distance, approaching us; and 
 when it came near, a shot was fired from one 
 of its guns. As we did not stop, a shell fol- 
 lowed. Our captain, though he knew that no 
 craft had a right to intercept a United States 
 vessel thus, could only exercise the discretion 
 that is declared to be the greater part of 
 valor; for our pursuer was a man-of-war, fly- 
 
A PRISONER OF WAR 277 
 
 ing the Australian colors. A launch came 
 alongside, bringing soldiers from the man- 
 of-war; and these were stationed at various 
 places aboard the China. 
 
 The lieutenant in command of the launch 
 demanded our vessel's passenger list. The 
 captain demurred, but was compelled to yield. 
 All the men booked as Germans or Austrians 
 were put aboard the launch. Of all others, 
 proof of nationality was required. 
 
 I stated that I was a Russian; but as I 
 could produce no passport, I was lowered 
 into the launch, a prisoner of war, and taken 
 aboard the man-of-war. 
 
 I knew that the next move on the part of 
 my captors, so far as I was concerned, would 
 be to hand me over to Russia's representa- 
 tives at some port near; and that involved all 
 I had sought to escape by my flight. 
 
 Resolved to make all possible effort to save 
 myself from such a fate, I asked for an inter- 
 view with the commander of the warship. 
 This was granted; and I repeated my claim 
 to exemption from seizure, on the ground that 
 I was a Russian. The officer replied that he 
 would find out whether I was a Russian; 
 and he sent for one of his engineers, who was 
 of that nationality. 
 
278 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 My pronunciation, together with my fa- 
 miliarity with Russian geography and cus- 
 toms, quickly convinced the man that I had 
 spoken truthfully, and he so reported to the 
 commander. Thereupon the latter, jocosely 
 referring to my lack of a passport, ordered 
 that I be taken back to the China, where the 
 lieutenant still remained, and that my bag- 
 gage be searched, by way of further establish- 
 ing my status. 
 
 I remembered that there was at least one 
 article in my baggage which would help to 
 confirm my contention — the volume of Rus- 
 sian poems I had purchased at a bookstand 
 when crossing Siberia as a wounded soldier. 
 
 Again on board the American steamer, I 
 was delivered over to my captor, who com- 
 missioned some of his men to watch me till 
 my baggage should be examined. As a vent 
 for my agitation, I went to the piano in the 
 social hall, where a matronly woman was sit- 
 ting whom I had previously met; and with 
 her playing an accompaniment, I sang. 
 
 Glancing toward the doorway, my eyes met 
 those of the colonial lieutenant; but he turned 
 away, descended to his launch, and returned 
 to his ship. Again I was semi-free. 
 
(279) 
 

 280 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 This irregular procedure on the part of 
 the commander of the Australian man-of-war, 
 called forth fitting protest from the United 
 States military authorities, and the colonial 
 government made suitable amends, Ameri- 
 can newspapers at the time — ^ March and 
 April, 1916 — ^commented spiritedly on the 
 occurrence. 
 
 A quiet passage to Honolulu, where I spent 
 the day of waiting with missionaries to whom 
 1 had letters of introduction, then five more 
 days at sea, and we passed through the 
 Golden Gate — the gateway to freedom! 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 
 LIKE A DREAM 
 
 SOME of our people in Shanghai had 
 preannounced to friends in California 
 my arrival in San Francisco. Consequently, 
 when I left the dock in that city, I was not 
 alone in a strange land; for as I came off 
 the steamer, I was met by E. W. Farns- 
 worth, whose name and genial face are known 
 to many thousands of our people throughout 
 the United States. 
 
 He took me to his home in Oakland; but 
 the shock occasioned by my seizure on ship- 
 board, in addition to the deprivations and ex- 
 posure of preceding months, had left me in 
 such condition of health that after a few days, 
 it was thought best for me to go to the St. 
 Helena Sanitarium, up in the beautiful Napa 
 County hills. 
 
 But even there I was not in Paradise. Fel- 
 low patients and others apparently thought 
 to manifest their sympathy for me by asking 
 me to rehearse the experiences I had recently 
 passed through. I endeavored to put those 
 things out of my mind, for the mention or 
 thought of them was torture to me. At night, 
 
 (281) 
 
282 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 I would awake in terror from a dream of 
 being captured by "black angels" ; and hardly 
 could I realize that I had merely been dream- 
 ing. Then when I became composed enough 
 to go to sleep again, it was only to live over 
 once more all the horrors I had endured or 
 feared since the night when I was thrust into 
 a vile cell at the Odessa police station. 
 
 A happy incident in connection with my 
 short sojourn at the sanitarium was a visit 
 to the former home of Mrs. E. G. White. 
 As a child in Russia, I had heard of her ex- 
 traordinary career, and had wished that I 
 might see her. Now it was my privilege to 
 become acquainted with her son and his 
 family; and the friendship of these Christian 
 people was indeed a comfort to me after the 
 loneliness of the preceding year and a quarter. 
 
 The parents of one of our missionaries in 
 China sent a request that I visit them at their 
 home in the little town of Mountain View, 
 California. This I did; but there also kindly 
 people gave me no opportunity to get my 
 thoughts off the distressing ordeals which to 
 some were little more than a diverting story. 
 
 An earnest-faced man whom I met at 
 Mountain View — Mr. George O. Wellman, 
 
LIKE A DREAM 283 
 
 a member of our church there — with his dear 
 little wife, seemed to comprehend my situa- 
 tion; and they authoritatively informed me 
 that I was to take up my abode in their quiet 
 home in the outskirts of the town, and there 
 remain until I had regained normal strength. 
 
 To accept such protracted hospitality from 
 strangers, I thought, would be an imposition 
 on their generosity; but my excuses were 
 waved lightly aside, and I was playfully told 
 to obey orders. 
 
 I did not think of this invitation as imply- 
 ing more than a sojourn of a few weeks with 
 these unselfish people; but eventually I real- 
 ized that they had opened not only their home 
 but also their hearts to me, and they have 
 been to me truly father and mother ever since. 
 Thus the Saviour's promise to any who 
 should leave loved ones for His sake, was 
 fulfilled to me. 
 
 Erelong, too, I received letters from my 
 beloved parents in Russia, in response to those 
 sent to them. 
 
 Yet I was "a man without a country." I 
 was an exile still. 
 
 Then came news which startled the whole 
 world — imperial Russia had given place to 
 
Nicholas Romanov, the Last of the Czars, in Exile 
 
 (284) 
 
LIKE A DREAM 
 
 285 
 
 a republic. And at the head of that republic 
 was the man to whom largely I owed my re- 
 moval from Siberia — Kerensky, the young 
 socialist leader. 
 
 Full religious liberty was assured through- 
 out Russia. All religious exiles were now 
 
 The Ancient City of Tobolsk, the Biblical Tubal 
 
 To this place the Russian ex-monarch was 
 finally banished. 
 
 freed. This included Gorelic, and all our 
 other faithful members who were in banish- 
 ment for the Word's sake. 
 
 I was no longer a refugee. Instead, the 
 czar under whose rule I had been banished, 
 was himself an exile. His place of banish- 
 ment was not far from where mine had been. 
 
286 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 But soon followed the counter revolution, 
 and the many months during which I could 
 get no word from my dear people in the 
 Caucasus, and knew not but they had fallen 
 victims to those times of upheaval. 
 
 Again news came — good news. All my 
 family were still living. And they sent greet- 
 ings to all my new friends in America. I 
 hope that includes you. 
 
 Not long after my arrival in California, 
 there came to me, through my foster father, 
 a privilege which I had greatly desired for 
 years — that of supplementing my European 
 school course with study in one of our Ameri- 
 can schools; and as I write these words, I 
 have just received my degree from Pacific 
 Union College. 
 
 Many times, during my imprisonment and 
 exile, and while I was a fugitive, I found 
 assurance in that verse from the fiftieth psalm, 
 "Call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will 
 deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me." God 
 has fully verified for me that promise of de- 
 liverance; and by His grace, I will not fail 
 of my part, — to glorify Him. 
 
 The dark story that I have related to you 
 is to me now much like a dream. Yet one 
 
(287) 
 
288 ESCAPE FROM SIBERIAN EXILE 
 
 feature of it stands out clear and strong in 
 my mind — clearest and strongest at those 
 points where the conditions were most dis- 
 couraging; and that one feature is, the bless- 
 edness and reality of companionship with 
 Jesus. I do not now dread any hardships 
 that a wise, tender Saviour may permit to 
 come upon me in the future; but infinitely 
 worse than shackles and prison bars would 
 be the loss of that precious fellowship. 
 
 Now, as I prepare to return to the land of 
 my birth — one of the most needy yet most 
 fruitful portions of the wide gospel field — 
 instead of saying "Good-by" to you, I will 
 invite you to "come over and help us" — help 
 us to make known to many perplexed souls 
 in that great country the loving Father who 
 has given evidence, in the experiences re- 
 corded in this little volume, of His constant, 
 personal care for each one of His children. 
 
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
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