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THE HISTORY OF THE KARA POLITICAL PRISON 271 officials in this case, I submit the letter for what it may be worth. X Hotel, X , June 3, 1891. To the Editor of the Century Magazine : Sir : As your contributor Mr. George Kennan and other per- sons still circulate stories as to flogging in Russia, and insist that Madam Sigida was flogged to death, I ask space for a few words in reply. More women have been flogged in the United States than in Russia during the last ten years. Indeed, I doubt if there is any instance of flogging a Russian lady except Madam Sigida. Her case was as follows : In the year 1888 the discipline of the prisoners in Siberia being very bad, an ordinance was adopted rendering them liable to flog- ging for grave breaches of discipline. Good conduct was, of course, all that was necessary to avoid punishment. The prisoners at Kara, however, came to a resolution that if any of their number was flogged they would all commit suicide. Shortly after this Madam Sigida sent for the governor of the jail, on the pretext of important business, and on his arrival she struck him in the face. There could scarcely be a grosser or more unprovoked breach of discipline, especially as such a blow is considered a greater insult in Russia than elsewhere. [This was more than a year after the ordinance.] That Madam Sigida was a healthy woman at the time is evident from the fact that she had just gone through a " hunger-strike " which lasted either fourteen or seventeen days. No delicate woman could have endured this. But as she was pulled down by long fasting the prison doctor refused to permit her to be flogged until she had recovered her strength. The pun- ishment was accordingly postponed, and she was not flogged until about three weeks after the " hunger-strike " was over. The flog- ging would not have been considered severe if inflicted by the White Caps or Regulators of America. Three days afterward Madam Sigida, and three female companions who had not been flogged, died, and the male prisoners also took poison, though with less fatal results. It is admitted that the other three women com- mitted suicide. It is admitted that Madam Sigida was one of those who had agreed to commit suicide if any prisoner was flogged, and it is admitted that she died on the same day with the suicides. Yet, in the face of all this, an attempt has been made to persuade the American public that she was flogged to death. It is not