said that a peasant who lived in a village not far from the town had been attacked in the forest by a bear, and so terribly mangled and lacerated that it was doubtful whether he could recover. There was no other surgeon in the town, and the messenger begged Dr. Martínof to come to the wounded peasant's assistance. At that late hour of the night it was not practicable to get permission from the police to go outside the limits of the town, and Dr Martínof, thinking that he would return before morning, and that the urgency of the case would excuse a mere technical violation of the rule concerning absence without leave, went with the messenger to the suburban village, set the peasant's broken bones, sewed up his wounds, and saved his life. Early in the morning he returned to Minusínsk, thinking that no one in the town except his wife would be aware of his temporary absence. The isprávnik, Známenski, however, heard in some way of the incident, and like the stupid and brutal formalist that he was, made a report to General Pedashénko, the governor of the province, stating that the political exile Martínof had left the town without permission, and asking for instructions. The governor directed that the offender be arrested and imprisoned. Dr. Martínof thereupon wrote to the governor a letter, of which the following is a copy.
To His Excellency the Governor of the Province of Yeniséisk: On this 3d day of December, 1885, I have been notified of the receipt of an order from your Excellency directing that I be arrested and imprisoned for temporarily leaving the town of Minusínsk without permission. It seems to me to be my duty to explain to your Excellency that I went outside the limits of Minusínsk for the purpose of rendering urgently needed medical assistance to a patient who had been attacked by a bear, and whose life was in extreme danger as the result of deep wounds and broken bones. There is no surgeon in the town except myself to whom application for help in such a case could be made. My services were required immediately, and, in view of the oath taken by me
