On Sledge and Horseback to outcast Siberian Lepers

Front matter

* JBalmcral Caatli. Fron tis piece. ON SLEDGE AND HORSEBACK TO OUTCAST SIBERIAN LEPERS. Illustrated from Photographs and Drawings. BY KATE MARSDEN. Member (SrECiAL Badge) of the Royal British Nurses' Association ; Member and Medallist of the Russian Imperial Red Cross Society, etc., etc. Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. LONDON: THE RECORD PRESS, LIMITED, 376, STRAND, W.C. To HER MOST GRACIOUS AND IMPERIAL MAJESTY THE QUEEN, The most queenly woman and the most womanly Queen, whose keen sympathy with suffering has made her, personally, as beloved, as the progress of the British Empire under her rule, has made her throne magnificent, This Story Of a woman's work On behalf of helpless, hopeless, and homeless outcasts, is "With the most profound respect and humble gratitude, Dedicated.

Preface

. The first practical step preparatory to commencing this work amongst the lepers was my presentation to Her Majesty the Queen in 1890. I sought this honour, knowing that it would help me in carrying on the work in foreign countries. Three days after the presentation, Her Royal Highness, the Princess of Wales, commanded my attendance at Marlborough House for the purpose of hearing particulars of what I proposed to do. Her Royal Highness showed the warmest interest and sympathy, and promised to write and solicit the ap proval and assistance of Her Imperial Majesty, the Empress of Russia, in accomplishing the end I had in view. At my audience with the Empress, my most sanguine expectations were realised. Her Imperial Majesty showed the utmost kindness, entered heartily into my plans, and gave me an invaluable letter, requesting Russian officials to facilitate my wishes in visiting b Preface.

VI hospitals and leper settlements in the Empire. This letter was as follows : — " (Dated St. Petersburg, April 20th (May 2nd), 1890.) " The bearer of this, the British subject, Miss Kate Marsden, is proceeding to India with the object of devoting herself wholly and entirely to the care of the lepers. Before her departure for India, Miss Marsden visited St. Petersburg, and had the happiness of being presented co Her Majesty the Empress. Afterwards she in spected some of the hospitals here, and has now the in tention of inspecting the like in other towns and places of the Empire. H.I.M., estimating at its worth the highly Christian and sincerely philanthropic significance of the journey so undertaken by the traveller, and also all its difficulty, has been pleased to command me to hand to her these lines, that she might show them to all persons in authority in such hospitals as she may desire to visit.

H.M. the Empress will be extremely grateful to the said authorities if they will give Miss Marsden their co-operation during her inspection of the hospitals in charge, especially those in which occur patients suffering from leprosy. s' (Signed) Prince Ivan Golitsyn." Again, on my return journey from Siberia, whilst resting in Tomsk, Her Majesty's unbounded gracious ness was again shown by the following telegram, sent Preface. VII in response to one I had the honour of sending to Her Imperial Majesty, on the occasion of their Majesties' silver wedding-day : — "Very many thanks for your good wishes. Hope you are getting on well. " Empress." " Empress." The rest of my story is contained in the following pages ; but I desire, in this place, to draw special atten tion to one or two further matters of importance.

I appeal to all true English-speaking men and women not to find in this book fresh causes of complaint against Russia, but to exhibit, rather, by their sympathy, a spirit of union in Christian and philanthropic work, as well as the same forgetfulness of sect and creed which was shown by our Lord in His works of love and mercy. In our little company at Yakutsk, away in the north east of Siberia, there were three nations and three religions represented — Russians, Yakuts, English ; the Greek, the Roman Catholic, and the Protestant Churches. Most of my escort were members of the Greek Church. The ispravnick (Captain of the Police) •was a Catholic, and I a Protestant. Throughout our journey there was not a word of discussion or dis pute on the religious differences between us ; we were all bent on reaching the lepers and being of ser vice to them.

Later, on my return to St. Petersburg, when the Greek priest up in Viluisk, beyond Yakutsk, Preface. VIII heard I was ill, he at once held a special service to pray for my health, the Catholic ispravnick and the principal Yakuts who accompanied me being present. The next day the ispravnick sent for the Greek father to hold another service in his house for the same purpose. The letters which I received from these men bear ample testimony to the entire absence of all bitter sentiment from religious differences. I have never taken any active part in promoting temperance principles, but now I think that the record of my exertions in Siberia, without the aid of stimulants, may prove as beneficial to others as if my voice had been raised in furthering the cause for years past. I took no alcohol whatever throughout the journey, except on two occasions of great exhaustion, when the stimulants only made me worse.

I have, therefore, good ground for recommending abstinence from alcohol where much physical endurance is necessary. Humanly speaking, I believe I owe my life to this abstinence, and also to Jaeger clothing, without which it would have been quite impossible to go through all the changes of climate, and to remain for weeks together without changing my clothes. I wish to bear grateful testimony to the warm sympathy and assistance given to me at the American Embassy, St. Petersburg. The assurance of America's friendship and willingness to co-operate has raised the highest hopes with regard to my American lecturing Preface. IX tour, which I propose to commence at once. As Russia helped America in the past, so America can help Russia now. I am proud to be a member of the "King's Daughters;" and I venture to ask the members of that Union to help the work by selling this book and the photographs, and forming "tens" for that purpose, and for collecting donations, which may be sent to my headquarters.

The appeal which I have made to American women I would also make to all members of my sex, both in England and everywhere; for this leper work is essentially women's work. Such co-operation may be carried out by inducing friends to buy the book, and also the photographs, which were taken and printed in Moscow, and which may be had by writing to my headquarters, 376 Strand, London, W.C. I cannot briDg these remarks to a conclusion without expressing, in the most emphatic manner I know how, my heartfelt sense of obligation to Mr. Henry Johnson, without whose literary aid and experience this record in its present form would have been impossible. He has helped me at every turn of the narrative ; and> indeed, the book owes its literary characteristics to his skill. I also desire to give every acknowledg ment for the courtesy I have received from all I have come in contact with.

Readers of the following pages must bear in mind that in the whole world there was no one more un- Preface. X worthy, more full of faults and failings, than I, to undertake this leper work. And my earnest hope is that what God has enabled me to do may encourage others, however far down in the scale, or however much they may have turned from God, not merely to " do likewise," but to throw all their strength into greater work than that to which my poor life is dedicated. One rule we must constantly observe — to set our faces heavenwards. On behalf of all such workers for the furtherance of Christ's kingdom, and for the good of humanity, I venture to repeat the prayer contained in a letter which I received, shortly before setting out to Siberia, from that ideal servant of the sick and suffering, dear to every Englishwoman : — " May the Father Almighty, Omniscient, who is Infinite Love, be your Guide and your Help, is the prayer of, Yours sincerely, Florence Nightingale CONTENTS.

Chapter I. Preparations

The writer's object — Kindness of Her Imperial Majesty the Empress of Russia — The herb reputed to arrest the progress of leprosy—" No remedy " — Efforts to relieve the sufferings of lepers — " Shoot them ! " — The claims of religion and humanity — Lepers in the East — Arrival in Moscow — The " Golden Headed City " — Journeys to St. Petersburg, and the gift of the Empress — Work in Moscow — Noble-minded Russians — Newspaper exaggerations — Kindness from high and low — Taken for a spy — Clouds clear away — " A pleasure trip " — My outfit — Mounting the sledge — Oil' Rage 1

Chapter II

first experiences on the road. The pleasures of sledging aloDg a broken-up road — Wolves — A cheap "hotel" — Frozen lakes — "Survival of the fittest " — Village dwellings — A chivalrous soldier — Ekaterinberg prison* — Irbit Fair — A chaotic sledge-ride — " Pirate " drivers — Tjumen hospital — Roses in Siberia — A polluted river, and what the people thought of it — The peasants' love for the Empress — A petition to the Empress — Farewell to English hospitality .... Contcnti'. XII

Chapter III. Mostly Mishaps

Minor inconveniences — A specimen of "Young Siberia" — Russian harness — Shoeing horses — An accident — A smash — We are shot on to a river — Another accident — Those horses ! — Tobolsk — Safe at Inkalisk — A levee — Visits to Inkalisk prison — A pitiable sight — Convicts travelling in winter — A petition to "Her Highness" — Visit to a " vagabond house " Page 36

Chapter IV. Clanking Chains

Home comforts at Omsk — An additional escort provided — Omsk prison and hospital — Free dinners for the poor — Deserted ! — Meeting a gang of prisoners on the road — Scene in an etape — A great work for Russian ladies — A day of reformation draws nigh — Tomsk prisons — Dangers of crossing thawing rivers 52 CHAP1ER V. TARANTASS TRAVELLING. Krasnoyarsk and its institutions — Improvements in the Russian prison system — Character of the true Siberian — Buying a tarantass — How to " mount " a tarantass — Tarantass " rheumatism," its diagnosis and development — Kansk, and its prison — Crossing a ferry, and arrival at Irkutsk 65

Chapter VI. Nearing The

LErERS. Committee formed at Irkutsk — My reception at the meeting, and the results of the deliberations — Official documents showing the position of the lepers in the Viluisk Circuit Contents. XIII 73 97 since 1827— Sixty-four years' pleading — Miseries of the Yakutsk lepers — The leper outcast's doom — Departure for Yakutsk — Journey up the Lena — Chasing the Governor's steamer — Arrival in Yakutsk . . Page

Chapter VII. Yakutsk Tbe Province, And The People

Area, population, &c, of Yakutsk — Native traits and habits — Poverty of the people partly caused by leprosy — Rules of etiquette — Laying up stores for twelve months — Kindness of the Archbishop — Formation of a Local Committee for the lepers — " A chiel amang us takin' notes " — Arrangements for forming the cavalcade to the lepers — My outfit — The start for the 2000 miles' ride on horseback 87

Chapter VIII. First Experiences Of The Two Thousand Miles On Horseback

What the map says — Sinking into bogs — Camping out — Mosquito torments begin — Sleeping in an old graveyard — A singular chorus — Siberian thunderstorm — A dead horse and an eagle— Filthy yourtas — Ravages of mosquitoes — A witch-fable — Earth -combustion — Fallen trees — Some results of our shaking — Bear alarms, and scaring methods — Food of natives — Frozen corpses — Graves with a tragic history— Keeping my journal — Depression — Arrival at Viluisk

Chapter IX. Miseries Of The Lepers

General appearance of Viluisk — One doctor to 70,000 population — Father John Vinokouroff — Consultation — Looking Contents. XIV 110 for a hospital site — A midnight repast — Site of former hospital — Story of a supposed child-leper — Demoralisation of lepers in filthy yourtas — Setting off to a leper settle ment — The mother and her leper-boy in the forest — Marking tracks for the journey — A motley group Page

Chapter X. Among The Lepers

A treacherous forest-path — Among the lepers at last — The lame, the halt, and the blind — Gifts to the lepers — Indescribable condition of the yourtas — Living with the dead — A healthy girl of eighteen with the lepers — A Russian's noble offer — Perils of the return journey — Alarms from bears and wild horses — A leap from the river — An unpleasant walk through the forest . . . 119

CHAPTER XL THROUGH FIRE TO THE LEPERS.

A girl's gratitude — Another journey — A weird spectacle — Choosing a site for the hospital — A priest's petition — Discussing the proposed hospital — Mutilated lepers — Haunted by leper faces — Lepers carried on bare-backed bullocks — A midnight march — Dashing through darkness — Forest solitudes, and screeching owls — An heroic husband — Children in yourtas — The earth on tire — Picking our way through the flames — A mad horse — Pitch-darkness — My little collie guides me — Seventy miles a day — A lone sick woman 127

Chapter XII. Finish Of The Two Thousand Miles' Ride

A sagacious dog — Twenty years a leper — Burying lepers — Father John's testimony — Leprosy "sent by the devil" Contents. XV — Ill again — Another faithful dog — An appeal for a hospital — A night of horrors — Forest perils, and swamp troubles — Baptism of a leper's child — Lepers crawling through the snow — The Holy Communion — In extre mities — I succumb — My entry into Yakutsk in a cart — Troubles — Taken for a political spy at Yakutsk — Pack to Irkutsk Page 140

Chapter XIII. Homeward Bound

Reception at Irkutsk — Journey to Moscow — Incidents by the way — Opinion of scientific experts — Kindness of the American Ambassador — Meeting of medical men — Offers of help from Sisters of Mercy — My report to the Medical Society of Moscow — Letters of thanks 156

Chapter XIV. What Is To Be

DONE? The Leper Colony — Medical opinions on the methods proposed — Sympathy in London — My plans for the suture — The claims of lepers all over the world — The one sufficient motive — For Christ's sake 172 Ari'ENDix of Official Papers from Governors of Provinces, and other Persons in Authority ..... LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Her Imperial Majesty the Queen . . . Frontispiece. Map of Route . . . . . . . To face page 1 Kate Marsden in Travelling-dress, with Map of her Route .......„„ 15 Her Imperial Majesty the Empress of Russia, with Autograph Signature . . . . „ „ 33 Ordinary Sledge-travelling in Siberia. . . „ „ 35 Murderers' Implements „ „ 59 Breaking up of the River .....„„ 63 Destitute Leper — taken from Life . . . „ „ 72 My Home in a Cargo-boat for three weeks on the River Lena , „ 85 Our start from Yakutsk „ „ 87 Setting out on our ride of Two Thousand Miles „ „ 97 Hut or hovel of Lepers . . . . . „ „ 118 The way in which the Lepers are herded together „ ,, 123 Camping out at Midnight in the Forest . . „ „ 127 A Scene from Leper life „ „ 135 Tent-life among the Lepers , „ 139 A Dog's Sagacity in Saving Lepers from Bears . „ „ 140 Leper Woman at entrance of Hut . . . „ „ 142 A poor Leper Woman dragging her food across the snow „ „ 144 A rough ride across the Marshes . . . „ „ 147 Pastoral Letter from Bishop Meletie of Yakutsk „ „ 153 Meletie, Bishop of Yakutsk and Viluisk . . „ „ 154 The last stage of the journey in breaking-up season „ 163 The proposed Leper Colony . . . . „ 175 The Princess Shachovskoy, the Three Sisters who are already at work amongst the Lepers, and Self in Diploma of the Russian Imperial Red Cross Society „ „ ACCOMPLISHED. TO BE ACCOMPLISHED. CONTEMPLATED. THE OUTCAST SIBERIAN LEPERS.

Chapter I

Clearing the Way. The writer's object — Kindness of Her Imperial Majesty the Empress of Russia — The herb, reputed to arrest the progress of leprosy — A life-mission — Christ's lepers — " No remedy " — Efforts to relieve the sufferings of lepers — " Shoot them ! " — The claims of religion and humanity — Lepers in the East — What people think — Arrival in Moscow — The "Golden- Headed City " — Prince Dolgoroukow — Journeys to St. Petersburg, and the gift of the Empress — Work in Moscow— Noble-minded Russians — Newspaper exaggerations — Kindness from high and low — Misunderstood — Taken for a spy — Fast friends — Clouds clear away — " A pleasure trip " — My outfit — Mounting the sledge — Off. It is with devout thankfulness to Almighty God that, after more than twelve months' travel, and almost constant exposure to perils of many kinds during that period, I am at length permitted to send forth this book.

I seek not sympathy for hardship and pain, H thc Siberian Lepers. voluntarily undergone, or praise for any work partly accomplished. It is my earnest desire that all sympathy aroused may be directed to the suffering lepers, and not to me, and all praise to Him who has enabled a feeble woman to set her hand to a work which was waiting to be done. Had I consulted merely my own feelings, these pages would have contained only a simple record of the condition and wants of the lepers, and what is now being attempted to alleviate their misery. But I knew the particulars of the inconveniences, dangers, and exciting incidents, which have been, as it were, the inseparable companions of my travels, would add largely to the general interest of the book, and would therefore increase its sale. Let every purchaser remember that he is doing something, though only a trifle, to help the least cared-for members of the human race.

I desire, also, to acknowledge my great indebtedness to Her Imperial Majesty the Empress of Russia, without whose most prompt, valuable, and kind assistance it would have been utterly impossible either to carry on or to initiate this mission to the lepers of Siberia. Her Majesty's letter instructed all Government officials in the places I proposed to visit to give me every possible assistance. No royal lady could have entered with more readiness and sympathy into the philanthropic proposals submitted to Her Majesty. The Empress confirmed the report which I had heard A Remedial Herb. 3 both in Constantinople and Tiflis of the existence of a herb which was said to alleviate the sufferings caused by leprosy, and, in some cases, to remove the disease. I was also told that the herb was to be found in the far-off Yakutsk province of Siberia, where there were many lepers ; but, being so jealously kept a secret by the natives, no one who wished to make experiments with it from mercenary motives could hope to obtain any information.

But would the natives disclose the secret to one who wished only to benefit lepers throughout the Russian Empire, and wherever they existed in various parts of the world? Could they be persuaded to reveal all they knew to a woman who came to them for the sake of humanity, and on behalf of* Christ ? Some doctors, so I understood, had not cared to risk health and life, and others had neither the time nor the money to spend months and perhaps years in investigating the matter, visiting the lepers in isolated regions, and testing the properties of the herb in a systematic way. My first acquaintance with the ravages of the frightful disease arose during the Russo-Turkish war. Since then, except during the period when I took many backward steps and turned away from Christ*— a memory ever fraught with the keenest regret — the •main subject of my thoughts has been the wants of the lepers and how to relieve them.

The emotions aroused by the sight of two poor, mutilated, and b On Sledge and Horseback to the Siberian Lepei*s. helpless Bulgarians cannot be fully described. Before this time the conviction had taken hold upon me that my mission in life was to minister to those who received the smallest attention and care of all God's creatures. I had seen and heard of disease and suffering enough amongst the poor of my own country and amongst the victims of war. But they were within close reach, at least, of abundant Christian and philan thropic efforts. But the lepers in the far-off uncivilised regions of the world — who cared for them ? What medical attention did they receive? what tender ministration from the gentle hand of woman soothed their sufferings ? Cut off from their fellow-creatures, avoided, despised, and doomed to a living death — surely these, of all afflicted people, ought to become the object of my mission.

Debarred from intercourse with others, except with those who suffered in a similar way, deprived of the comforts of civilisation, left without proper nourishment, and outcasts from the consolation of religion, the lepers seemed to me to demand, in a special and unique manner, human aid. They were emphatically Christ's lepers, since so few of Christ's servants, in proportion to the needs of lepers, had, as yet, been able to devote themselves to their relief. " No remedy — no relief ! " A thousand times have those mournful words racked my thoughts and pained my heart. Whilst science, philanthropy and religion were busily engaged in devising means for relieving "Shoot Them!" 5 pain, curing disease, and consoling the sufferer, could nothing be done for Christ's lepers ? Often and often the wish was uppermost in my heart, Would to God that the Healer and Saviour of men were amongst the lepers of to-day, to give the loving command, "I will, be thou clean."

Before long I learned, with much satisfaction, that, in many parts of the world, hospitals were erected, and medical and nursing aid provided for the relief of lepers. But I learned, at the same time, that in other parts they were shamefully neglected, and abandoned by the rest of the community in which they had dwelt. With many conflicting testimonies before me, I determined to see for myself the true state of matters, taking no report at second-hand. My desire to set out on this investigation was intensified on hearing from some pessimistic and in human quarters that the best remedy for such an in curable and loathsome malady was — murder. " Shoot them — poison them — anything to put them out of their misery ! " My blood recoiled at such a " method," as, indeed, would be the case with anyone possessing the true love of humanity; and I firmly resolved to use every means in my power, with Divine assistance, to discover a remedy, and, if such efforts failed, to devise efficient methods for alleviating the miseries which accompanied the disease, and for bringing all lepers under the humane as well as the religious influence of the servants of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Before proceeding to Siberia to discover the herb, and endeavour to bring its remedial qualities within the reach of all lepers throughout the world, I proposed to visit the East, and acquaint myself with the condition of the lepers in that quarter. At Jerusalem, although many of the lepers receive the best attention that medical skill and nursing aid can contrive, I saw enough misery to strengthen my resolution. At Constantinople the scene of horror appalled me, and I longed, with a fervency that cannot be described, for the swift help of Heaven and of men in my mission of relief. I may be called an enthusiast, or a woman who bids high for the world's applause. I care not what I am called, or what I am thought of, so long as the goal of my ambition be reached, or so long as I may see before I die that the work commenced, though faultily, is on its way to completion.

Travelling across the Black Sea and the Caucasus from Constantinople, I arrived at Moscow in November 1890. Any one who has been travelling through a strange country for two or three days and nights without stopping, and ignorant of the language of the natives, will easily understand my feelings of relief when I was at last told that the next station was Moscow, especially if my reader is tall, and has The " Golden-Headed City." 7 experienced that awkward position of being cramped for a long time in a railway carriage. The train stopped ; and having collected my many wraps, I got out, and at once confronted a true Mos covite winter, which my English clothing, notwithstanding the above-mentioned rugs, was ill-fitted to face. Once in the sledge and on my way to the hotel, I almost forgot the intense cold in my eagerness to notice everything I passed.

The number of churches especially attracted me as I drove through the quaint narrow streets, uphill and down. The sledge gliding along noiselessly over the snow, and the horses not having bells, the driver has to shout to warn the people to get out of the way. In a thickly-populated place like Moscow, it needs a great amount of care to avoid being run over, especially as most people have very high fur collars which reach far above their ears, so that they are almost deaf to everything. Moscow is rightly called the " golden-headed city," owing to the number of golden domes ornamenting her churches, though some are painted blue and others green. Some of the domes, I was told, are covered with thin sheets of real gold, the rest of the church being painted white, picked out with lavender. All these different colours present a very brilliant and beautiful appearance, particularly when the sun shines upon them.

My first step was to go the Governor, Prince Dolgoroukow, who represents His Imperial Majesty the Czar. The etiquette at such audiences is to appear in full day dress. Happily, I had my nurse's uniform with me, which suits all occasions. So I brushed it up, and, with a clean pair of white strings to my somewhat worn bonnet, I concluded my toilette, and finally set out, not without a feeling of nervousness, which unfor tunately I can seldom shake off. Arriving at the palace, I was soon ushered into the presence of the Prince, who, by his kind manner and gentle voice, at once banished every uncomfortable feeling. *•*• What can I do for you ? " he asked. Then I told him about my mission, asking his permission to visit the hospitals of the city, and any lepers to be found in it. His kind face took a still kinder ex pression as he drew closer, and questioned me about my proposed work, seeming rather bewildered that any woman should attempt it.

He then summoned the Inspector of Hospitals, and gave orders to show me every place I might wish to see. As I rose to depart he presented me with his beautifully-bound book on Moscow, a gift which I then took as a great favour, but now, since the kind Prince has passed away, I treasure as a loving remembrance of one who, though advanced in age, readily exerted himself on behalf of the poor, suffering lepers. The next day I began to work in earnest, calling upon everyone I could think of who might help in the work. At first all went well ; but, before long, difficulties Unjust Opinions of Russia. 9 began to crop up. Twice I went to St. Petersburg, a journey which takes twelve hours. The kindness and assistance so willingly bestowed by Her Imperial Majesty, the Empress, has been acknowledged ; but I have not yet mentioned that Her Imperial Majesty sent me a thousand roubles (about £100) to help forward the mission.

The Countess Alexandrine Tolstoi, whose warm and motherly reception I shall never forget, also did everything in her power to further my plans. There were many others, too, who seconded my efforts. Let those who trust to exaggerated and unfavourable newspaper reports, and are under the delusion that little good can come out of Russia, bear in mind that there are numbers of noble men and women in the country always ready to stretch out the hand of fellow ship to anyone coming in the Master's name to help His sick and suffering ones. Let such persons pause before judging a whole nation by mere hearsay accounts. When we think of the enormous extent of the Russian territory, of the different races inhabiting it, each having a separate language, and some of them not knowing Rus sian at all — a fact which in itself is a serious obstacle in the progress of civilisation — then the strong opinions formed concerning deficiencies, evils, and abuses must be modified by a spirit of forbearance and justice.

During a personal experience of, altogether, two years I have had many opportunities of studying the Russian people, especially as I have mixed in almost all classes of society ; and I most gladly state that, with but very few exceptions, high and low have treated me with never-failing kindness and courtesy. Nay, more, some of the highest have opened a loving mother's arms to me when in trouble ; and my rough soldier's tender care all through my journey will be an ever-grateful and cherished memory. My work in Moscow in arousing interest and collecting funds was beset with difficulties. I fully stated my plans — namely, to find the herb. But, in spite of my plainness of speech (unfortunately, I could not speak a word of the Russian tongue), my motives were misconstrued, and all kinds of rumours were set afloat.