of the brutality
toward exiles, both on the road and after they have reached their
destination. Undoubtedly there have been instances of cruelty, just as
in every country in Christendom, but I do not believe the Russians are
worse in this respect than other people. I saw a great many exiles
during my journey through Siberia. Frequently when on the winter road
I met convoys of them, and never observed any evidence of needless
severity. Five-sixths of the exiles I met on the road were in sleighs
like those used by Russian merchants when traveling. There were
generally three persons in a sleigh, and I thought them comfortably
clad. I could see no difference between them and their guards, except
that the latter carried muskets and sabres. Any women among them
received special attention, particularly when they were young and
pretty. I saw two old ladies who were handled tenderly by the soldiers
and treated with apparent distinction. When exiles were on foot, their
guards marched with them and the women of the party rode in sleighs.

The object of deportation is to people Siberia; if the government
permitted cruelties that caused half of the exiles to die on the road,
as some accounts aver, it would be inconsistent with its policy. As
before mentioned, the ripe age to which most of the Decembrists lived,
is a proof that they were not subjected to physical torture. In the
eyes of the government these men were the very worst offenders, and if
they did not suffer hardships and cruelties it is not probable that
all others would be generally ill-used. I do not for a moment suppose
exile is either attractive or desirable, but, so far as I know, it
does not possess the horrors attributed to it. The worst part of exile
is to be sent to hard labor, but the unpleasant features of such
punishment are not confined to Siberia. Plenty of testimony on this
point can be obtained at Sing Sing and Pentonville.

It is unpleasant to leave one's home and become an involuntary
emigrant to a far country. The Siberian road is one I would never
travel out of pure pleasure, and I can well understand that it must be
many times disagreeable when one journeys unwillingly. But, once in
Siberia, the worldly circumstances of many exiles are better than they
were at home. If a man can forget that he is deprived of liberty, and
I presume this is the most difficult thing of all, he is not, under
ordinary circumstances, very badly off in Siberia. Certainly ma