An exile may receive from his friends money to an amount not exceeding twenty-five roubles a month.  If his wife has property of her own she may enjoy a separate income.  Those confined in prisons or kept at labor may receive money to the same extent, but it must pass through the hands of the officials.  Of course the occupants of prisons are fed by government, and so are those under sentence of hard labor.  The men restricted to villages and debarred from profitable employment receive monthly allowances in money and flour, barely enough for their subsistence.  There are complaints that dishonest officials steal a part of these allowances, but the practice is not as frequent as formerly.  A prisoner’s comfort in any part of the world depends in a great measure upon the character of the officer in charge of him.  Siberia offers no exception to this rule.

Formerly the Polish exiles enjoyed more social freedom than at present.  The cause of the change was thus explained to me: 

Five or six years ago a Polish noble who had been exiled lived at Irkutsk and enjoyed the friendship of several officers.  The Amoor had been recently opened, and this man asked and obtained the privilege of visiting it, giving his parole not to leave Siberia.  At Nicolayevsk he embraced the opportunity to escape, and advised others to do the same.  This breach of confidence led to greater circumspection, and the distrust was increased by the conduct of other exiles.  Since that time the Poles have been under greater restraint.

Many books on Russia contain interesting stories 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.