Semi Weekly Herald

MURDER BAND BROKEN UP.
ST. PETERSBURG. Jan. 23.—
Startling revelation of participations
of the Russian police in the terrible
crimes of the "Demons of the Steppe"
have been brought out in the
trials of 72 members of that band
of robbers and murderers now progressing
at Ekaterinodor in the Caucasus.
For five years the gang has terrorized
nearly the whole province of
Kuban, robbing, torturing, and killing
hundreds. A large number of
the prisoners have been convicted and
condemned to death or life imprisonment.
Their long immunity from imprisonment
was the close affiliation
of the "Chief Demon," a wealthy landowner
named Konch, who had formerly
been a secret government agent,
with leading police officials of the
district, among whom were the commissioner
of police and the chief
of the secret police at Ekaterinodor.
In the testimony it was revealed that
in order to protect the real criminals
innocent persons were arrested and by
tortures, of which branding with red
hot irons was one of the mildest,
were driven to make false confessions.
A local journalist who had the courage
to express these methods was expelled
by an administrative order, and
was privately threatened with death
should he return to give testimony in
court. The judges were only able to
secure his attendance by appealing to
the Viceroy of the Caucasus.