A Thrilling Story
"Count” Moiaje-iki and '‘Count
ess” Alice Rollins Crane Morajeski,
two northern characters who, as
sisted by one Captain Galpin,
aired their domestic tribulations
along t’ne reaches of the American
Yukon in 1903, are in San Frau
ci co. The "countess” has sent to
the Fairbanks News the following
clipping In.m the Examiner of
Dec. 11:
Love, hate, revenge, robbery,
blackmail, treachery, broken bones,
damaged reputations, official cor
ruption and attempted murder—
these form the warp and woof ot a
story from Alaska life told by the
Count and Countess Morajeski. In
the ice-locked land of yellow treas
ure they have survived a series of,
sensational adventures, the outcome
of which, they declare, will be a
suit against the United States gov
ernment for $250,000. As a Rus
sian citizen Count Victor Morajeski !
will seek redress from the adminis
tration at Washington for outrages
which, he alleges, he and his wife I
suffered at the hands of corrupt)
officials of the government. The I
couple are now rn this city on their j
way to Washington, I). C.
Although taking warlike steps
toward a dash of international
colors in the courts, the com,t has
no personal desire to see the Amer-1
iean eagle’s feathers ruffled by the
paws of a Russian bear. He is
an admirer ot American customs,
speaks very good Huglish and makes
modest reply to questions concert -
ing his title He prefers the prefix
of plain Mister to the "ski" of hi-,
baptism.
“My suit against the govern
ment,” sai<I the count, ‘ will lie
brought from motives of simple
justice. In Alaska all sorts ul
atrocities are committed in the
name of the law. The opportuni
ties for robbery anil worse crimes
arc practically unlimited. The ter
rible state of things existing in
Nome anil other Alaskan places
should lie exposed and this I pro
pose to do. My wife, an American
woman, was made the subject of
savage attack as to reputation, and
was also the victim ol personal *»•►
lence by government officials.
These are outrages which the gov
ernment » responsible tor.
' For seveu years I havet*eu a
peaceable resident of Alaska I aiu
a lulling engineer Mv tat her. who
died last year leaving me h«* two
titles anti estates m Poland, was for
forty-five years in the employ of the
Kussi li government. Alexander II
gave him several medals for his
seivices as custodian of revenue
funds. My sister graduated f om
'.lie musical comervalcry in War
saw w ith I aderewski, and my
ill >lher was educated at the college
for the nobility founded by the wife
of Alexander I. My identi v was
established v\ ith the Russian consul
in San Francisco by Right Rever
end Innocent Pustii.sky, the bishop
who lecently came liom St. Peters
burg to take the station at Sitka.
“All the evidence gathered by
Bishop Pustinskv and myself will
be turned over to the Russian am
bassador .
*'On returning to Russia to settle
the family estate I will personally
request the czar to open up eastern
Sitierii to American prospectors. I
think I can convince him that it
will he an advantage to the govern
ment instead of giauting conces
sions, the present policy. My wife,
who speaks so much 1 etter the
language, will tell you about our
terrible affair in the north. Up
there the Indians are better citizens
than the officials. They commit
less crimes. '1 hey are white men."
Countess M< rajeski was formerly
Mrs. Alice Rollins Ciaue. She
went to Alaska some years ago
with ctedentials from various mag
azines and newspapers and the bu
reau of ethnology at Washington,
I). C She is a member of the Na
tional (Geographical Society and
engaged in the collection of histori
cal data for government reports and
curios for the Smithsonian Institu
tion.
My troubles began. said she, when 1
was induced to go into busiuess partner
ship with a man in l>aw.con named Gal
pin, who had come from Kngland. I
thought him a good man f ecause lie used
to read the service in Dawson when the
curate was ill. He knew that I was suc
cessful and had located ei.r.l g« od
claim*. His purpose was to make me
liable for his debts as his partner. He
swindled me and I thereby lost the money
for a mining venture which had been en
trusted to me by friends in I.os Angeles,
who now accuse me of abusing their con
fidence. They do not know how haul 1
worked to save their investment?. 1 livid
in a buckskin suit and did slavish work
to earn money.
Human vultures swarm in Alaska. To
add to ui v troubles Gal pm persecuted die
with offers of marriage, threatening tin
life 1 Hid toward Tatiana, over the ice.
a v«k> tntle trip with dog team and mule
team Within a dozen miles «>t tire Amer
ican line Galpin overtook me and w<*il l
have kilted me loot I not «Hi;;l»l shelter
tn a hotel kept hv a man aavnl my
life. Two other men took Galpin'* pistol
from him amt ordered him **tf The man
who saved me from that ruffian la now
my husband I have been accused ol
Wing an adventurer because | married
a title, t did mat know «»v husband had
a title until after out marriage tie u
one of nature s noblemen
Although neither of ua in superstition*
an opal feme seeming tv been strntitinl
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SOLE AGENTS
with the count’s disasters. The incident
is extraordinary and romantic. When
he left home sixteen years ago to engage
in mining his mother gave him a superb
opal of imineme ?-i e as a keepsake, a
family jewel set in a brooch. In Austra
lia he was stricken with a fe\er and the (
opal stolen. He got well and had good
luck lluriaftir until the day he first saw
me and protected me from Galp n. I was
wearing his mother’s brooch ! He recog- :
nized it instantly by its size and pecu'iar
setting. I had bought i from an Austra-j
lian miner in 1 >aw.kon who had gone
broke ami wanted n oncy to get to the
states.
A wti k later the count and I were mar*
I ried in 1 Jaw son, the witnesses being Mr.
' She pi a*d of the gohl commission, and
the editor of the Dawson News. Receiv
ing won! of the death of my husband’s
fat hi r, we started for Russia, J his w as
in the fall of last year. We were too late
| to catch the 1; s* st atner at S'. Michael,
and winter shut us in at the Russian Mi •
sion on the Yukon, a desolate spot. Gal
| p n 1 ad pretended such penitence and he
i l>egged so haul to come with us and
work his way. that my good-hearted
husband consent*it, not suspecting his
treachery.
At the Mission he entered into a con
spiracy with Duncan M< Donald, t inted
States commission! r there, who was de
ch irged the follow ing spring for mal
practice in office. They not only roblanl
u» of our valuable baggage. worth $25,000
and not to replaced by that uni, but
trump! d up false » hargts against us and
arrested us without reading .1 warrant. I
was in a delicate condition ami one of the
olliitrs struck me with his fist on the
temple, kn«M king me senseless. He also
broke my huger with a gun. G ilpin tried
to murder u>\ husband and would have
slice* riled had not the h inter
fered Ike count was hodl> hmt We
wi re a|wrntvl> imj»f atiHril for weeks. I
became ent’callv ill am! was without
nudit.il help DhsIU we were placed
under $7 wmi fsHiiki to appear before the
gr ind jttrv at N•»«»»♦ Ne**vly dea«l, I was
tied m a dof| sle«t state* it nu hes wule.
and dragged for thirty-three days, lying
thirteen hours at a time without being
moved. Galpin was brought along at
government expense as prosecuting wit
ness. My husband and I were placed in
jail at Nome Nixt day I was removed
to a hospital. I was at death’s door for
two months. In all I was bedridden for
seven months.
Finally Judge Moore released us, dis
charged the commissioner and marshal
from office and refused to deliver to us
our property nearly 600 miles away at the
M’ssion. My hip and shoulder meantime
liecame partially paralyzed, and my hus
band worked at any task that would pro
vide food and shelter.
I begged for a trial, knowing we could
not be convicted of anv wrong. No law
ver. however, dared to go into court
against a United States officer. Matters
were in this state w hen I wrote at length
to President Roosevelt. Prompt response
came from the department of the interior
and also the department of justice. Win.
A. Day, assistant to the attorney general
of the United States, colhe with his sec
retary and a stenographer to Nome.
A fortnight previously lienry M.llo\t
had been sent from Sail Francisco to
Nome as district attorney. He is unable
and honest official. Mr. Day made a
thorough investigation of our case and
ordeiv <1 Mr. Hoyt to proceed accordingly.
In the next grand jury Galpin and Me*
1 Humid were indicted for robbery and
e'onspir. v to commit murder. Galpin
"M|OraUei." bringing so many other* into
notoriety that the petty jury let him
loo*** through the usual process when
things are getting uncomfortable for
them- Gulpm was given an opportunity
to escape McDonald also disappeared
Mortimer Stevens, editor wf the Nome
News, tried to blackmail II* and pub
lt»htd »la title roils article*. He I* now in
the penitentiary uu M* Neill s Inland, his
wnttftur taring js i»*« tine ami four years'
uttpr omntr t»t I Hr tec live a are *»»w after
Mi Umi*I4 am) Galpin If found they
will be taken kail to Noun? for trial in
the spring.