On Sledge and Horseback to Outcast Siberian Lepers

The extraordinary story, published in 1893, of Kate Marsden's journey to Siberia and her commitment to leprosy sufferers there.

Kate Marsden (Author)

9781108048217, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 28 June 2012

322 pages, 25 b/w illus. 1 map
21.6 x 14 x 1.8 cm, 0.41 kg

Kate Marsden (1859–1931), the youngest of eight children from a poor family, was a highly committed nurse. She cared for soldiers in the Russo-Turkish War in 1877–8, and undertook missionary travels to various countries, but she was especially concerned about the plight of those suffering from leprosy. This volume, published in 1893, describes her remarkable journey to Siberian leper colonies. At first she travelled by sledge with a friend, but continued alone on horseback, facing appalling weather conditions with her customary courage. Her commitment to leprosy sufferers led her to found the St Francis Leprosy Guild in London in 1895, and she organised a leprosy hospital in the remote Siberian town of Vilyusk in 1897. She was made a Member of the Russian Imperial Red Cross Society, and she was also one of the first women to be appointed a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

Preface
1. Preparations
2. First experiences on the road
3. Mostly mishaps
4. Clanking chains
5. Tarantass travelling
6. Nearing the lepers
7. Yakutsk - the province, and the people
8. First experiences of the two thousand miles on horseback
9. Miseries of the lepers
10. Among the lepers
11. Through fire to the lepers
12. Finish of the two thousand miles' ride
13. Homeward bound
14. What is to be done?
Appendix of official papers from governors of provinces, and other persons in authority.

Subject Areas: Social & cultural anthropology, ethnography [JHMC]