New-York daily tribune., 1844-05-11
THE TRIBUNE.
Tbs I.ice OF . Prisoner.


pamphlet ,olume, the "Narativc and Rccoec.
IONS Of Van Dlcman's Land, during a three
years Captivity of SrEruEN S. WRIGHT" which
IS interesting mGny accounts. Wright is an
American. who was misled to take part in the
Patriot movements on the Canada frontier in
1888, and was captured Will. the ii!-h,;cd e1pc-
dition which left OgdcnSbuysh, Nov. lOih, OF
,ha; year, under the lead Of suriGry ccmagogucs,
liars and towards, who deceived ;hcm with regard
to ile sediments OF The Canadians, and by inca.
pacty, Potrocnery and vlllAny, subjected them
10 inevitable defeat and ruin, at Prescott. We
DO NOT apologize for these mcn-they had 30
r;sht to assume the desire of the Canadians for
their services as libeFaiors, when 10 too, OF inc
Canadian soil WAS shaded By snolher flag than
that OF Crest Rrtan. Tney rushed into uhjn>-
uf.bie hos,!li,es ana exposed themselves u the
legitimate consro ouences. But II ,neif fault
grieyous, it mus; be admi;,cd BY ,hc readers o
tbs Narrative, liit; gCcvo.sy nave ;ney ans&e:-
ed II, and he derei iilc.r su!f,r.egS priva!o,
and lofturcs, is enough 10 giut the apyc.i;c ios
PRISON disc.pl:nc even o,thc Courier and Enquirer
We make ON for the following extracts:
Alter he usual uiono;ouy oi d sch voyage we
arrived on The i4tn OF February, 1916 III the har-
bor of Hobart Town. The ii 81 onIsct that greet
ed our sight, was Mount Wellington, witch over
hangs the town, and which lnoncd above the
waves long before the town at It's base was u
sight. Our descriptions were taken by an officer
and his clerks: he was superintendent oi convcts.
Al the time the following questions were asked:
"What is your name what is your trade what
is your age what is your rcliglon2 what is your
native place 2 where were you tried ?? when did
YOU leave Canada are you married arc your
parents living where do they reside what is
their native country what is their religion can
they read they write can you write =? what
Is your number After all these questions were
answered, minute examination was made osour
bodies, and every mole, scar and spot was record
ed, and our height and weight were taken into
consideration so that VIC could he Unidentified in
the event of an escape. All this minutip was
particularly inserted and aiterward read over to
each, and signed with his own hand. We were
then taken 10 Sandy Bay, near Hobart Town, and
placed in yard as if VIC had been cattle. All our
clothes were taken from us, and the pr;soncis'
dress put on, which consisted of Jacket, PAIR
of pansaloors, cap and pair of shoes. The bo-
dy OF the dress was black and yellow, half and
half, and made of miserable wooen material. 1t
resembed the dress OF clown or the plumage OF
msgpie, and lasted about one month; and al
lowed but two suits year, we had three months
to 90 half naked, to say the least The cap was
leather and fitted close to well-sheared heads.
When the clothes were all worn out, and the
homely.made shoes had fallen TO pieces, VIC were
bare footed, and had but small blanket tied
about US to hide our nakedness. Exposed to bi-
ting winds and storm, of seet and snow, the hGts
,phich s1ont y-crr h:Iilt Of slabs end
ways very poorly thatchcd, and the top covering
thin and eaky, giving US the benefit of rather
free circulation of air. In fact, we were at the
mercy of the weather our floor was the ground,
and after a rain, pools of water stood FOR hours III
the hut. No fire was allowed us either to warm
OF dry cur clothing; our food was half q pound OF
meat and one pound CT bread; the meat was gen
erally fetid and sometimes filed with vermin-
bony and strngy-anG any wcll-fed dog would
have reiuaed to eat it. Our bread was composed
Of oats, barley and rice with little wheat, ground
toqether; all the fine flour sfted oat, and we were
/ given the coarse; it was bread that even Gra-
hamite would have starved upon. Such was our
fare.
On the morning of the 18th we were paraded
in a line, and the Governor Of the Island, Sir
John Franklin, (thc great NAVIGATOR made his
entire with his Suite. We were then ordered to
ldhc Ou our caps, Nl.!Jii Nuc SbS W. 49,
old man and is ruled by his counsellors, who ride
over the People rough shod bat it is considered
freedom 10 the ANARCHY and confusion that pre-
vailed during the Governorship OF the "bioooS
eyecutioncr" Sir George Arthur. lie lcoked d
61RuiUdnt without any strong marks, save ooes''S
and imbecility. The noble and generous oeplaii
Wood accompanied him. Let me here return oul
un;,ed thanks 10 Lady Colhurn, who kindly sup
nl;ed MS with drafts and ckess-boards TO while
away the tedum OF our voyage, as well as the
>;apain OF the good ship Buffalo, whose unahaled d
t:.ndness viii never be forgotten, and the feeiing
ltanner with which he discharged his afduout
duties. The Governor commenced set Speech
in u slow, nasal tone, and after proceeding ior b
few Ininutcs-the AMOUNT OF winch was 'hat he
had received 10 orders regarding US from ihe
Home Govcrnmen,-he ended by asking The
Captain what has: been our concuct curing '"e
yoyage? 'Th. s,.s.> or, " remarkably well Was
ver, satisfactory 10 us ano tile Governor theIl
dercd that We shuud De set 10 work upan The
- Dads for Government, admoniShiHg US al The
same time to behave ourselves, or We would iaTe
hard /; aud hc aud his suite departed. The O.cr-
sccrs whom the Superintendent placed over us
were men OF the worst characters; beng tclons
and coavicis, having been condemned for the
ost awful crimes that shUddcfing Humanity
RECORDS arson, theft, murder, rape, burg larry,
forgery. We were harnessed two and two, four
being placed before each cart. We were then
marched to work a distance Of two miles: when
we had reached the quarry Of broken stone, we
were ordered TO fill them. The bodies OF the
carts were about six feet long, four wide and
two deep. We were then obliged TO draw the
carts, well filed, laden with from fifteen TO eight
cen hundreds weight, and drag them over broken
ground one mile and draw thirteen loads each
day through rain and shine, wet and dry, rocks
and mud. Alter we had been there about four
months four of our number effected their escape
They had been so drcadfuy worked, that they
made up their minds TO die in being taken rather
than to endure longer the loatbsomc curse Of sa-
very. The broad blue sea was before them,
and dvesseIsarriying weekly from the United States
| The temptation was too strong TO be resisted and
ihrx Nnd L tnl n ~.