The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1850-11-09
f,aa aAe ti,sios H,etiey losruat
A VISIT TO TuE DARTMOOR PRIs-
ON,

a VISIT III THE ilsAifi hbblt iitin-
ON,
The following account ofa visit to the Dart
anoor Prison, We copy from gn English paper,
II wAa ia this prison that hundreds Of our icl-
low eauntrymeu who had been taken prison
crs wcrr confined during the revolutionary
war aud also during the last war With Great
Britain. Many Americans died and were in
torrod within the walls Of this prison, and
their sulrriugs, ~ well ~ those OF the other
prisoners who were 20 fortunate ~ 10 survive
their captivity, will ever bc recorded a. an
evidence of British nhumaniSg
ave halted opposite the massive arrhway
of granite the entrance ofthc pnson,on which
- inscribed two words from Virgil Porcrc
Subjects la addition 10 the sentiment Of
.spAriug the yanpui,hcd, there WIS somcthihg
pleasing In fnany z thing 20 civilized as
classical inscription in se-wild -looalily-a
glooany place ofcaptvity Qua chccrlcss waste.
Having passed beneath the granite portal, we
soon found n man who was ready to act al our
guide. Although no scholar, (as hc himself
said,) hc was sufficiently acquainted with the
place 10 impart the information We wanted
lie looked old enough To give nv some partic-
ulArs respecting the French prisoners from
his own recollection Of them hut on inquiry,
found lac was only about forty short,
mere upstart of yesterday. Hard labor aud
n hard climate had made him look fitty or
murv.
The prisons comprise thirty acres, cnclos-
cd by a double wall, or two walls, on one of
which. Al certain distances stood - ''""!
boxes for the men who guar'l.' '"' P''''.','''
A. nm additional sccu"N, there wac N''l'n
the wall. nn ircn palisadc Inc p'''uon :"
the scu,inels on the walls was 80 exposed 'h"'
:, 80. necessary in the winter to relieve the
mon every quartz uf an houror twonty min
p,c- In rpiteof all the precautions some Of
A., won, .rozcn To death, aud others mar
II, .s,-pcd n similar fate. The establish
,,,,,o, ;.sjtuatcd upwards of fourteen hundred
G, hove the sea, but that is not in q
,.o.on Of hopeless stcrility, ps is shown 10y a
ACT TINT n rrr-;tl%t,,l,sa eNtant of the sluplng
trround al,aye it has been brought under cul-
tivation. II i, said that when Napoleon heard
of these prisons being built ON Dartmoor he
declared lac would erect prisons on the Alps
for his English captyes, by way of retalia-
tion.
The prisons for the soldiers and capuvcs
(Which arc sewer, Ia pumbcr,) are long build
ings radiatng from a common centre, and
resemble lofts. Each OF the two floors had
four rows of haInnocks for the men 10 sleep
in, and there was passage through the mid
- t,sl t,ln pI
under the roof, narrower than the other floors,
which must have been comtortlc,s enough
This floor, we ,yere told, had two rows of
hammocks, but friend afterwards informed
-4,~-iI-Izas used -mcrcly as a scene OF recrca-
tion, and was the place in which the prison
vrs ingcnously cut out varions articles from
the bones of their meet &c The crooks hY
which the hnmmocks were supported still re-
main in the walls, but nearly everything else
has been removed. The materials said our
guide, were sold when the Government gave
up the prisons to the Dutchy about four years
ago | was surprised to see Nhow much the
prison buildings have suffered since from the
lapse of time. Parts OF the floor and stairs
are in a dangerous state, and we observed in
one or two places the STAIRS were uiohen u
way, and the communication cut of, There
is cooking place attached To each of these
prisons.
The officers barracks or quarters were q
little n,.rS esmfortoble---a little more ralaee
like. They are supported on arcadcs, and
surrounded by a breathing-space' This paved
or rather pitched, but, in other yards, tn,
stones are covered with a green clothing of
grass, the produce of years. Within tho
building, the places where the hanmock'
were suspended, are indicated by hooks, as II
the soldiers quarters. There is a good-sizee
cooking -pfarr against the wall opposite TIN
building. g.-.-
We now went across to the part lately use'
d, by the NepthA COMPANY, and saw the remain
OF their machinery, materials &c.,whieh wer
to be sold by auction ON the 2Sth OF tUFus
last. Our attention was directed 10 the IA
iacent dungeon, a remarkably massive arch
ed structure of granite dimly lighted from
small grated window placed near the roof
The door was low, and ofamazing weight an
strength, .,nd it had i bolt of corresponding