Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1853-08-04
DAILY EVENING STAR.
CITY ITEMS.


gloomy receptacle Of crime and vice for tbs
county of Washington. The polite and gen.
tlemanly warden, Mr. Wright, extended a cor
dial reception, and conducted us through the
building On the first floor. we found the six
cells pretty well flled-sone with whites and
come with negroes, Gagged for minor offences,
and sweltering with the heat of their unven-
,;,ated abodes We had Il brief chat with
;rrs with tolerable philosophy, in general.
poor O. Brian, who had just come in to stay
c,ur weeks. for stoning dwelling was almost
;rs,asolabe One wretched white man had
.b, deiirirm trsn,pns. Martin, the Baltimore
,ov faces the music like veteran. All
h. onpeared to care for was the heat, which
10 said was like that of certain hot place,
rnmentionable to ears polite. A youth was
with HIM in irons, for bad conduct. On the
second floor. a similar range of cells extend
,Iop, the rear of the prison, and contain a
few offenders of high and low grades. and the
third story is similarly arranged, and are also
badly ventilated. although, being higher in
the air. the inmates can better weather the
heat than those below The front parts of
these upper stories are divided into rather
comfortable rOOmS-those on the second story
being appropriated to females, of which but
four or five are now the occupants. We OBJ
served two lazy and one crazy black wenches,
and white woman the latter put in for
keeping bawdy- house. She haSa snug bed
and beistead a female companion and young
boy not her own, who stayed with her to
cheer her lonely hours of prisOn-life. The
cells on the third story had but a few prison
er:. an! but one individual occupied the front
Of the building, He had just got over the
mIiia -lvia, and expected to leave to-day
The warden informed Us that they sometimes
bad Eve or six such eases on hand at a time,
wao are always cured, receive kind attention.
and generally leave 20 enter upon their old
habits, which they keep up until death closes
their career. These front ranges of rooms
have each cell, which are used to more close
" confne the inoorrigible Having taken a
hssty review OF the prison, and noted its gen.
eTal an6tness for its purposes, in comparison
WITH modern prisons, the warden led US to the
cell OF Daniel 7. Woodward, not long since
convicted OF the mlrier of his wife and SEN
fenced to be executed on the 81 day OF Sep
teuber next.
The Warden opened the cell, introduced US,
locked the door, and loft us to an unin.erupl-
Ell cCGy~4SAsfon of about an hour Wood
eafa received us politely, and even with some
dignity Of manner, pointing to a rocking,
chair in which he asked US to be seated We
found him reading Methodist hymS look,
and beside him lay bible and the psalter of
the Protestant Episcopal Church, all pretty
veil thumbed, and with leaves turned down
DE entered readily and intellisently into con-
yersation, in the course of which he related
much Of his life. He was born in Connecti-
cut, on the 18th November, 1872, and is there
fore only in the 4lst year of his age In early
life he came to the District with his parents.
and learned the trade of n silversmith, al
which he worked. until he took q nctien to
ramble. lie entered tbs May as a seaman,
sna Visttsa l.any distant places in South
america, &c., and in the late war with Mex
leo enlisted in Baltimore company, and was
afterwards transferred to one of the District
companies. On his return he married Catha-
rine HOlton, a widow. and took her to els
quarters in the barracks, wher7 tasy lived
unhappily tOgethey a-S poorly too, his wages
bsirg NaI e. per month. His time of enlist
9ient having expired. he went to the World s
Fair. London, crossing the ocean as sailor. we
suppose, and on returning set up small eror
Gerry near the Navy Yard
Here habits OF inteMneYanea became riveted
on him him ard continued until the g accident
Aappened to his wife, by which she was killed,
Tor he says he has no recollection of shooting
her, whether she did it herself, or whether
some oGe else lid it, He acknowledges that
he might possibly have done it, but if he did
it was in that state of unconscious derange-
ment superinduced by liquor He firmly ad-
heres to the declarations made at the time Of
his sentence in regard to false-swearing of
witnesses, and still says that he did not muir
der her. In regard to his approaching fate
he spoke with firmness and without fear, almost
preferring death to the gibbet. Ills only wish
lqr a computation was, that it might give an
opportunity at some future day to be liberated
on proof being discovered of his innocence of
the crime for which he was convicted. He had
directed his counsel to appeal to the President
for pardon, on the ground of his not being
guilty of the dreadful deed. and if it was
granted him, he would leave the country never
more to return, or in case Of coming back, to
be executed In regard to executions. he re-
marked generally, that the gallows ought to be
abolished in this age of enlightenment and
religious intelligencp-hut still he was willing
70 suffer the death penalty according to the law
as it now is, and fully expected to be hung.
We asked who were his spiritual advisers,