Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1856-02-08
EVENING STAR.
LOCAL INTELLIGENCE.

to the readers Of the Star, feeling sure that Il
will interest them also.
We have already given an abstract of the
very able report Of the Warden, Mr. Thomas
Thornley,; and we now propose to supply some
details which did not come within the prov
ince of an official report.
The first room entered was the I" Office - An
apartment showing no particular indications
of being the vestibule of so formidabIa q
building as an United States penitentiary.
There were some green baize covered desks.
and some meek enough looking sheep and calf
bound Voiumes-account books, registers, and
the like. One Of these volumes contains a
list Of all the convicts who have been received
at the penitentary up to the present time
$50 in all. The first entry is April 9, 1881.
cabinet, when open, diseloses a museum Of
cOntraband" articles found upon the priso-
ners at different times Among these are fints
and steel, and some roughly but ingeniously
constructed wooden pipes. made in parts, and
which, when separated and scattered careless
ly abOut-a stem here and bowl there-would
seem calculated almost to defy detection
Here are some wooden gags, accom- panied
by cords, which, some years ago, were pre-
pared by some prisoners, to be used upon the
guards in a contemplated attempt at escape
: There is a Remarkably ingeniOusly constructed
iron wrench got up by eOnvicts, sometime since,
and with which they designed to unscrew the
nuts upon one of the principal locks of the
prison. Though rudely constructed, it is so
accurately fitted, and so admirably adapted
20 its purpose, that it answers even better
than the one provided by Government, and is
used by the officers Of the penitentiary in pre-
ference. Here We saw, too, a pack of cards
made Of sheepskin, such as is used for shoe
Innings They were discovered in the cell of
an old cOlOred man, and when he was asked
what he was doing with them, he answered that
not knowing how TO read, he could not use the
books of the library as other conyicts did, and
80 had made these cards, one by one, until the
pack was completed, and then used to play
- dummy" with himself, to while away the
weary hours The execution Of the figures
upon the cards. shows considerable natural
talent for drawing. Itseemed hard to deprive
the poor old man of his only solace, but the
strict rules Of prison discipline required it
In the penitentiary armory" there are
some formidable looking knives, which were
constructed some years ago by sOnvicts EN-
plOyed in the coach factory, and with which
they purpOsed TO kill their keepers and
Shen make their escape. An inspection of
these, with the wooden gags, and some other
ugly looking inst ruments, show the dangerous
and responsible position held by the officers
of the penitentiary, and the desperate char
2 aeter Of those they have to deal with.
The first mentioned room is also a sort of
post Office, with the difference only that Mr.
Thornley, is not only the postmaster for the
conTicts, but also has the first reading Of all
the letters addressed to them, according to
prison regulations. As most Of the CORES
pOndenee of the conviets comes from females,
Mr. In almost every letter he opens, finds
himself addressed as I" My dear husband"
and, In this PlatOnic sense, he is the husband
Of more wives than even Brigham Young, of
Mormon nOtOriety. Some Of the letters re-
ceived are indescribably touching, and of this
character is one Of eight closely written pages,
. sent within the last week, from one Of the
Stafa Nv n 10 har hus hap
whOm she has Just learned is now prisoner
IN this penitentiary. This letter is enclosed
N one addressed to the Warden Names and
localities, we cannot, of course, give, but an
extract or two is given which, we think, illus
trate womans abiding constancy, under all
circumstances, more powerfully than the most
thrilling romance.
In her letter to the Warden she states that
her husband left home some five years ago,
and since then she had heard no tidings of
|. him until n few weeks since; when she acct
J 1entslly heard il whispered that he was an
inmate Of the penitentiary at Washing
: ton. - Is it soh she writes % is there
3 man there of that name? My hus-
band is tall, with blue eyes, aud fair com
plexion. / know this is an unusual way to
proceed, but how else might gain the de-
sired information, except through you? Ny
feelings as a wife you can probably imagine,
and beseech you, if he is there, give him
the letter you will find accompanying this;
and God will bless you for your kindness to
al almost heart broken woman l will not
believe that, in throwing myself upon your
kindness, shall subject my dear husband TO
any more strict confinement; did think so,
l would suffer anything myself rather than he
should suffer through my indiscretiOn. feel
assured Of my husbands innocence, let him
be charged with what he may. l know his
noble nature, and a gentleman in your re-
spOnsible situation must know that often the
innocent suffer for the guilty at the same
time he is my husband, guilty or innocent. L
love him; he was ever kind and good to me,
and God would desert me did desert him in
his trouble. What have I not suf-
fered since first heard Of his imprisonment
God knows, aud he alone Will yOu not send
me one little line that may know if it is as
suspect What can l say more TO you than
that am a wife, and that love my husband
more than all the world. He is a good man,
and gentleman. l want him to know that
no circumstances can change my Affection
y that love him more 1l0bC than when we were
FIRST married, and. though l may not live to
see him again, that his name shall De the last
shall pray my God to bless"
To her husband she gives the tenderest as
surances Of belief IN his innocence, and begs
him to have patience and hope, until that in
nOcence IS made manifest. To tits end she
entreats him to consent to a plan a.: her own
which is this "W Will you, if l can raise the
means, allow me to 20 TO Washington and see
the President myself? 1 am full y convinced
that l could do you gOOd-a great deal of
good llyou let me try! know what you
think. You suppose me incapable of any great
exsrtion; you imagine that am as 1 once was
when you were with me; but, indeed, you are
mistaken Then L had nothing TO do but de-
pend on you for everything; then l was inca
pable, because l had never been put to the
trial Of what 1 could do. Will you think Of
this one thing, and let that influence you in
your decision Think that for the last FIVE
years l have been thrown upon my own re-
sources; that have had no one TO look to for
even common kindness; that 1 have been as
utterly given up by all my people as if had
not belonged TO them. l think 1 have learned
by this time TO take care of myself could 90
any where and every where alone and require
no protection, for l have learned that if a
Z woman conduc: herself properly, she is always
protected could travel to you alone without
fhs slinhtesf fear If / can only raise the