Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1858-1860, 1858-12-30
A Horrible Zen.

Horrible Fen.
In Richmond. built on a graveyard, at the
foot of hill wet as a wash-tub in winter.
hot as a furnace in summer, not d for rapid
demise of iailOrs. frequent escape OF prisoners.
want of room for proper classification of in
mates. etc. etc. il shocking old jail, famlil-
arly known az The Black Hole of Calcutta
and against which the whole city is ever de-
claiming.
The ike of that horrible hole we Thought
we meyer shonld see. but we were mistaken,
and for the especial comfort and encourage
mnnt of such Of the Richmond Council as will
not Weld to the popular will, and build a new
Jail we announce that the domicile for doors
Of evil deeds here is just as bad, if not worse.
ard that the unwillingness on the part OF
those in authority to throw it down, seems to
lie Just as obstinate.
THE INTERIOR OF THE DEN.
A rickrtv gate leads into an alley half
plankcd. half mnd: follow this for fifty yards,
turn to The right. and you stand in front OF
the county Jail Of the District of Columbia.
Look at it. Did You ever before see such a
curious concern. 100 feet long, so wide. three
stories high with 20 windows on the north
side. 20 on the south, and in each end, all
IooLigg INTO The streets but now mostly provided
with black latticcd boxes. resembling gallow-
NtS t'E DlHFbU-lTdD~, " ptNCiih wv PA '''''i'
from looking ont and, of course, the blessed
sun from looking in. with half-a-dozen Chin
ncys sticking through its roof, like stumps in
an old field, and painted blue? This horrid
prisOn-house is enough to give any one the
blues at the very first sight Of it.
THE INTERIOR OF THE DUNGEON.
Enter this ,eoo9ea door. We are in an
arched apartment 20 by 20. paved with brick.
rs is the prison throughout. and used, togeth-
or with an adjoining one of the same size. as
guard room. while on the same floor are three
other rooms of like dimensions, used as lum-
bFr-rOoms and kitchen.
Pass through this door, opposite that nv
which we entered. We are in a corridor 10
feet wide running east and west the whole
length Of the building. and with correspond
ing corridors in the other stories, dividing it
into two sections. In the east and west ends
of this corridor are two cells. 10y 81. and
in them are the doors of the heaters. the fues
Of which by the way. would afford any inge-
NOUS iail-hreaker easy means of escape. The
kitchen rs we have said is on this floor, and
II IS so dilapidatcd that no whitewaSh will
stick. aud it is not half large enough for Its
purposes.
In the corridor, and directly opposite the
door through which we entered it, is an iron
door. Passing through this we are at the
passage three feet wide, and leading out into
the northern yard. Let us follow this pas
sage to the yard door, and, turning 10 the
riyht ar 10 the len, we are stopptd by iron doors
Look through; do you see those unfOrtunates?
They are coopcd up in two passages. each 80
feet by 5. with two windows and three cells
in each, each cell 10 feet by s. and with from
eight to ten inmates in every one Of them.
We need not 90 up stairs; each floor or story
- a.. 30 ...-rr
Won through the many tortuous, narrow, and
stair-cases.
THE GALLOws YARD.
Let us GO out into the yard. 1t is relief
to breathe the open air again. But what is
this horrid thing in the southeast corner, with
a solitary lamp standing beside il? McGowan
saws IL is the gaIlows on which Powers was
hung. and that is a fac siHile Of the one on
which Webster was executed in Boston for :he
murder of Parkman. Let us go up this lad
der. we are on n platform ID by Is. fourteen
feet from the ground with trap hole by 5,
and a cross beam eleven feet above it.
The trap was down, and the assistant jailer
showed us that it fell with spring which is
and which is loosed by tipping
away "A block of wood. Imprinted, made of
nnpianed pine, with its trap-door swinging
in it's place. and the solitary lamp post keep
ing lonely watch beside Il. Ii was a fearful
thing TO gaze on. While we were on IL,
prisoner pressing his face to the bars of his
sell, said, That's where | am going fast, sir"
to which we replied. Every likely Where
upon the fellow. with a loud laugh. and re-
oicing that he had trapped us said, "fes, but
YOU have the lead of me. for you are there
already"
This yard which is 90 by 90, looks dismal
rs place of graves. and in its centre is a
lettering old pump. looking faint for want of
water. Ga the east and west of this yard are
.wo others for lumber etc, aboul 36 by 81,
md containing some dilapidated wooden
sheds, and The ruins of n brick oven, etc. They
are bounded by 20-toot brick wall, while
he yard on the northern front has wooden
)uing five feet high.
When the population of Washington was
II 900. this jail was built, aud il was Intended
or about so persons. No,c there are crapmlei
}. Il no aud IL il so contrived that the jailors
must visit the cells every half hour, for all
he cells cannot be seen al a glance; and each
ailur has 20 20 armed, a. he might be slain by
he prisoners on any one floor. without his
,omrade above him or below knowing any
thing about IL. Hence the greatest vigilance
Is required, and the guards are kept In con
staat stats OF anxiety.
This Internal den Is utterly unit for its
isos: il l. insecure, IL is an outrage on HUI
nanity aud morals 20 allow Ii To stand.
Thirteen grand juries have condemned 1t, the
press has asSailed it. DR.. Blake has written
AZ tinst il, the public have cried out against
il, aud we with all our might have Joined
and will join the cutlery until it Is demolished;
for IL il II standing disgrace to the city Of
Prisoners are not secure there;
there il no classification OF them; there l. no
safety against contagion. no hindranee 10 evil
the walls are crumbling,
the piscr Is rotten. and the whole eoncern is
an abaininabie nuisance
IL Is due to the jailor. NJ King. and his
assistants, Messrs. Mct;owan, Riley. Goddard.
Laird. ltoi.lnsoa, Wilson. Sanderso0 aud Wa
tiers, 10 say that We found the place In as
good eosdti ton n il i possible 90 keep such
4 rookery; aud we would add that We don't
envy these msn the labor lead anxiety they
undergo Haaa. S.aies. - HtfslF