Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1861-08-28


KNOWN AS THE COUNTY JAIL-Sons particulars
Of ths Pytsos dsd IsD1ntss-Dr. FTsnling-Soldis,
Ro6s,ts-ths Rec. JOAN Gyssn-TAe insane p1is-
osr Stsra,t-The Brothers TIxe-Riehard Erass
The attempt of Joks III MsrphS to break jail
q The Bangor got, Mass Abby Knight-tks Wash
sngfon gal, Mary>fs Mark-1bbs sleeps in tia
fsat Of ku Unelsn of ths Sizth Maine Regi-
r1ent-Hoto she got ths Coxnss,sisn and kotc sac
ednns 20 girs tt-Csyioss Developments Of PEyi-
fas nIraIs-Hop TAG Divfgo Boys and Gals exf mp
ehss ateay from 1hxn',-H Horror of the CAiral-
~ a fsllsrship vita Sanrbo, &c, $e.-We chose
Sunday to visit that ''house Of care - the county
jsil, because that 10 the only day on which gen.
era visitors aud friends Of the prisoners are not
admitted, and the guards, In consequence, are at
isure to attend TO the less urgent calls Of men,
hers Of the fourth estate and other Bohemians.
The Chateau de Chillon had Its ''snow-wh
battlements" and picturesque surroundings to
redeem us character as an "embiem OF bell /" but
such adornment IL stands forth an architectural
aboruon-its repusive appearance outside ftly
shadowing forth the lack Of comfort and conve-
nience within. Our readers are no doubt familiar
with the dull blue walls Of the building and its
barred windows, jealousy fenced In by low,
sullen Enclosures, which hardly leave room for
the barren, Pinched-up Yards The prison is
known among those familiar with "slang' as
the blue jugo IL used to be the case that
jewellers In the neighborhood were seriously an
noyed by the prisoners on the second and third
floors, who would hail acquaintance, or even
strangers passing along the street, and Of course
they were not choice In their selection Of epithets
They would offend the eve az well an the ear, by
their violations Of the laws Of decency, until IL
became necessary to provide a remedy, and the
windows were boxed up. A frame with Stats 10
fxed outside Of each window, about two feet
look over IL nor under It, The stats slant upward
like reversed window blind, so that the pris-
oners, IL they take the trouble to look through
them at all, can see the sky, but not the ground
waite their thoughts and lead their aspirations sky
ward, we have not yet settled to our satisfaction.
Entering by the gate in the fence on Fourth Ut +,
you perceive the main entrance 10 the Jail to be In
the center Of the building, on the south side
Once through this portal, which 10 generally open
In summer, you stand in the guard room, which
In square vaulted chsmber. Right before you,
across the corridor which runs through the
building from end to ends strong iron-g grated
door, and through that you one side the
narrow stone steps leading to the cells above, and
on the other side your vision extends out into the
gloomy prison yard. To this grated door prison
ers descend to see their friends from the outside
world, and many sad meetings Of father and chill
dren, husband and wife, brother and sister guilt
and Innocence, have here been witnessed by the
stoical guards On this side of the door 10 placed
. large curved bar, so placed to keep 'sinsde''
and ,Outside" at arms length. Adjoining the
guard room, on the west, is the office, and in Il
the armory, with muskets, sabers and pistols, all
Of the old style: The guards, however, have
lately been furnished by the Government with an
improved Colt' each, and these are always
taken into the cells when guard has occasion to
Wait them, 4" for fear Of accidents In the office
also 10 casefor medicines drug store In minia-
tn,e. Adjoiaing the Once Is bed room, at pres
Confederate army, who was captured In June last
He has the run Of the outside yard on parole, and
sometimes goes to church with Justice DOM He
does not look at all like prisoner, and seems to
be always In good health and spirits. Next the
Office on the east 10 the store room, with a good
supply Of bacon, corn meal, &c, and adjoining
that the kitchen. They were cooking dinner
when we entered, and the heat from the large
open IRE. place was empowering. Several old
fashioned Dutch ovens, with mammoth corn
'tpone'' In each, were ranged before this FIRE,
while two large boilers Of meat were simmcring
over range at one side.
After examination Of these arrangements one of
the jailors said he was ready to accompany US to
the cells. The guard on duty then unloc ked the
door, we entered, and it closed behind us; and
hearing the KEY crate in the lock we had queer
sensation Of being 4" locked In" The cells on the
first door are on the north side Of the corridor
the rooms we have described being on the south
side. The cells are small, dark, damp and dis
agreeable In one Of them, crouchIng over his
bed with bis back TO the wall, and with irons on
his ankles, was Roberts, the soldier who killed
the teamster Wolfe He looked u % with pleasant
smile on being aeeosted. and said he was quite
comfortable The guards say be is a quiet man
ageaole fellow, and from his appearance we Judge
the demon drink is at the bottom Of his troubles
In the same range Is a poor, deranged soldier,
named Stewart and we now say plainly to those
In authority that unless he 10 removed from that
miserable place somebody will be answerable for
his death. At the Insane Asylum he could re-
ceive the attention his case demands.
In this range we noticed bright, intellige emit
youth, with pleasant face, and asked him what
be was doing there. He said be didn't know he
believed II was for breaking somebody's window
on the Avenue The Intelligent guard who ac-
eompanied Us, Mr.. Duval, was amused at our
yerdancy In suPPosing anybody In the jail had
stdone anythingh All are victims of human
prejudice and the tyranny Of law-according to
the prisoners Idea. The stereotyped answer to
all inquiries 10 similar to that Of the bow Jo, In
Bleak House, 81 never done nothink % Most of
The cells have grated dsors, but one called "ths
dungeon" "a distinction Il 10 not more entitled
70 than the fess) has solid iron door. The stone
flags OF this noor have been torn up by the fingers
Of violent prisoner, and 4 hole beaten In the
door BY the same man. He must have been a
Having seen enough on this floor, we ascended
10 the range Of cells on the second floor, immedi-
ately above those we had Just visited Here, near
gentlemaniy looking person, dressed In black
cloth, with blue cord down the seams Of his
pantaloons. He advanced TO the door, and we
soon found he was the Rev. John Green, Chap
lain Of the Tenth Pennsylvania regiments whose
arrest has been noticed In the Star. clergyman
In prison on the Sabbath day, charged with a
criminal offence, was q sad sight he gave Us his
hand through the grating, while In trembling
voice he spnke Of the charge against him, and
said he hoped his name would not be mento ned
In the papers We told him II had been already
reported. He spoke In feeling terms of his wife
and children In Pennsylvania, and Of the hard
ship Of not being allowed to see any friends on
this day Sunday who would interfere for his re-
lease. We left him pleading his innocence and
iamenting his hard fate. In the same range were
two very respectable looking men, who the Tailor
Informed Us, were the brothers True, New York
business men, In on charge Of defrauding Lewis
Jehnson Of this city In the opposite range Rich.
ard Evans was confined, who, II win be remem-
6ered, shot the young soldier, John Howard, In
front OF the National Hotel some months since
The cell In this same range next the door was
that In which Scrgt. John n. Murphy fof the
Boyd CASEY was connned After sentence was
passed on him he made an EFFORT TO escape He
seems to have been furnished with aw knife or
something Of the kind, by some Of his friends
10 vss noticed by the guards tnat he ALWAYS laid
down with his head next the door aud clasped
the grating with his hands On last Thursday
night 10 wss discovered, In locking him In that
The Iron which holds the bolt of the lock bad been
separated, and an effort made to hide II by tying
% up. He was subsequently, ironed until his re-
moSsl 10 the penitentiary on saturday. We ex-
amIned the .'catch" made Of iron nearly an inch
square, and IL bad been neatly cut nearly all the
way through, and was then broken of
The rooms on this doof-corresponding with
thoss below-sre occupied by women. Black
and white are In separate rooms, but all have the
corridor in common. Only two white women
were confined al the time Of our visit-Abb
KniQ 1T and Mary de Mark-whose commtttal for