The Shasta courier., 1864-11-12
.Yonen under Difficulties.

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The first sentiment that gains expression
when female convict finds herself in the re-
ception room ofthe penitentiary is thato of re-
gard for her personal appearance. Il hap
pens thus By the rules of the prison the
hair Of the inmates is cut to the regulation
length, and this operation calls forth from
the unfortunate women, curses and PRAYERS,
tears and wheedling entreaties, sometimes
the fiercest resistance. She may have plot
ted murder, may have poisoned her own child,
or committed any other crime without the
quiver of an eyelid; but she can not submit
to the indignity of having her locks reduced
bv the shears of the penitentiary. Less pain
ful and often amusing instances of vanity are
seen later in the woman's prison life; and
the matron who accompanies us, assures US
that it is one of the most serious duties of her
class to check the love Of display which shows
itself even here. One woman, for instance,
appeared ON certain day with brilliantly
painted cheeks; the whole ward was at once
restless with envy and curiosity: the embel-
lishment was decided success. and the Sc
cret irritated the feminine mind almost be-
yond endurance. The prison authorities
were at fault also; there was no coloring
matter in the woman's cell, or at any point
of the building to which she had access. AT
last, after the closet watching for some time
the secret of the art was laid open The
woman was at work, in common with the
other convicts, upon blue cotton skirts,
through which red stripe ran; she was ac-
cnstomed to pull out. here and there, thread
of this last mentioned color, and when suf.
ficient quantity had accumulated she would
soak them in water, and thus obtain the sub
stitnte FIR rouge. Other women scrape the
whiting from the walls, and grind it fine
enough to use as powder for the face.
We perhans express some curinsity in re
gard to the matter of corsets. The matron
resumes, explaining:
The windows of certain cells had wire net
ting before them from these Ball would alb
stract sfatfeners to serve as substitutes for
bores. The wires being drawn with discre-
ton, here and there, their absence was not
discovered. One Sunday, however, the in
genious woman tainted away in church, a
victim to tight lacing and SO the trick was
detected
This woman was the inventor of a favorite
kind of pomade, made from the grease of her
dinners, and with the aid ofthis she would
turn out in the morning with her halr rolled
in the prison bonnets, which would be refash-
ioned during the night into shapes totally
unlike their original form; and she was the
leader ofthe ton, in the matter of caps fur
nisned as part Of the prison costume. All
the women indeed, show a high degree of
ingenuity in making the ugly articles, last
mentioned, into presentable affairs. The
matron tells US that there is quite series of
fashion during the year with them. One
woman will start new border, or new tucks
and plaits behind, or introduce piece of wire
to give the thing a semblance of comeliness :;
if the new idea meets the approval of other
women it becomes the style, and is at once
adopted with more or less success.
No savage could value a piece of glass more
highly than does the average female convict.
She will break her window-the cells at
Miilbank have glazed apertures for light
lament over the accident with well acted
grief and most cunningly secrete bit ofthe
glass where the closest search fails to discov-
it; then smoking one side over her lamp,
or making back of black cloth, she will ex.
uit in secret over the miserable apology for
mirror, and as the matron says, will behave
with propriety for weeks. because she has
this wellspring of joy in her CELL