The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1871-11-18

"thc black hole" cell twenty feet under
ground and shut off from either light or air,
remarbing that he (Brown) would be hur-
CRY enough before he got any mole food to
complain about. After remaining in the
dugeon nearly ten days without food or wa
ter he was taken out and ordered to return
to his work. lie had been so weakened,
however, by hunger and the foul air of the
loathsome cell, that he found himself una
bic to perform his usual task. The warden
accused him of lazness and threatened to
have him punished again. Brown replied
that he was doing as much as he could,
and said he believed the warden want
cd to murder him. For this offence
the warden ordered the Captain
of the Prison guard to place Brown in the
shower-bath and 'give him as much as he
could stand.n The "shower bath y is
one of the most terrible devices that
cruelty ever invented. Its construction is
very simple. A square box, a little higher
than mans head, and just broad and
deep enough for him to stand in, surmount-
ed by reservoir containing water, form
the principal features of this instrument of
torture. The upper lid of the box is per-
forated with auger holes, which may be
opened or closed at will by means of
string which hangs upon the outside of the
box. The prisoner is gagged before being
placed in the shower bath, his hands and
feet are strapped to the sides of the box,
and his chin is then placed upon a bar of
wood which is put at such height as to
| just permit the toes to touch the floor
thus the weight rests mainly on the face
| turned up to receive the descending torrent
of ice cold water. There is no opportunity
for resistance-strapped fast and gagged,
the victim can neither struggle or cry out
against the terrible torture which is melted
out at the discrc ton Of the brutal keeper
Into an instrument of this sort Brown was
placed, in spite of his entreaties to be al
lowed to wait until he had recovered from
the effects of his previous punishment. -
Notwithstanding his frantic struggles, he
was finally gagged and secured by the straps
| in the manner above described. The keep
er then drew the string, permitting the wa
ter, which was almost as cold as ice, to fall
| upon the upturned face of the dying pris-
| oner.
! 10 heighten the torture and prolong the
victims sufferings, the water was allowed
at first to trickle slowly down, but with
gradually increasing force, until it poured
over him in perfect torrent. In this man.
ner eight or ten buckets of water were
poured into the prisoners face when the
bar under his chin, which had been placed
at such height as to raise him completely
off his feet, broke, and he fell as far as the
straps, with which his hands were fastened,
would permit him. The scene which
ensued was so revolving that the description
of it would be incredible, if the testimony
OH which the story is based were not ncon-
testible. Taking the limp and liieless body
in their arms, they endeavored to stand it
up in the box again. But all their efforts
proved fruitless. The captain of the guard
then placed rope around the mans neck
and passing it through one Of the auger
holes drew the body up while the others
fastened it in an upright position. The
same performances was then gone through
with again, fully dozen buckets of water
being allowed to flow into the box. When
this had been completed, it was found that
Brown was dead. For more than quarter
Of an hour they had been torturing Q
corpse.
linus ended one of the most diabolica
and revolving crimes of modern times--ont
which, had it occurred under the Plantaga
nets or Tudors, would have been counted
: |
occurred in Stree and enlightened Ameri
ca" it is passed by with merely forma
, examination, in which the public takes ne
interest, and verdict of 'ded from con
geston of the lungs"
Punishment by torture is still practicet
in almost all of our penitentiares, and al
though many of the dark clouds Of cruelt,
, and death are buried forever within The
prison walls, yet enough is known to show
that the terrible incidents which occasional
ly come to light are not isolated parts, bu
: the development of system of torture
! practiced constantly and with impunitl
, upon those who have been incarcerated TO
offences against the law.
Dir. Gibbes, the prison surgeon, thought
that death was occasoned by the shower
a ings, but would not swear that it was no
, | owing to the man having been hung with
rope around his neck for fifteen minutes.