The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1873-05-28
AN HOUR In JAIL ALL.
VISITS. TO PRISONERS OF HIGH
AND Low REGREE.
HOW THE ALLEGED DUELLISTs
ARE FARING.
AN INTERVIEW WITH AN ALLEGED
MURDERER.
OTHER PRISONERS.

| OTHER PRISONERS.
Yesterday morning representative Of
the Dispotch, in company with Captain Dis
ney and Officer Hrlcc Of the police force of
the middle district, visited the city Jail where
| a numhrr of noted prisoners arc now con.
fined. either waiting for an examination of
their eases or serving out terms of impri>On.
| ment inflicted by the Hastings or Police
Courts of this city.
| The total number OF prisoners in the city
| Jail yesterday was seventy -tivc-sixty-three
| men and twelve women, five Of whom are
| white, and two of the five women are charged
with lunacy. That portion of the Jail in
which the alleged
! SECONDS IN THE LATE DUEL,
Messrs. Meredith, Tabb, Royal. and Trigg,
are confined was first visited. These gentle
men are very comfortably situated in an
upper room, which was once occupied by
johnson FL. Sands George ChahooD, james
Grant, and other noted prisoners. The
room, though small, is by no means uncom-
Portable, and is supplied with clean and ex-
cclent bedding and a few ornaments. The
floor is as clean as new penny, and there
are evidences under the table, on the mantel-
piece, and elsewhere in the room, that they
are well cared for by their many friends out
side. The officers Of the Jail, too, are courte-
OILS and kind. and allow them the privilege
| of going to and fro about the building, into
| the iaiI-oftice. etc, etc. While the writer
was sitting talking with one of the gentle
men u number of friends came in to pay
| them visit, and negro boy SOON followed,
| bcariuG a goodly -JiZed waiter containing
| number of delicaceS, which were neatly
| covered with pure white napkins, which
were suggestive Of Il dainty repast. These
| well-knOwn prisoners begin to fret little at
their confinement, and seem to think that
the 10th of June, the day now fixed for their
| preliminary examination before the Police
Court, IS L long time OF.
| THE JAIL-YARD,
was next visited Here Il number of prison
crs were out Of their cells. Among the num-
Der was W. j. Annable. who has been SEN
fenced to the penitentiarv for three years,
and now awaits the action Of the Court OF
| Appeals on u motion Of his counsel for Il new
| trial. Annable occupies Cell No. |, which
is the first cell on the right as you enter the
jail-yard. Further down the yard, after
passing by IL number of prisoners who are
confined for assaults. disorderly conduct,
witc-bcaiing, and vasrancy, comes
| CELL NO. /,
the door Of which was opcn, and It's occu-
pant, Horace Vcnablr. the alleged murderer
| Of Mary Holmes. was lying on his blankets
on the cell floor. .Jailor O'Dwyer, who ac-
companicd the intervicwers, called up the
| accused, who, after making himself little
| more presentable, stepped carefully into the
.iail-yard, heavily ironed about the ankles.
| Fenable looked surprised to see that he flad
| so many visitors, but was not particularly
communicative. as his counsel, 1t IL SAID,
| have instructed him to keep mum on the
| subject of his Imprisonment and its causes.
As to other matters he had but little to say.
rs he is very illieritc and ut times his talk
| is 50 mixed up and his expression SO con-
fused that it is very hard 10 understand him
at all.
INTERVIEW WITH AN ALLEGED MURDERER.
The first question which was asked him
was whether any person was with him mt
the time he met Mary Holmes near the lock
In reply, he did not deny that he had met
her there, but answered, clearly and plainly,
that no one else was with him.
Reporter: Did she come out Of the back
or front door?
Venable don't know, sir. | was stand
ing at the front of the house--So Charles
Clarke and Mollie Sykes have said | never
sent in Tor her, though, lis has been said |
did.
q. Does anybody else know anything
about this matter! Where were you stand
Ing when you met her?
4. | don't know what other people know
about il, but heard that Mollic Sykes, Sarah
Nlackic. and Maria Walker came out of the
ballroom behind Mary Holmes. and that
they didn't see her any more after that.
=. DO you know who came out with her?
y. No, don't, sir. | didn't see her mt
the bank of the lock as they say did.
q. Was there any person with you when
you struck her on the head?
4. "Struck her Il lick on The head Struck
her lick on the head!" the accused re-
peatcd, i'm bewildcred sort Of a manner.
" No, sir; tell you the honest truth, gem
men, don't kno nothn' bout it. Molle
never told me anything about. her; nobody
told he to do anything; no person asked
me to do anything to her; | didn't have
anything to do with it, and / don't know
anything about it,"
Being satisfied that Horace had told all
that his counsel would have allowed him,
the party left the plison-yard and clme out
into the main yard.
WHAT vENABLE SAID TO LUCY KINNEY.
Here they met Lucy Kinney, who is serv-
ing ont ninety days fora breach OF the peace
She was a companion and friend of the dead
woman. and was ut the Jail when officer Mi
cllacls came down with the prisoner Vcna-
BILE. Lucy Kinney was scrubbing down the
steps which lead to the office. Fcnable
spoke to her first, as she says. She then
asked him ~ hat made him kill that Srl!"
TO which Horace replied. | am sorry for
it, but did do it, and nobody else had any
thing to do with it," Kinney then reioined
that il was too late then to talk about being
sorry. Horace was then irOncd and locked
up, and so the conversation ended.
ANOTHER WITNESS AGAINST vENABLE.
The visitors next had talk with Charles
Jones, the Jail cook, who it may he re-
marked is most respectable man, and has
been an employe there for twenty years. He,
also. said that he saw the prisoner when he
was put ip. He also heard a conversation
which the prisoner Iad in the Jail yard. and
remembered that officer Michaels asked him
if he killed the woman. and he said, "ycS.
| did,
MoIlie Sykes is also in Jail awaiting an OK
animation, which will be held before the
Police Court tomorrow morning. Fenable
will be examined at the same time.
Police CouRr-Jusiicc Whtc.- Hannah
Miller, charged with abusing Frederick
Srlcrcr. was discharged upon payment OF
ninety cents costs.
Frederick Scherer, charged with abusing
4, itnr Of ntSf.ItgFppU