The New York herald., 1875-09-02
CONNOLLY'S FATE.
How Men Are Made Examples Of on
Blackwell's Island.
DISGRACEFUL MEDICAL ATTENDANCE.
Routine Of Life Among the
Prisoners.
FOUR KEEPERS DISMISSED.

The tragic fate OF Malachi Connolly the unfortunate
prisoner who was beaten to death on Blackwell'a
Island, has again aroused public interest in the work.
ngs OF the correctional institutions belonging to the
city OF New York That like Connolly's are not
OF daily the fault Of the keepers The
fate OF the prisoners would indeed be very pitable Il
the keepers had no to hold them in check and no
public opinion capable of reaching them The salutary
results of the recent revelations regard Connoy's
treatment found in the immediate dismissal by the
Commissioners OF Charities and Correction of three OF
the implicated keepers, the arrest of and the
pected capture Of another who has fed from justice
1t is be hoped those who may be appointed in their
place will conduct themselves with more humanity.
John f. Owens who furnished the HERALD with the
first ntimaton Of the death of Connolly through i'll
treatment has not yet exhausted his stock of nforma-
ton concerning the working of Affairs on the Island
He gives high share of praise Warden Fox and atri
butes the difficulty of his being able to everything
that transpircs between convcts and keepers to the
fact that prisoners from the Pentcntiary taken
work in places wide apart from each other. Ono gang
goes to the end of the Island, mile away and other
gangs in other directions, and unless the Warden
be in all these places at he detect the many
quiet acts of brutality keeper has it within his power
TO inlict prisoner. The i'll treated prisoner feela
apprchensve of complaining the Warden for the rea
son that his future may be worse than his past
AN ERROR ABOUT CONNOLLY.
1t seems erroneous impression altogether has been
given in regard to Connolly. He not half-witted
any degree less than the rest of his fellow
prisoners, but his disposition of extreme
patience and good nature, much So indeed that it
required very singing reproof in the shape of
blow the head with stick to him to any
exhibition of anger. II is of this kind the
keepers select for markers" that is, men whom
they may calculate to take all possible punishment
unrepinng silence, and thus become serviceable
examples to awe the other prisoners into obedience
'Nobody else in Gods world would have stood it." ex-
claimed the exprsoner Owens, ''but Connolly. He
soft, and just answered their purpose. Now"
continued Owens, 'they never tried that game ON
me. l gave sharp answer to keeper
day when l wearing a ball
and chain, and he turned round and said
'If you talk to me in that way again I'll break this
stick your head told him if he attempted to
do it I'd put end to him with tho ball the end
OF my chain. He never threatened me with his stick
again"
APPEARANCE VICTIM
Connolly was young man, five feet eight inches in
height and about twenty four years OF age He was
fair compexioned robust stout built and uncommonly
strong. He a small dark mustache. His relatives
live in Jersey City and respectable, we'll to do
people He had been sentenced to the Island for six
months charge of petit larceny, three months Of
his term having expired when he his untimely
end Owen insists that the young man was willing to
work and the large number of witnesses expected
testify before the Coroncrs jury will prove that it
two and sometimes threeold one mans work Connolly
called upon to do
now THEY LIVE ON THE ISLAND
The manner Of life Of tho convicts Blackwel's Is
land follows They genup at five O'Clock and then
turn out and wash themselves. When the morning
abuons they to their cells and arrange
their hair with their fingers Then they sit down for
twenty minutes to await breakfast indulgng theiI
imagination with visions of sumptuous but impossible
feasts AT half past six they 90 10 breakfast which
consists Of plain white bread turned sour enough Ia
remind the convicts that they not at home With
this they get tin-cupiu of coffee, which they COM
plain OF as not being imported Mocha but more like the
refined extract of old boot legs When breakfast in
ten minutes is over tho convicts assemble in the
parade ground outside the prison and go through sort
Of drill the following being sample of the drill terms
Keeper to his gang 'Heads on there close up look this
'Toes out, there" stop your squintin' there you
ugly looking bull calf" This genial exercise lasts
about fifteen minutes. Each keeper then takes his
gang, which numbers about twenty men. One hundred
allowed to five Keepers who go armed with
vovers and clubs or sticks The prisoners work until
quarter to twelve O'Clock when they are marched to
dinner Those working in the upper part of the island
take dinner in the basement of the Lunatic Asylum;
the in the Pententary. The bill of fare for dinner
consists of five ounces OF meat, plate of soup and
bread The convicts complain that the soup is weak
and watory On Thursdays and Sundays, however,
they regaed pea soup and these two days Of the
week they hail with great JOY There is an accompani-
ment to the soup of Texas beef or ''sat horse"
II.
return to work and continue at that until five O'Clock,
when they marched back to supper, which is COM
posed of highly fluid mush one night and coffee and
bread the next, so alternating all the year around
THE MEDICAL ATTENDANCE.
The medical attendance, according TO exprisoneI
Owens is wretchcd in the extreme. None but young
and in many instances drunken, students of Bellevue
Hospital in the morning to the Island, where
they do pretty much as they please When one Of
Connolly very sick and wanted TO see doctor, he
roarcd out, "Let him 60 TO h-lll guess that Irish
~
Cowenhovcn Reese, Reilly, Hardy and Corcoran tna
set of keepers who helped TO hasten Connolly 10 his
grave. The four first named have been discharged
The Commissioners of Charities and Correction should
call and examine Owens for matter how full of prejn
dice the man may be against those who were lately his
keepers there is sufficient prdtembdnce in his story to
statements that from other quarters to indicate
that solid substratum of truth lies beneath hit
charges He tells an instance of n dying with
smallpox in his cell and the keeper refusing send for
a doctor, saying he doctor enough for him. Con-
molly would have been buried in pauper's grave but
for Owens who after much seeking, found aunt of
the unfortunate prisoner living at No. IL Washington
street His sister in Jersey City, took his remains and
had them decently buried
A CALL on THE CHARITY COMMISSIONERS
HERALD reporter called at the office Of tho Com
missoners of Charities and Correction yesterday after
noon and learned from Commissioner Cox that no now
developments in the Connolly matter had occurred Mr..
Cox said that rs far as the Commissioners were con-
ccrned they had done their duty. They visited the
island held investigation, heard both sides and
cluded that three of the keepers deserved TO be dis
missed and that was done at once. Another keeper
named Reese who was ordered to report to the Com,
mssioners Yesterday will also be dismissed. Warden FoI
asked that ihs course be taken and they the Commis.
sioncrs were willing in that respect to carry out tha
Wardcns desire. lie certainly ought to know what
keepers unfit to be retained When Reese presentg
himself at Eleventh street he Will be summarily dis
posed Of
REroRTER-Did your trip to the Island, Mr.. Cox,
convince you and the other Commissioners that Con.
molly had been fouly dealt with
Commissioner Cox-Or course II did else wa
should not have dismissed these keepers the spot
was astonishcd to lind that Cowenhoven was mixed up
in these prosecutions of the prisoner because he had
good reputation and for twenty years connected
with the prisons of New York; but find he worse
than any OF them, and | suppose it was because ho
thought so he fled at the first opportunity We have
done part and II now remains for tho law dis
and punish the parties who instrumental in
causing Connolly's death