The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1875-02-18

When we reached Chatham, the van
stopped ut public house in the principal
street, where it was the custom to per-
NIT the prisoners to alight for brief
period, and indulge in one good meal,
with accompanying stimulants, before
commencing their penal servitllde, dur
ing which they must put up with only
coarse but wholesome fare, and of ne
cessity suffer all sorts of privations. My
spirits were terribly depressed, and in
stinctively shrunk from the gaze of the
curious crowd that had collected at the
door Of the public house to look at us.
Being better dressed than the rest, I, of
course, attracted particular attention, and
the more so, probably, as the fellow who
was linked to me was miserably clad, and
presented a most repulsive appearance.
The remarks made by the bystanders
were by no means complimentary, and L
was evidently set down as one of the
swell-mob, and certainly not an object of
sympathy, or considered deserving any.
My companions seemed to be utterly de-
void of feeling, and entirely unconscious
of their degraded position. Transporta
ton had apparently no terror for them,
nor did they permit its contemplation to
interfere with their present enjoyment.
The feast at the public house was pro-
longed to the extreme verge of indul-
gence, and farewell chorus was then
proposed, one of the party improvising
the words. The last note was given Just
as the door of the van closed. We were
soon within the gates of the dockyard,
and proceeded rapidly to the hulk,
which was lashed to the wharf, leaving
a considerable space, however, between
the wall and her side. Over this a
bridge was thrown, extending to the
gangway, which was drawn up at night,
so that there was no connection between
the ship and the shore. We alighted at
the foot of this bridge, and walked over
it as well as the short chain would per-
NIT, and were placed in line on the
quarterback to await the inspection of
the surgeon. When he arrived, we were
desired to extend one arm at right
angle with the body, and he used it like
a pump-handle; but what the object of
this operation was [ never could divine,
for that was the extent of the inspection.
We were then relieved of our shacBles-
and great relief it was-and conducted
to an office i'll the forward part of the
desk, with large book open before him.
In this was entered the personal de-
scription of the prisoner, color of his
hair and eyes, his height, complexion,
and any other particulars which might
lead to his recognition should he chance
to escape.
Another person entered the convict's
name, age, place of birth, where brought
up, and the names and residences of
your relatives. This last information, L
confess, it greatly panied me to give,
and it seemed to me cruel to exact it,
though suppose it was deemed neces-
sary for the ends of justice. These for
malities completed, we were taken to
another department, in which was an
immense bath tub. Here we were told
to strip and give ourselves a good wash
ing and while doing so, our clothes
were removed, and each man was fur
nished with the convict uniform-a pair
of gray worsted stockings, a check shirt,
and coarse gray jacket, vest, and knee
breeches, together with thick shoes as
near the size as possible. Having dressed
ourselves, a convict appeared with
large pair of scissors, a comb, and shay
ing apparatus. Having rendered our
faces completely smooth, and cut our
hair as short as possible, he then took
the razor and marked the letter G dis
tinctly just above the forehead.
A still further degradation was, how
ever, yet to be undergone, in the rivet-
ing on of my chains. To an iron ring
placed on each leg, just above the ankle,
was long, heavy chain reaching to the
waist, where it was fastened to a belt
passed around the waist. Believe me, it
was an attachment of an exceedingly
troublesome character, and the rattling
of the chain with every movement made
me shudder. This was, indeed, "the
iron that entered the SOUL" The CON
victs were compelled for a time to per-
form the most laborious work wearing
this chain, such as carrying heavy tim
Der, excavating and wheeling dirt etc,
while even walking was a most painful
operation with the hands at liberty to
partially relieve one of the weight. By
a course of good conduct, however, the
convict was gradually relieved of this in
cumbrance one-half would first be re-
moved, then short chain extending to
one knee would be substituted, and
finally only the ring would be left.
The day after my arrival was sent
out with gang to work, and we were
employed carrying heavy ships beams,
as much as three men could stagger
under. As may be imagined, my strength
was unequal to the task, but no shirking
was permitted, for the keeper regarded
all alike, as felons who We're to be pun
ished, and knew that he was appointed
to see that it was duly inflicted, To ex-
hibit fayoritism would, in all probability,
have got him into trouble. He no doubt
saw, however, my inability to perform
the work, and possibly reported the fact !;
or it may be that there was some secret
influence at work in my behalf, for after
the second day, L was ordered from
the gang, and desired to go below,
where those who were i'll, or pretended
to be (for there was a great deal of that
kind of thing), had to wait an examina-
ton by the surgeon. / don't think L
could possibly have undergone the labor
that day, for my shoulders We're literally
skinned by the chatting of the timbers,
and my limbs was so sore and stiff, that
l could scarcely move.
The surgeon on entering the place
came at once to me, and after two or
three questions, told me to stand aside.
Most of the others were ordered to their
work with threat of punishment, and
only two of us received papers for the
hospital-ship, which lay in close prox-
unity to the hulk. My irons were
knocked off, light ring riveted on one
leg, and was soon placed in compare
lively comfortable quarters. How well