The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1878-03-27
THE DUMB MAN.
Story of the Most Remarkable Inmate Of
Massachusetts Prison.

Story of the Most Remarkable Inmate Of
Massachusetts Prison.
There appeared recently before the
governors council what Warden Cham
berlain of the Charlestown (Mass.
State prison regards as the most re
markable Ease in his experience. The
"dumb maj" was examined in refer
ence to a petition for a pardon that hit
friends have presented.
eve saw him for a minute or two las
week." said MI. Haynes of the govern
or's council to a New York Sun CORE
spondent, "and the brief interview
haunted me the rest Of the day. We
had taken up the papers OF Michae
O'Donnell, sentenced for the murder o.
a little girl. He had served ten years
We asked the warden to bring O'Don'
nell in. Soon after a tall man in prison
dress walked in, and his appearance
and manner were 80 strange that none
could spesk for a few minutes. W. sal
and looked at the man in amazement,
His hair was perfectly white and soft,
but there was a fixed expression on the
face that was terrible. Helooked like g
man struck dumb with terror-like q
sleep walker. There was absolutely nc
expression whatever on his face except
that of fear. He walked like an auto
nation. We put a few questions to him,
and he simply answered yes or no,
without the change of O muscle. The
sight was so painful that we sent him
away, and then asked the warden about
him. It seems that he was q well-to-do
freshman who lived in a town near by,
and had a small piece of land. In bis
garden he raised vegetables and was
troubled by thefts. One night he
heard some one in the garden, and. a s he
then said-for he has never spoken since
of it-he fired at random into the
garden to brighten the thieves away. 1t
was so dark he could see nothing. Then
he went back to his house. The next
morning the body of a girl about fifteen
years of age was found in the garden:
The charge that O'Donnell had fired
killed her. He was tried, convicted,
and after his sentence for life he acted
like a man from whom every emotion OF
feeling had gone. The vacant express
sion came into his face, his hair turned
white, and for ten years his manner Il
been unchanged. he does the work that
he is told to like q machine, and obeys
he prison regulations, but he never
peaks except to answer yes or no.. he
is known in the prison as the dumb
man. The petition for his pardon does
not come from him ; he did not know it
until summoned before the council, and
even when informed that his chances
for pardon were deemed good, his
manner did not change.
It appears that a strong point made
by the prosecution when he was convict
ed was that he saw the girl, knew who
she was, and m%aliciously shot her but
it has lately been learned that he did
not know her. 1t was All Halloween,
and there is a superstition that if a
virgin places q cabbage over her door
upon that night, she will marry him
who first passes under the threshold.
The girl went to O'Donnell's garden to
get the cabbage for that purpose, had
never been there before, as was alleged
at the trial, as showing ODonnelTs
malice, and was shot. These facts have
been satisfactorily proved to the coun-
Gil, and MI. Haynes says there is no
doubt but that O'Donnelrs pardon will
be voted,