Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1878-07-28

HUDSON, Wis, July 23.-When | wrote
you last, from this place, the mercury was
ninety-four degrees In the shade here, and
several days later it stood at nInety-eight de-
grees, and We began to think we had made
a mistake In leaving West Tennessee to come
here in search of a cooler atmosphere.
The redeeming feature of the weather here
Is that the nights are cool, and delightful for
sleeping. The hot season here has now
passed, it having been superseded by wave
Of cool air from the north. 1t is now delight
full here. Last night slept under pair OF
blankets. An excursion party went to the
city Of Saltwater yesterday from this city. 1t
is situated about SIX miles up the lake (St.
CroiX), and has a population OF about eight
thousand. There is located the penitentlary
of the State of Minnesota. Our party was
permitted to make a tour of inspection
throughout that institution. 1t Is leased out
by the State to company, like the penlten-
tiary of Tennessee. The lessees are not per-
mitted to work the convicts outside of the
walls of the penitentiary. Here imprisonment
in the penltentlary means punishment for
crimes committed. In Tennessee a great
many of the convicts are hired out by the
lessees to planters to work on their planta-
tons, and very large per centum of the
convlcts escape from the plantations. Be-
sides this, the only punishment they suffer is
that they are under guard while at work.
They have every convenience and comfort of
other field hands who are not convicts yet
they are placed side by side in the fields with
honest men and women, who have to labor
for subsistence for themselves ind families
thus taking the places that otherwise might
be obtained by many honest laborers who are
begging for work. One instance presents it.
self to my mind: A man killed another In
Memphis, and, upon being tried, was con-
victed and sentenced to ten years imprlson-.
ment in the penitentiary. The lessees re-
ceived him and hired him to
prominent planter whose whose plantation
The convict has a wife and children, and the
planter has the entire family domiciled in
cabin on his place, and | learn that the re-
strictlons thrown around the convict are so
slight thst he is little reminded of the fact
that he is a convict. The notorious Dick
Williams, who robbed Kaufman 's'house and
shot Detective Pride, was hired out on a farm
and made his escape within a month after
conviction and sentence for eighteen years
in the penitentiary. The fact is, the peniten-
tiary system in Tennessee is a farce. But to
return to the subject of the Mlnnesotl prison.
While there, to my surprise, three convicts
were pointed out as the notorious Younger
brothers. You will remember that these
men, In conjunction with the two outlaws, the
James brothers, committed many daring rob-
berries and cold blooded murders In Missouri
and other southern States. There were four
of the Youngers. In 1874 Pinkerton sent
come of his most experienced and daring de-
tectives to Missouri to attempt the capture OF
the Youngers and Jameses. They came upon
John, the youngest one Of the four YouDgers,
and one OF the Jameses, who resisted arrest,
and John Younger was killed, while James
killed a detective and made: his escape.
About two years ago the three Youngers,
Cole, James. and Robert, the two Jameses,
and three others eight In alb made a bold
attempt to roo bank in Northield, Mime
sofa. About twelve O'Clock In the day they
dashed up to the bank. The cashier, Mr..
Haywood, was about locking the bank vault
to 90 to his dinner, and had his hand on the
door when the robbers entered the bank,
and he at once locked the door. This frus-
trated the plans of the robbers, for they ex-
pected to to catch him with the vault open.
They were not acquainted with tie combina-
ton, and could not unlock the vault, so they
ordered the cashier to open the vault, and
upon his declining one of them shot him
dead. The party then dashed for their horses
in the attempt to escape. In the meantime
the citizens OF the town, hearing the shot and
seeing the men and horses congregated at the
bank, surmised what was going on, and they
seized guns and pistols and fired upon the
robbers as they dashed out of town, killing
one robber and wounding others. Active pur-
suit was made, and it Is said that through
the aid of the telegraph the railroads, steam
boats and private messengers on horseback
IN an incredibly short space of time nearly
every man In Minnesota and part of Wis
consin was in the chase or on the lookout
for the daring outlaws The result was that
two more of the robbers were killed, the
three Ioungers were captured, and the two
daredevil James's made good their escape
The three Youugers were indicted for the
murder of Haywood. Under the statutes of
Minnesota, If person who Is indicted for
murder in the first degree pleads not guilty,
he is tried by a jury, and if the verdict is
guilty of murder IN the first degree, " it be-
comes the duty of the judge trying the case
to b1 the term OF imprisonment IN the State
prison; but If the jury con iider that the de-
PENDANT should suffer the death penalty by
hanging, they must so state in their verdict
This is the reverse of the statute in Tennessee
In Minnesota, if the defendant pleads guilty
of murder IN the first degree, it prevents
the impaneling of Jury, and it
devolves upon the judge to fix the term of
imprisonment. So, by pleading guilty, the |
YOungers cheated the hangman and did not |
give Jury a chance TO say hang them The |
Judge fixed their punishment at imprison- |
ment for life. They have been in the peni- |
tertiary about eighteen months. 1t is said |
of Cole Younger, the oldest of the three. |
that he is a dare devil rider on horseback. |
and Is the best shot, either on foot standing |
or % horseback at a run, with either rife |
Or pistol, there Is in the west. Many a man
has been made by him to bite the dust in
private duarrels and many murders are said |
10 have been committed by him and his gang
upon those whom he considered to be his
enemies and in the commission OF their daring
Cole Younger has TIE marks of !