The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1879-04-17

4 el I'D fdlSS IlS IAhA
cbiId raises it at school. And the
chances are great that he has been de
MED. IF at any time, by a sudden ex-
crtion ON his part, he has cleared away
the nile to the left, and has had no
more feed. for the instant, for his rapa-
CONS machine. or. if some fault in an
Others labor has caused an lntermiSslon
in his supply, he has simply stood erect
folded his arms, and cast down ms eyes.
Thus disarmed and rendered inca
pable of communicating a dangerous
nlan. or of receiving intelligence OF one,
he has awaited, like a statue, the IN
slant when he may 90 TO work once
more.
The labor of a prisoner here is not
slow and languid. On the contrary, 1t
i rapid. vigorous, and, indeed, IN some
cases, fiercely earnest.
This. contrasted with his hard and
cherries face. s%tartles one. There are
plenty of reasons why he should appear
sullen. and his quick manner is merely
the habit that he has acquired still,
there exists the strange and vivid incon-
gruitv. vivacious action performed by a
sullen and melancholy man.
SHAVED HEADS.
There is no melancholy SO impressive
| as that of a convict. There are no
faces that so fix themselves upon the
memory as the faces of some that may
be seen in these gatherings OF the worst
and lowest of mankind. The principal
| reason of this is that they are bare and
shaven. They have been robbed of
those wells of hair that have kept SO
many secrets of the physlognomy. and
their t~ell-tale lips stand revealed.
Their masks have been taken Oft.
Their rapacity, their envy, their
cruelty, their passion, as clearly dis
played in the lines about their mouths,
are exposed to the light.
From the shops of the male workers
the writer descended, with his guide, to
the rooms where the female prisoners
were employed.
The guide was the head-keeper-or,
in other words. the real %jailer. Perhaps
it would be impossible to find a man
better fitted for his work than he.
He is short, heavily built, ''stocky,"
firm upon his feet, and quick in his
motions. His face, in consequence of
his habit of commanding, has become
combatlve and severe III expression.
1t also exhibits proofs that he is firm,
brave, and resolute, to the last degree.
lie wears his iron-gray whiskers, and
he carries eternal suspicion in his gray
eyes. When he walks, his arms bow
out from his body. as do the arms of all
powerful men. His shoulders, which
are of immense breadth, sway up and
down when he steps out, like the walk
mg-beam of an engine, which they re-
semble in strength.
In the journey through the shops he
picked up several shoes upon which the
prisoners had worked, and took from
the hands of others those upon which
they had partly performed their tasks.
Ills manner was curious.
He approached suddenly, ~nervously
shot out a hand, and bounced upon the
article with a certain gripping motion
that he would have used in taking a
man by the collar. He tossed the shoe
up and down, pointing out, with his
other short fore-finger, the various pc
cullarltles of its manufacture, and ex-
planned them in a tone that he would
have used III sending "a man to take the
shower-bath punishment.
he is the Albany Penitentiary in a
human form. He is a martinez. an
economist, a manager, a doubter of all
men that have been convicted and SEN
fenced by the courts, and he thought
poorly OF the reformation-idea.
He dlsliked short-term ~convicts. i. e.. q
hose that had sinned only a little, for :
they went out of the prison before they !
became learned IN their trades, and SO :
served as drawbacks to the general well e
4
His heart dwelt upon long-term men. =
tie liked skillful torgers, desperate y
burglars, those hat committed murders .
md that came in for life. They were
ne ones upon whom he depended for !,
he production of the twenty thousand I,
lollars OF annual profit. He leaned de- u
'ldedly toward the shower-bath as a
node OF punishment, for it never hurt g
one that he knew of, and it was CO
more economic. b
Take a man. said he, impressively. W
and shut him up iii the dark cell for :
a rule, and you rob yourself.
t he Is o%bstinite, he will rob YOU, and if .
le Is oncommonly obstinite, he will (
.eep on robblng you. He doesn't do !
ny work, and he won't break down. :
all the time his place at his bench &
empty: But now, see how the show :
r-bath fixes him. You strip him, put !:
I'M IN the box, and give him a bucket .
al he yells out, and agrees to behave
lmselt at once. You dress him and :
'ad HIM back to his shop, and he goes :
work like a major. All the other :
zen know what he's been through. and :
scares en-. Besides that, you save :
NO dollars IN time, and that worth q
q
And did tba cbora :.