Arizona silver belt., 1879-01-03
Arizona Silver Belt.
FrIdaT. IanunrT 3. la7a.
Coa sscTN AT NEamr.
L.eali.a.EL [rola ILirE Iarl.


 fellow in the dark cell trying to get somebody to come and talk with him. " Once in while the stiffness
 wili be broken by z boisterous and hearty EEaw. hsR. ha-a-a-w !s The sleeper IS dreaming If other days.
 Ehe dreams of the prisoners gen erallY tend towarsl the horrible. This subject would afferd an interesting study with the view of reaching some conclusions us to the influence of ex- sernal and mental conditions on the visions of the sleepers. The pris- oners are likely to be superstitious in the matter of dreams. If they have happy dreams, they will say shat somebody IS working for their release. If they dream horrible things, they fear that harm has come to their relatives, or that they may be taken sick, and dle before they are released. If I was out of
 thls, 5 sald convict, ose morning.
 .'I would bet all the money l coula raise on the three numbers dreamed of last night. , Being asked what the numbers were, he replied You don't play policy What good would they be to you But l woald make on them, they would be a surer thing than 4-1l-44" {"
 T. is strange how unconcerned some of the prisoners are and how
 others fall to comprehend their stu-
 ton. Only a short time ago one Of the conyiets-a German wrote to his friends in New York asking them to come up to Sing Sing and get a job. He sand that It Was a good place to work and the board was first raIe. Hewas wholly in earnest.
 The tracks of the Hudson River railroad run close to the eastern wall of the prison, and at frequent inter- vals in the night the stiffness is brok- en by the thunder of passing trains. In the nose and the jar there Is com pany for restless conviets. Some times requests are received from prisoners who want to be placed on that side Of the prison, so that they can hear more plainly the rush of tLe passing locomotive and cars. There Is among all of the prisoners desire to be frequently transferred from one pars of the prison to another. Any such change breaks up the time it amounts to a sort of milestone in that idreary. joqraey through the barren years of their sentence.
 There are prisoners in Sing Sing. who to rot know what there is at the end Of the hall opposite their own cells yet they have been there for years. As they enter the ball they look down toward the other end, and although 1t Is not five hundred feet away from them, they have not been their in al their years in the prison |
 AJ } o'clock in lhe morning al small gang of prisoners are aroused and taken down into the kitchen. They thoroughly understand what is required of them there and washing ther faces and hands under hose. they begiu hurling great chunks of meat lnlo large pots surrounded by coils of steam pipes. The room Is filled wlsh steam, and the conyicts, working in their striped suits, pre- sent q strange appearance W the meat IS cooked It is placed in mill-which runs by steam-and is ground up with potatoes and oniens This hash is served to the couwcts at [ o'clock in the the mess-room, and l with bread and coffee, constitutes ther breakfast. Inside of the main I hail al IS still untiI toward6 o'clock l Then the prisoners begin to str in ther cells Then IS heard a tumul- | tuous coughing and yawning and clearing of throats, and an occasion al matutin3l breakdown by some prisoner who has arisen with q morp- ing chillness upon him. i little l ahile later the day keepers enter the hall, carrying in iheir hands tbe keys with which the cells are locked The eeil- doors are thrown open and the men march out in gangs of thirty five, forty, or fifty, carrying ri one hand their buckets. They form on" for that step known as the lock march, walking so close in single file that light does not show between the men. The head man sets the stepi for the gang This is a position O. some responsibility, but very IittIe honor. The step is a quick, short scuff. The man ,yho sets the stepI stamps the time for them so loud that his footsteps ring through thcT buildings like the quick blows of swedgiug- machine. Atthe rear oi alfnf ss every ccannanv tw0 ar fhre