Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1879-12-14
"OLD NEWGATE.'
The Ancient Copper Mine Prison in Connect
icut.

lieut..
The infamous Black Hole of Calcutta,
or the dungeons of the Middle Ages,
scarcely rivaled in their horrors the ''Old
Newgatc" of Connecticut. And this,
but half century ago, was the living
hell to which prisoners from the State
courts were consigned. 1t was aban-
doned in Difference to q strong public
sentiment created against it by exposes
of the wretchedness of the prisoners, and
the crueltles which could be only too
readily practised upon them under the
pretcnse of insuring their safe-keeping
Philanthropists were met with the IA
miliar cry of the jailers of to-day, that
criminals are a desperate set and means
must be adopted for restraining them; but
the sentiment Of the people, once aroused,
relagatcd the underground Bastile to its
original USES About 1880 the prisoners
were removed to the new prison at
Whctnerstield, near this city.
THE NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. HISTORY.
In the present town of East CRANKY,
formerly Suusbury, traces Of copper ore
were discovered about the year 1900. The
place WAS Copper Hill, high, rocky
range, and seven years later a company
was formed to develop tAe mine. No
thing was done, however, until some
years later, when Jonathan Belcher, OF
Boston, taftcrwurd Govcrnor}, and others
opened the mine, and removed more or
less ore annually Tor quarter Of q CEN
tuly. Financially, Belcher and his part
ners didn't reap Il harvest. The grasping
British Government watched all the min
ing enterprises Of the colonists, and made
regulations caululated to repress them,
or at least to ensure to home merchants
the profits, In the case of this mine, it
was ordered that the ore should be ship
ped to England for smelling. The route
was by wagons over a rough country
twenty miles to the Connecticut river at
Hartford, thence by stoops to New York,
and by ship to England. However, con-
siderable copper was sUrreptltiously
smcltcu by German workmen in the vicin-
ity, and III 1857 a Mr.. Highly manufac-
turcd / IAr5s number Of the CRANKY cop
perS, which became current throughout
the Colony, Specie being scarce, the coin
age of the embryo mint established by
Highly, who was only a local blacksmith,
was regarded with great favor. Single
specimens Of these coins now command
from So to So, but, as they are stamped
from uuA;lOyeu copper, few perfect ones
are to be had. Five designs were made,
one ct which had Oh the diverse the mod
est suggestion, "VAlue me as you please"
and on 2tlc reverse, Good copper, 1877.
The work at the mine was carried on
at various periods until 1913, more than
seventy Years, through wars and rumors
OF wars, by private enterprise and by
chartered companies. In that year the
Colony u Connecticut purchased the pro-
pcrty and fortified 1t for use as a perma-
nent PRISON.
TIE NINE PRISON.
After an exploration of the caverns a
Legislative committee reported that by q
small expenditure it would be next to
impossible fer any person to escape. The
Purltan5 Of that day were hard minded
men. Having selected for a prison the
worst place that could be conceived of,
they passed laws authorizing the keeper
to employ the :onvicts at hard labor, to
use the whip, shAckles and fetters, and
extended terms Of Imprisonment were
imposed tor nearly all otfenses. At this
time TWO shafts led down into the cavern,
but, escapes being frequent, block-houss
was built over one, and the other was
closed with stone and iron. But few
prisoners were confined until the opening
year Of the Revolutionary War, when
several Tories were consigned to its cav
ems. and at /; later period it vas found
convenient and safe place for the keep
Ing of British soldiers captured in Con-
ncctlcut. In the winter Of IT'S Wash
lngton wrote from his headquarters at
Cambridge to the Committee of Safety
at LcWlsburg, cOnslgnlng to them several
'FLAGEANr AND ATRocIoUs VILLAINS
and at his request they were long confined
In the caverns. After the close of the
War the State established the mine as a
permanent prison. A palisade was built,
mcloslng half an acre, with the shaft of
the mine near the centre of the inclosure,
and twelve years later this palisade was
replaced by high stone wall. A brick
guard-house was built in the center, and
just to the rear Of this was stone apart
ment directly over the main shaft, lead
ing to the caverns 100 feet below. At
later dates workshops were erected, in
which the convicts labored by day, and
at night were driven bv AIMED guards
down the shaft ladders to their miserable
beds below, in pitchy darkness, damp
ness, and foul odors.
A visitor in 1907 gave an interesting
account Of the wretchedness of life in the
prison. The employment consisted in
making nails, barrels, shoes, and wagons,
and farming on land near the prison.
When the convicts came up from the
shaft, by threes they crossed the yard to
the workshop, before the cooked and
leveled muskets Of the guards. All were
heavily ironed, both with handouts and
letters, and could walk only with sort
OF hopping motion. On entering the shop
collars, dependent by iron chains from
the beams above, were fastened about
their necks; others we're chained to wheel
barrows. In distributing the pork for
the dinner of the convicts employed at
the FORCES, pieces were thrown on the
floor and left to be washed and boiled in
the water-trough used for cooling the
iron. Punlshments were hanging by the
heels, severe tlogging, confinement in the
stocks on a bread and-water diet, double
irons, and solitary confinement. Convicts
were allowed to swap rations for cider,
and often got too tipsy for work. Rum
was bought by the gallon by an aged
negro convict, who was allowed to go to
the village, and. liquor could always be
bought at a tavern near the prison, the
convict being accompanied by guard,
whom he treated for his trouble.