The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1879-11-26

Also crackers, sugar II colce' &c, ifon'
II does O tinclude provisions furnished
by Individual stockholders on their subscrip.
lions, which amounted, | am told, TO Il very
considerable total. There nre various mattcrs
which | heard Of in this n~cighbo"lioyd thnt
can only give in u disconnected way. MIS-!
Meriwether, on whose plantation StocKade
No. 5stands, lost two grown sons during iast
summer, and nearly lost Il third, nom inc
prevailing sickness. Many OF the ladies In
the neighhorhood were very kiid 10 Inc COLI
victs, frequently sending the sick delicacies.
They also visited the si~ocltndes frequently,
and often gathered there In considcrnole mum
berS, especially on Sundays, and none conI-
plain OF having noticed lack OF cielnilnesS.
or course. however. they did not vlSlttnere Ut
night, when the men were quartered. On one
occasion Il wagon load of wnteImelons, ana
on another n load OF potatoes were sent 70
fhe cOnvicts by u lady In tile hclShoorhooo
and similar charities were quite hequent
This country seems to nave oeem t nmae sIct !"
ness already mentioned, there was a long
drought which, it Is stated, rendered " lm0
impossible to procure vegetables: l am aiso
informed that the, entire neighnorno9u SUI,
fcrcd under a mysterious and unprecedented
plague of fleas which infested everywhere,
The StockadG being not PECULIAR IN Its lnnic.
ions in that respect. am also told, capIhIi
Cahiil confirming the statement, tnat ne, up
tain Cahill, was sick In bed NJ inc tlIne0I 'nC
hilpHeu Stitll ping I 81 Va
with the dispute between the State and
railroad authorities ! have nothing 10 40.
But It Is legitimate, ! think. for me to speak
the friends OF tie road. The worst conceiva-
bic motives are studiously put upon every nc.
lion or word hostile to the management Oh
the conyicts, and Incorporate, abuse and mar
row-mlnded prejudice take the place OF iacts
One Of the theories OF the friends OF the
road is briefly that the large mortality was
due to the unhealthy state or the coiiylcts
sent them from the Pcnitentiary. IL VIII De
seen, however, by the figures above that the
mortality among the last seventy-fiVe, who
ire especially complained OF. did not proper
tionately exceed, II It cqualled. hat At the
same time among their predecessors ~ aiso
appears that. excepting the one who d died o %,
the list of June, almost two months after his
Another theory Is that the convlcts brought
scurvy with them. that 1t was aggraTated py
scarcity OF fresh meats and vegetables; that
the attending physicians failed to recognize
the disease, and, Therefore. ::battlcd with ~ Is.
norantly and Intellectually, until q medlcal
commission, appointed by the road, discuss.
for for il was soon commenced, and the mortality
Immediately diminished. No medical ex'
animation was made Of the last lot ut their
arrival. DIR. Pope informs me that he exam
ined them all carefully before they lelt the
Penitentiary, watching carefully Tor scurVy,
and hat they were
ALL SOUND MEN
eSccpt McGarvcy. who had been rccapturcd
after formerly escaping from the
and Augusta Railroad, who WIS taken by
do light work. DR.. Pope also states that he
can prove that Capt. Cahill expressed much
satisfaction with the seventy-tivc men; ana
remark cd in the presence or witnesses tnat IL
was "thc likelicSt lot OF hands he had ever
taken from the yard.
The evidence Is all given above, and read
crs can draw their own conclusions: My own
idea, after carefully going over the grouna
and observing everything, Is thai 10 crowd
ing and {. lack of proper sanitary arrange,
mcnts in the stockadcs may be ascribed
much of the loss OF life. the malignity OF the
diseases supcrinduccsi thereby being ,proba-
bly, increased by prevalent ~unfavoraGIe at
moSplIeric conditions, or rice versa. whose
ever, as If an active investigation should
have been begun By the railroad authorities
us soon as men began to die AT the rate OF
seven or nine or ten or twelve per month,
in an aggregate force OF one nuhaIeo, HIDE
or less. 1t may be n case OF WHAT'S every
bady's business Is nObody's,' but the ouraen
seems to rest upon those nearest the Trouble.
The question of brutality Is n very delicate
ono to handle, In the first place, In dealing
with IL large force OF
DESPERATE AND LAwLEss MEN
who recognize you rs the only force binding
tlicm to distasteiul and hard labor. and. barr
them from freedom, and II would hest
late ut nothing to remove you. The line be-
tween wise and safe precautiOl anu n proper
degree of punishment and brutality" Is an
exceedingly narrow one, ana very nara 10
define. For instance, what would be adequate
md Just punishment 10 one man would be
brutal and excessive to another. This diff
Guilty Capt. tahill evidently had 10 eonteud
with. and then rs regards the driving OF sick
men to work. The skill. ingenuity and fOrtl-
fuIc with which men will feign SickneSS under
.rrlain circumstances is well known, and
here are well authenticated Instances where
,kIlfu, physicians have been deceived and
)afled for weeks by the Wills OF "shirkers'
malfngercrS. l have hardly II doubt that
n this case men were sometimes driven TO
york when really unfit for 1t, because know
lat ii must have been frequently Impossible
@ discriminate between slElm and rear Sick.
less, and IL every man who complained had
,rcn left idle work must have stopped alto
:ctlicr. Nobody, especially Il convict, likcSto
handle pick and shovel on u hot day, ana
vcrybndy will avoid it if they easily can.
Whether Capt. Cahill or those In his en-
,lOymcnt were ever knowingly and wllfnlly
brutal i'm this respect is Il question that only
Almighty and themselves can answer.
was not personally iavorably impressed by
apt. Cnhill, although | will say frankly inat
had certainly been prcindicrd against MN
o q certain cXtcntby what l had heard said
gainst him. The convicts give horrible &C.
ourts Of him, but : would not regard hat at