Millheim Journal. [volume] (Millheim, Pa.) 1876-1984, 1879-10-09
Padding In Prisons.

The man who yields the paddle at
Clinton prison, New York, is Hugh FitZ
Patrick He is about thirty years of
age, and of immense size and strength. He
looks like a prize OK, and certainly he
seems to enjoy mis- work. In the summer
of 1877 some of the men, having been given
bad meat at dinner, carried parts of it out
in their hands, to throw it away. AS they
were going along the gallery one of them
threw piece down into the hall, and John
Cabby, boy, who was walking behind
him, followed his example, and flung down
the piece he was carrying. AT that moment
the kitchen keeper stepped out of his room,
and the piece of meat struck him. He saw
Clabby throw it, and at once reported him.
| think Clabby was the youngest and small
est boy who was ever sent to State prison.
He was only fifteen years of age, and his
weight was about 10 pounds, but he was
dragged into the guard room, lashed like a
full-grown man over the block, and that
giant, Fitzpatrick, padded the little fellow
nearly to death. | don't know how many
blows he got, but he was laid up for several
days after the flogging. When he was able
to come out of his cell | asked him about
the padding, and he told me that when he
felt the first blow he thought 1t was not the
paddle. 1t was so heavy, and gave him
such a shock, that he thought it was q
rafter that had tumbled down upon him
from the ceiling. He was greatly fright
ened, and cried out that the building was
falling; but Fitzpatrick only laughed and
piled his paddle more vigorously than be-
fore. 1.-The warden of Clinton Paison had
one theory, aad that was that a convict was
only good to be fogged or knocked down.
| Under his management the punishment of
padding became shamefully common
Sometimes it was administered to prisoner
because he was caugthi talking in work
hours, but usually the first offence of this
kind was punished by putting the mans
head into an iron cage, which he was COM
PEELED to wear at all times-even in bed
you may suppose that it was not possible
to obtain much sleep with the head con-
fined in such an apparatus, and have often
seen men wearing them whose faces plainly
showed that they were utterly exhausted
| for want of rest. If this treatment was
| found not to have the desired effect, and
the men were again caught talking, the
paddle was brought into play, and this pun
ishment, 1 need hardly say, was generally
successful. 81 remember that in the
winter of 1876 two men working in the
mines were caught talking. Their heads
were put into the iron cages, and they wore
them for short time, but one of them in
some way obtained a KEY which opened
both the cages, and they took them off.
They were wild, harum-scarum fellows,
and they thought it a good joke to put the
two cages on the head of Deacy, the keeper
of the mine, and make him walk across the
yard IN view of the prisoners. They waited
until he came near them theft they rushed
at him and endeavored to force the two
cages on his head, but he struggled vigor-
ously and shouted for assistance. Another
keeper went to the rescue with a drawn re-
vC,ver, and the two convlcts released Deacy,
VIII )se head was slightly cut in the scuffle.
The two men were taken into the guard
room at once, lashed to the block, and
| given fifty blows each with the paddle.
They were then taken to their cells, and
Fchained by the feet to the floor. The next
day they were again taken into the guard
room and given forty strokes each. After
that they were again chained to the floors
| of their cells and were absolutely kept in
that position for several months, having
nothing to lie on except straw mattresses.