The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1880-06-15
TWENTY YEARS.
A Man Who Has Served Almost q
Lifetime IN Prison.

th.cspo Tri,,one
Twenty years ago the 2Sth of Sep
TENDER next the huge iron gate If
Auburn prison closed with a dismal
clang upon VIM. Comstock. and the
prisoner, whose heart sank low in his
breast. began a sentence Of life behind
the cold. Limestone wall that surrounds
the institution. His was a terrible
crime. Maddened by whisky, he
slew his own father and mother. He
cut their hearts out. 30 the story goes.
and was preparing to roast them for
terrible inhumsn feast, when inter
ference came. and the perpetrator Of
this awful deed was taken off 10 Jail.
This fearful act occurred in the town
Of Brookfield. Madison county. New
York. Comstock vas indicted. and
subsequently, srraigned for trial. In.
asmuch as the double murder was
committed when the man wss wild
with delirium fremens. he was per
mitted to plead guilty to ,nan-
slaughter in the first degree. which
he did. and on the 18th If S,mptem.
her. 1853, he was Sentenced nv
Judge Hiram Gray to imprisonment
for the term 1T his natural life.
Comstock was at that time ihirty-seven
years OF age. During all the a
twenty-five years he has not been
outside the prison walls. and now "a,
the age of fifty-nine is as ignorant 81
the ways OF the word as the hew!'
ing infant in its mothers arms.
When he entered the institution he
had no occupation, and up to- twelve
years ago was employed in what j:
known as the state shop. at I'll kind.
of work. Since then he has been in
the tailor-snop. His duties nov
principally consist of looking after tie
convicts' clothing. Every night from
6 to 3 O'Clock he is engaged in dis
tributing the mems shirts about the
galleries in the different wings.
Comstock is in many respects q re-
markable man. When sent 10 prison
he was q physical wreck from the
effects OF drink. Now he is appar.
emily q perfect specimen Of manhood.
Tall, erect. with robust form, disease
seems a stranger to his frame. Com.
stock is one Of the most orderly and
well-behaved convicts in the instiiu
ton. Since he has been an inmate
he has never 90 much as been repri
manded for q misdrmeanor Of any
kind. He is industrious. and since
his incarceration has not been absen,
q single day from his labor. Hi
health has always been good. This
is due to the excellent care tina; he
has always taken of himself. He
carefully guards against ailments. and
as the result. he is free from the ill.,
to which flesh is heir. He is an
ordinary man in conversation and
manners. " bile he shows no pariic.
ular strength Of mind. he indicates no
mental weakness. He holds alooi
from the other prisoners. and, as a
consequence, is respected by them.
When one convict requests him ia
pass q note or some object to another
while walking along the galleries in
pursuit Of his tasks, he passes on,
unmindful of remarks. No convict
ever complains of MIN, As he is no
tale-bearer, and attends strictly "a
his own business. Comstock lives in
hope. He has faith to believe tina,
friends will sometime interest them.
selves in him and endeavor a. secure
a pardon. He attends % service
regularly. and takes deem interest in
the services. Twice. it il believed.
applications for pardon have been
made to the governor. but both times
a brother has opposed them. Maj.
William II. Boyle, the principal
keeper, believes that Comstock, IL
released now. would make a good
citizen. He has lost his taste for
liquor. and maintains that he knew
nothing Of his deed. This is doubt
less true, as the man was crazy with
drink at the time. Comstock is al.
ways cheerful. He lives in hope and
never gives way to dependency. He
has a singular face. He is dark
complexioned, with high cheek bones.
a sharp chin and prominent nose. His
hair is slightly silvered. but, with the
exception Of one small bald spot, his
head is thickly covered. The man
has improved by study. and would he
capable of earning an honest living.
When the convicts were permitted to
make trIDkets, none were more skill.
full than Comstock.
ComstOck has witnessed the coming
and going of a generation of Grim
inals, and has observed the prison
undergo almost q complete change
through repairs and reconstruction.
He has also seen a dozen changes in
administration. Once in three years
the set Of hands in q shop entirely
changes. Thus he has viewed new
workmen at the benches and lathes
nearly eight times. There is at
present not q single officer in the
prison who was there when Comstock