The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1880-10-29
A VISIT TO THE STATE pr.,rsox


n ,-,.',, -, Oct. 26, 1880.
BY y invitation 1,, ofr embers Of the Joint.
Wv ate Prison, your cor
pprsd". accompanied them on
,risor :, .orning last on visit 10 the
,f,ha 9" Windsor. Three members
,,,,as 80 .,enate and seven from the House
y .,ituted the committee, which par
was augmented by the presence OF
Representatives Kent, Whitford, Booth,
Scranton, Woodwork and Wright and
Senator North of Shoreham, and the
genial doorkeeper of the House, Skeels
of Highgate; this gentleman together
with Senator Mead of Shelburne and
Representative Plat of Swanton, con-
stituted trio whose equal would be
hard to find, and on the route no men,
Der OF the party Is known TO have slept
more two and one half minutes, hence
the time was very agreeably spent In
social intercourse. Representative
Kent was twice caught In a sleeping at
titudc, but the eternal vigilance of
Skccls and Mead soon remcdicd this
trespass upon the unwrittcn law.
Gov. Farnham. accompanied by his
son, arrived on the morning traia aud
the visit to the prison followed; a tour
of the entire building including the
workshops In which tho convicis arc nj
work, was made.
The directors OF the prison, Mcssrs.
Bingham, Parker aud Simonds. also
Supt. Rice, were unwcaricd In their eff
forts TO impart all information possible.
Davis, tho "stcer man., and Frank En-
orv. both ofw whom were 40 successfully
followed up and caught by Sheriff Dun
shce and his assistants on the occasion
of their two escapes from Middlebury
Jail, were busy at work In the manufac-
turo of shoes, and the superintendent as
surcs us they have maintained an excel
Isn't record since their incarceration.
Miles. the Barre bank burglar, wearing
green paper visor TO protect his eyes,
was busy at work at tho rear end OF
the first work shop. lilo is evidently
about 40 years Of age, medium
height, prominent nose and sharp fea-
lures. His eyes were restless, constant
ly watching members of the party for
any sign, while busy at his work. He
has served five years of his fourteen
years sentence and has an application
pending before the governor for par
don. Ills wife, who resides in New
York city, has been persistent and I'M
firing in her effol to for his release.
California Jack was at work i'm the
second shop below; is smaller framed
than Miles, with good head which in
contour much resembles that of Miles.
Frame, the Vergennes burglar, who
blew open the safe in the store of Booth
Il Fisher and also robbed the drug
store of j. S. Hickock and the Jewell
ry and watch establishment of Howard
Birge of that city several years since,
has served out his time and been re-
leased.
In one corner of the tailoring shop
of the prison sat an old man of 81
years, waiting for his release, which
can only come at the sound of Gabri-
els trump. His crime was murder,
and sentence, imprisonment for life !.
lie is native of Ireland and was sent
from Burlington, Oct. 9, 1868. At
our boarding place in Montpelier, are
a considerable number of members of
the House and Senate, and before Ieav-
fng several of our party urged among
others, certain member of the House
to accompany us; he however sadly
declined, and not till we saw the old
man did we learn that the members
wife was the convict's daughter. YER
lily there is skeleton in every house.
hold.
The prison at present contains 1873
convicts, five of whom are under life
sentence, one for 90 years, three for
20 years and 90 in for various periods
from seven to nineteen wears. The
largest number of convicts are sent
between the ages of 20 to 80 years, of
whom there are IS. Those between
the ages Of 80 to 40 and those between
the ages of 40 to so average the same,
20. In nativity, after Vermont,
New York state furnishes the largest
quota, 20, followed by nine from Mas
sachusetts.
In the counties where committed
from, Addison county stands the eighth
in the list of fourteen counties, having
but nine in number. There are but
four colOred convicts three ofwhom are
males.
But one convict is under sentence of
death, Edward Hayden, a native of
Ohio, convicted from Irasburgh of the
murder of his wife, Nov. /, 1873, and
sentenced to be hung january z, 1881.
Hayden is 20 years of age, well educa-
ted and of fine address. He was intro
duced to the various members of our
party, with whom he conversed freely
for several minutes; he expressed his
gratitude for the kindness shown him
by Supt. Rice and all the prison of.
ficials during his incarceration and after
referring to the Objectionable features of
long incarceration aud especially pro-
tracted solitary confinement. he ex-
pressed the hope and intention to meet
his death manfully. lie made very
good appearance.
Religious services are held every
Sunday in the chapel, commencing at
. O'Clock; each cOnvict's cell is sup
piled with Bible printed in large clear
type, and the prison library containes
504 volumes. The suit of the convicts
is a part colored dress composed of
black and red, easy 10 distinguish as a
convict uniform. X.