The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1881-11-30

Tue oiuftt illefS IN l1lb pIlsoil. i
believe he has been here nigh ON to
thirty years, and he bids fair to last
for full twenty more. He is a very
singular man.
His crime then was murder, of
course ?"
"Yes, a.i a strange murder. He
was thei. ). young man Of thirty-two,
morose. j. not quiet, and no one had
ever heard him use an oath or seen
him display even the smallest vice.
Had he stolen an axe his friends
would haye been amazed; what
could their feelings have been. then,
when he was charged with murder ?
One night, with no earthly excuse
for offense, he got out of bed, walk
ed three miles to the house Of a
friend, and called him out and stab
he'd him to the heart. He then re-
traced his steps to his home, and
returned to bed and slept soundly
until morning, the bloody knife
laying on a chair by his bedside.
He made no effort to conceal his
crime, and when arrested had no
excuse. From the day the constable
put hands on him up to this hour
he has not spoken except when
forced to. l have several times had
to threaten him with the strap to
make him answer nay questions.
! docs he mate with any one ?"
! "No, he comes and goes as if alone
in this great prison. l cannot inn
agine what inducement could be
held out to make him address a
question to a prisoner. He shuns
all Of US as if we were poison.
During all the years he has been
here he has not asked a favor of any
sort"
as he ever sick ?"
"Once in a while, but he never
complains. He would rather die in
his tracks than ask to see a doctor
He has tainted away at his work
bench and cried out in the delirium
of fever, but he has never complain
ed"
"What do the prisoners say about
him ?''
"They fear him. l have been
told twenty different times that he
would some day rebel, and that he
would have to be shot before he
could be disarmed. l can't say that
he is plotting, but We keep sharp
eye on him. He has the eye of a
perfect devil, and he will look at
you in a way that will make your
flesh crawl"
Can he be insane?"
"No; a dozen different doctors
have agreed that he is as sound as
any man. He is simply a born
devil. He was never known TO
laugh or cry. His old mother used
to come here in years gone by--be-
fore she died-and she said she nev-
er saw smile ON his lips, or tear
on his cheeks, not even in his boy
hood. He is hater. He hates
himself He hates everything living
or dead. There is cauldron of
ugllness boiling within him and
some day it will bubble over. When
that event occurs we will be most
likely forced to kill him in self-de-
fence"
''Has he any relatives ?"
"Not that we know of. His father
was dead before the murder. He
had a mother and a brother, but
when he had been here about five
years the poor old woman went to
her grave. If man has any heart
in him q mothers heart and tears
can touch it. She used to come
here and wiring her hands and weep
and sob and pray, and this fiend sat
as unmoyed us a rock, even refusing
to answer one of her questions.
She was old and wrinkled and
heartbroken the last time she came.
She told him that il was her last
visit, and that she had only two
weeks to live, and the murderer
turned his back on her. The broth
er came here three or four times, re-
ceiving the same treatment, and the
last visit he made came very near
being his last day on earth. Taking
advantage of the momentary alb
sence of the doorman this fend
grasped his brothers throat, and
was fast choking him to death when
help arrived. rhe brother died
several years ago in Illinois, and
now the man is alone on earth. No
one asks after him-nobody thinks
of him. He is buried alive.''
"He never writes to any one ?"
"Never. He has not had a pen in
his hand since entering the prison.
Most of the prisoners manage to
keep posted on outside affairs, but
this man neither knows or cares to
know. | don't believe ne knew of
the war long as it lasted. He won't
talk; he can't or won't read; he
won't permit prisoner to talk to
him, and as consequence he hears
no more of the worlds doings than
if he was in grave. 1t must be a
horrible feeling for a man to live
this way, and yet he seems to enjoy
it. One day is the same as another.
One night is not blacker than an
other. Weeks pass and bring no
change. Years come and go and
his routine is the same. The past
is full of blood-the future is long
unbroken midnight. / have won
dered that he did not commit sui
eide"
"Has he never tried to escape?"
"Never, and that is why we fear
him. Three different times since he
came here he has had good opportu-
mites to take French leave, but he
has refused to 60. 1t wasn't because
he feared recapture and punishment,
for any one will take the one chance
in hundred on that. 1t was be-
cause he hated the world worse than
his prison. Give him another chance
to-day, and he will refuse it. AS |
told you, he is a strange case. He
is half man. half devil. Each year
he is growing more like a fiend, and
every time l look into his eye !
think 1t has more satanic gleam.
l don't know what the end will be,
4 ksx< II L 4