The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1881-12-15
Behind the Prison Bars.

Yesterday morning q STATESMAN rep
resentatiye visited and went through the
iail. The cell rooms and corridors are
scrupulOusly clean. but the peculiar
prison odor, familiar 10 all the readers of
the STATESMAN who have been III jail
we mean. Of course. as visitorS-broods
everywhere within the prison, and one
wonders how the inmates bear up so well
and keep rs healthy as they do
In one OF the upper cells the STATES
MANS man found Rube Boyce. To the
question, chow are you getting alOng:"
he replied
''Pretty WELL"
care you doing anything about per-
feeting your bOnd?'
"Weil, YES. my father has the bond up
in LlanO and he thinks he can get good
and acceptable men on it. There were
good men here to go on IL but Judge Rug
giles could never be found and they could
not remain in the city | don't belleve
he wanted me to make up an acceptable
bond" Rube then quietly chuckled and
said: 81 don't care much now, whether
the bond is made up or not, as court
meets next laOnth and / am ready for
trial. All my witnesses, think, are near
about, and will be on hand. l fear, how
| ever, that the government Will want TO
| put IL of.
To the question. s'what kind of provi-
| Nlbus NtAt ANlAniehtA AAit ihAAis'hA' Va wv
prison, - lac said:
ssNot the best in the world. 1t is gem
orally corn bread and beef, straight. Al
| breakfast we have light bread and coffee.
ana sometimes little pork
'.Do you ever have any vegetables
| ono: but | get one meal day from
restaurant, and do pretty well"
GLOW are yOu treated by the prison
| otiicials:'
.sOh, first rate we have no cause TO
| complain"
Here the reporter lett Rube, and Wis
| tied tho cell occupied by MIR. Hanks. con-
yicted "A few DAYS ago for forging land
! titles. He declared that one of the state
witnesses perjured himself to clear his
own skirts, and that he proposed to make
| "A clean breast OF the whole matter and
show it up in the public prints.
}. H. Harris, one of the Lampasas stage
robbers, was found in dark cell, he
| having been confined there some four
! weeks ago rs u punishment for attempt
ing to saw out of prison. lie says he
| was raised in birmingham, New
| York, Is about twenty-nine years of age
and is not Il bad-looking man. He
| showed the reporter, as well as he could
in the dim light of his dark and drcary
| cell, the place where he was wounded at
| the time of his arrest. sit was getting
pretty close to me; wasn't itE' he said,
as he placed himself in close contact
| with the cell door and displayed an ugly
scar, about three inches below the Shout
der, and two or three from the spinal col
umn. AS the reporter was about to move
on. Harris called him back, and said:
FDidn't you, in the published account
of my arrest, say was one of Billy the
| KIDS most true and tried friends:'"
"Yes, believe the account did say
that"
"Well, wish you would correct it. l
! was slightly acquainted with him, but
never had anything TO do with him in my
| life."
The reporter talked with several other
prisoners, all of whom complained lit
tie about the food, but were Us well salts
fed in other respects as it is possible for
inmates of prison to be.
In the Jail are some five or six lunaticS
who are no end of trouble, and should be
sent TO the asylum. One or two of them
are considered dangerous, and the Off
cials labor under great difficulties keep
ing them and their cells in proper or
der. None of the prisoners, list OF
whom is given below, are sick:
Harriet Green, cOlOred, lunacy Tom
Petit. colored, theft of horse Joe Car
rales, Mexican, theft of horse; George
Warren, white, murder; Grandson
Rube, white, assaulting and beating his
wife William Crozier, cOlored, lunacy
L. NJ. Hanks. white, forging land titles
J. Il. Smith. colored, burglary and rob.
berry; W. II. Mathews, cOlOred, robbery
John Brown, cOlored, lunacy; Trinidad
, Munico. Mexican, theft of horse; VIII
lie Lewis, white, manning: Bill smith,
white, robbery Judes Juduma, Mexican
unacy Pete Hardeman, cOlOred, theft OF
a horse Marion Atwood, white, THEFT OF
cattle Alex Baldarus, Mexican. theft OF
horses; William Taylor, alias Cripple
johnson, white, theft OF horses and rob
berry Tom Garrett, colored, assault will
: intent 10 murder Ben Shaw, white, rob
berry; =. j. Thompson, white, robbery
Jefr Williams, cOlOred. theft from house
Bill Jones, white, assault with intent tC
kill; i irney Williams, colOred. burglary
L. MARITIME, Mexican, lunacy john Nelson
colOrcd. lunaSy Lewis Brown, cOlored
: rape W. Durham, white, theft OF horse
Dave Durham, white, theft of horse
Sam Norwood, cOlOrcd. theft; Henry
Robinson, colOred, theft of coat; san
johnson, colOred. theft Tom Tinnin
cOlored, burglary: Lee Pickett, cOlored
gambling; IL. V. HurlOck, white, forging
, land titles; Arthur Delaney, cOlOred
disturbing religious worship Jim John
son, colOred, assault; Isaac Gibson
white, adultery; Charles King, white
lunacy; Ben Holden, cOlOred, assault
Lue Collins, colored, assault.
The following United States prisoners
are held for safekeepinS
Ed Black. Rube Boyce, j. ii. Harris
, Bud Higgins, W. c. Grigsby, ROber
= Manning, Austin Rayaud, and Bol
Hooper, all stage and mail robbers.