Mexico weekly ledger., 1882-03-02
IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT.
The Story of a Prisoner who was Shut
up Nine Years.

up Nine Years.
Taking the pencil he drew a rough
sketch of the interior of the prison.
1T looks like YOU are in well
when you stand in the center,'' con-
tinued he when he had concluded his
drawing.
''The guard who stands in the CEN
ter there can see everything that S
going on down every one of the gall
leries. Every enc of those double
marks is for a gallery with cells along
each side and man with a loaded
gun at each end. They keep twenty
four bloodhounds all the time in one
Of the halls. Every one of the halls
runs into the center circle. SO man
has nc chance. You can't find out
how the place IS fixed when you get
get in, because you've got your head
all tied up in the black cap. ! got
more accustomed to it after / had
been there a year or 50, but it was
terrible not to have any one to talk to
and to 60 on from day to day in the
same cell. 1t breaks the best men
down. The brain goes first. 1t al
ways affects the brain. When man
is broken down so he will die in lit
tie while if something is not done for
him, they take him to a hospital and
let him stay there until he gets strong
enough to stand it a while longer. l
worked at the trade of bottomlng
chairs: some of them make shoes and
some cigars. They are glad to work
at anything when they have to be shut
up by themselves. There is no talk
ing allowed no whistling; no unnec-
essary noise of any kind. If the
rules are violated two guards come to
the CELL fhey drag you out you have
to hold your hands above your head.
They catch you by the shoulders and
throw You down. Then they beat
YOU with their boot jacks. They are
clubs with ropes to them. There is
no beating allowed but they do it
anyhow. Then you are put i'll the
cooler 1t is the deepest dungeon
in the place, with scarcely any light
in it. You get exactly three ounces
Of bread a day and quart Of water
while you are there. and you stay
twenty-one days. Is that the only
punishment: No, they have tight
box they put YOU in. 1t has water in
it which strikes You under the arm
pits, and there is more water running
in all the time. You have to pump
with your hands and feet as hard as
you can to keep the water from get
ting over your head. l have seen
men who were left until they were
broken down and nearly drowned.
/ was 'ducked' twice. That's what
| they call it.
| Il was buried for nine years, and
nearly forgot how to talk. My throat
and tongue got so l couldn't use
them. When all but my last year
was up, they let NE out of the cell to
carry water to the other prisoners.
/ had a wife and child when l went
i'll. One day in 1876 the keeper and
another man came to my cell. They
read me a notice that my wife had
married again. Before they got
through, the keeper looked at me and
stopped. He pulled the other man
away. Stop said he, he's hurt
enough He was right, but I lived
through it. Every day the keeps
would come, open the trap in the door
Of my cell, put in my food. talk tc
me for minute or two and 60 away.
1t was the same thing for ten years
day after day. The grand jury would
come into the prison occasionally
and before they came everything
would he fixed up. But they didn'r
see anything. We could count time
that way. Once every month, too
We got bath. At last the day cam,
for me to get out. 1t was Decembe1
| "a last, the day before Christmas
They took me to the door and tolt
me to 60. l stepped out and th'
fresh air struck me. l trembled hk,
a leaf. A bootblack was standin!
across the street. He saw me comm.
and said Welcome out l had hars
work to keep from crying. Iwandere'
around the city hunting work. wa
resolved to die rather than 90 back.