The Opelousas courier., 1883-08-25
BLACK WELLS ISLAND.
a Reporters Visit to New YOrk,s Note,
Prison .-How Conyicts are Received.

a Reporter's Visit to New York's Noted
Prison--How COnvicts are Received.
A Tribune reporter who visited
New York's famous penal institution
says: To the summer pleasure-seeker
who passes up and down the East
river, BlackwelIs Island appears an
attractive spot, its natural charms
being too many to be quite spoiled
even by its stern and %forbidding edi-
fees. A glimpse of several gangs of
men, clad in the hideous uniform of
State eonvicts, steadily toiling in the
hot sun, under supervision of armel
patrolling keepers, presents the initial
idea to the gazer Of the suffering en-
dured by its population from the hard
toll and iron discipline exacted and
enforced in that penal institution.
1t was early morning, and sixteen
newly arrived prisoners were being
put through their preliminary exer-
cises in a large chamber on the ground
floor, digniied with the style and title
Of "Reception-Room." At a desk
erected in an elevated position, his
book recording admissions before him,
sat Hall-keeper Michael Kennedy. On
the opposite side, rang in rows, were
numerous large baths and three or
four chairs, such as BARRIERS invite
their clients to be seated in. A gauge
for measuring the height of pris-
oners and a weighing. machine
completed the list of accessories
to the "Reception-Room." Pres
emily a keeper on the outside thrust
his arm through the iron bars and, in
serting a huge key in the lock, opened
the door. Then entered the sixteen
sinners in double file and ranged
themselves in a row before Keeper
Kennedy. "Your name?' shouted that
official to the foremost offender. 1t
was given. Then followed in success
ion the questions, Your age?" "Na-
tive country?" Religion" "Occupa-
ton ?" Been here btfore?" and if the
answer were in the affirmative, allow
many times?" Under what name or
names?" These questions being sat-
~isfactorily answered aud the replies re-
corded, the prisoner was hand-d over
TO an attendant who measured his
height and weighed him, the result Of
these two operations, together with
the color of his hair, eyes and COM
plexion, being quickly added to the
statement and spread before Keeper
Kennedy. Each man was then made
to strip and enter a bath and, under
the vigilant eyes of the keeper and his
satellites, none failed to escape a thor
ough washing. This cleansing
process completed. each prisoner
dressed himself in the suit
provided for him by the State which,
whatever may be said of its utility,
cannot by any stretch of the imaginl-
ton be considered aesthetic. The
clothes belonging to each prisoner
Werethen collected, neatly folded, made
into parcels and labeled with the
owners name previous to being put
away. Unless a man were sentenced
to a very short term and raised an
objection to it, he was next shaved,
after which he was considered to be
duly prepared for the prison life before
him. Deputy Warden Osborne rapidly
scanned the column headed "Occupa-
tion," and assigned every man to some
particular keepers gang; some to
work in tie quarry, some to the black
smiths and some to the carpenters
shop. After this all that remained to
be done was for Keeper Kennedy to
show the prisoners their cells and
explain the manner Of cleaning them.
Then they were marched off, every
mar to his gang.
The number of prisoners admitted
daily varies greatly, but, approximate
ly, it may be said to average ten. At
present there are zoo male and $50
female prisoners in the ~penitentiary,
but, although on n o~ccasion-in
January, 1878--it accommodated the
large number of 1,194, it is much
~overcrowded, and the system of
"doubling up" as putting two prison
ers in one cell is termed, is in
some cases found to be necessary.