The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1883-10-13

such an obscure creature in his days OF
freedom. There existed, however, some
object or objects upon which he lavished
his love; and, refused access to these,
he turns to the sparrow or the mouse.
To whatever cause the passion may be
attributed, it is true that all are equally
ready to avenge any insult offered,
and he would be a rash man who,
of malice aforethought, would injure a
prison pet We have seen men, per-
fectly tractable and well-behavcd on
other occasions, behave like demons
when the favorite sparrow or mouse
has suffered violence at the hands of q
warder, who, possessing more zeal than
discretion, has not been able to discover
anything in the affair save a breach Of
prison rules.
Whether or not the domestic mouse
is more cognizant of the baseness of
human nature than his relative the
tield-mouse, we cannot say; but certain
it is that he rarely succumbs to the
Establishments of the tanner, is less
docile, and more apt to return to his
normal state on the first opportunity.
A pet domestic mouse is a rarity COM
pared with the more tractable field
mouse, and the tanner of the former is
looked at in the light of a professional.
His ability is requisitioned to assist the
amateur, and his proficiency in the
profession thus becomes a marketable
commodity. A 'ssixer' or an sseighter"
prison slang for a six or an eight
ounce ENTHUSIASTICALLY, is payment
rendered for assistance in bringing a
domestic mouse into a state of subjec-
ton.
A free man, with hundreds of otbel
matters to engage his attention, could
not spare the time necessary to turn out
such marvels of the tanning art as are
to be found among prison pets. AT
work in the fields, haymaking or har-
vesting, q mouse is seized, secreted in
the breast-pocket, and kept in there by
means of q handkerchief which closes
the mouth of the pocket. Imagine with
what anxiety the man would go through
the customary ordeal of being searched
on his return from labor, fearful lest.
when the handkerchief is removed for
thorough search, mousie's bright eyes
should peep over the ridge of the
pocket, and thus discover himself to
the searcher, very possibly to be ruth
lessly dispatched. Should some more
than usually amiable warder be the
searcher, he may--seeing that a mouse
cannot aid the prisoner in an attempt to
escape -willfully pass over him, or, in
his hurry, fail to '.feel'' the little soft
creature. Mousie's education has
already begun. After having been
taken out s.to work" some two or three
days he learns to ''lie close" not, how
ever, before he has received sundry
tappings on the nose, as warnings of
what to expect in case he should feel
disposed to wander. Then the expert
ment of leaving the little fellow at home
is tried. A nest of picked oakum has
been made in an out-of-the-way corner
of the cell and into this nest he is put
with many injunctions not to stir while
the master is from home.
There is great perturbation of mind
on the convicts returning from labor,
for many things may have happened
during his absence. Everything is
eagerly scanned to see if it is in the
same condition as it was left. On being
satisfied that it is, the little quadruped
is taken out for a share of the meagre
meal; that over, he is put through a
course of training-taught to run up
the sleeve and come out at the shirt
collar; to beg for crumbs, and on the
approach of the slightest danger to rush
into the harbor of refuge, the breast
pocket. Some unlucky day, the prisoner
returns to find his pet gone and real
are his secret lamentations over his loss
far more real, possibly, than when in
his days of freedom, he lost his child
by death. The unsentimental prison
cat, seeking what she may devour, has
smelt out our little friend. and in mo-
ment this companion and solace is a
thing of the past. Or seeking s.fresh
woods and pastures new" but not
dreaming of forsaking his old home al
together, mousie shyly wanders off, and
is snapped up by some other represent
alive of the tanning fraternity. In either
case, he is lost to his old master, who
is inconsolable at his disappearance.
Should he be able to fix the cause of his
loss on anything or anybody; it is easy
to see that he will become that thing or
that body's implacable enemy. A case
in point occurred at a London local
prison short time ago, and was re-
ported in the public press. An order
had been issued for the determination
of prison pets. A warder attempted to
carry out this order in, perhaps. not
the kindest or most judicious manner
possible, and received stab with
shoemaker's knife for his pains. A
fatal affray at a convict prison, in the
south of England was the cause of this
order being given. In a quarrel be-
tween two prisoners as to which should
be the possessor of certain mouse,
blow was struck which resulted in the
death of one of the disputants.
Mice and sparrows are common
prison pets; but what will be said of
rats as things to be desired? We can
imagine the horror of the female por-
ton of our readers, who would, doubt
lpSSIv cOnSidQr poSfs a much mora m