Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1883-11-02
I'm SOLITARY COMPARTMENT.
The Story of Prisoner Who Was Shut Up
Nine Years.


Nine Years..
Taking the pencil he drewa rough sketch
Of the int rior Of the prison..
ut looks like you are IN we'll when You
stand in the CENTER" continued he when he
had concluded his drawing.
"The guard who stands in the center
there can see everything that's going Oh
down every one of the galleries. Every
one Of those double marks is for gallery
with cells along each side and a N IN with L
loaded gun &C each end. They keep
twenty four bloodhounds all tbs time
in one of the balls. Every one Of the halls
runs into the center circle. SO man has
no chance. You. can't lind out how the
place is fixed when going, because you We
got your head all tied mp in the black cap.
I got more accustomed to it after / had
been there o year or 50, but it was terrible
not to have any one to talk. to and to go on
from day TO- day in the same CELL. 1t
breaks the he's men down. The brain
goes fret It always affects the brain.
When a man is broken down SO that he Will
die in little while II something is net done
for hun, they take him to the. hospital and
LIT him stay there until he gets strong
enough to stand it while longer. 1 worked
at the trade Of bottoming chairs; some of
them make shoes and sons cigars. They
are glad to- work at anything when they
have to be shut up, by themselves. There
is no talking allowed; no whistling;:no Nm
necessary noise of any kind.
II the rules are violated two
guards come into the o=n;; they
drag you out; you. have to hold your hands:
above your head. They cath you: by the
shoulders and throw you down. Then they
L sbnir kon f-
clubs with ropes to them. There is no
heating allowed but they do it any how.
Then you are put in the 'cooIer' 1t is the
de pest dungeon IN the place, with scarcely
any light in it. Won get exactly three
ounces OF bread O. day, and . quart Of wat
er while you are there, andyou stay twenty
one days Is that the only punishment?'
No, they have a tight box they put You in.
1t has water in it which strikes you just I'M
der the arm pits, and there is more water
running in all the time. Won have
to pump with your hhnds'aod feet as hard
as you can to keep the water from
getting over your head. . have seen
men who were left until they were broken
down and were neatly drowned. I
'ducked' twice. Ths.t's what they call it,
I was buried for nine years. and near
" forgot how TO talk. My throat and
tongue go. SO I couldn't use them. When
all bat my last year vas up they let me out
of my cell to carry wafer to the other pris-
eners I had O wife and cDild when I vent
in. One day IL 1876 the keeper and on
other man came to my CELL They read nae
a notice that my wife had married again
Before they got through. this keeper locked
at me and stopped. He pulled the other
man away. Stop said he. he's hurt
enough He was right, but lived through
it. Every day the keeper would coms-
open the trap in the door of my cell, pat
in my food, talk to zae for minute CT
two and 60 away. It vas the
same thing for ten years. day after day.
The grand jury would eope into the prison
occasionally and before they came eysry
thing would be fixed uh But they didn'nt
see anything. We coal count time that
day. Once, every zaoath, too, we got H.
bath. 1T last the day came for ne to get
out. It was Decambex "a last, the dey be-
fore Christmas. They took me to the door
and told me to go. stepped ont and the'
fresh air struck me. I trembled like
leaf. 4 bsotblack was standing across the
street. He saw nae coming and said Wei
come out bad hard work to, keep from
crying. wandered around the city hunt
ing worg. I was resolved TO- die sooner
thaa 90 baok. "-S:. Louis Rsf'ssblseass-