San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1884-07-31

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Moniay being one OF the few days O.
which Nc can and tine 10 get out Of GU
once. ws Improved the occasion by riding
around somewhat and viewing some som
late improvements Among other point
We called al
rHE INV JAIL,
which has Just been turned over to tn
county by tho builders, Messrs. NortheAf
d Donaldson, We were politely show,
through the building by the jailor, Mr..
w. Danforth. and M whole we were YER,
favorably impressed with Il as great im
provement on the old one. Tho genera
plan and appointments arc good, and up
peared to US TO have been well carried out
There are some quite manifest defects,
however. one Of which is the placing Of par
Of the Jailor's residence TO the 'windward' O
two Of the cells so Us TO vitiate the southern
breeze. Another, aud much moro seriou,
one Is placing the main part Of the httic'
work Of the iron cage In which the greaI
body OF the prisoners arc confined on thu
wrong side, viz; on the north instead o.
the south-a very bad error in this country,
and Just how II coutd have been made We
are at loss to understand. An intelligent
white inmate expressed his conviction
that they whre much more comfortable In
the new Jail than in the old, though h'
criticised the arrangement Of the hunks as In
his opinion bad. A kitchen for the iailoI
was overlooked in the plan, but that can be
readily added.
The cells We are told would accommodate
rs prisoners, and there are besides two
extra ones for the temporary confinement
Of insane prisoners, which may sometimes
be used for other prisoners. Altogether II
would appear sufficient to meet the present
wants of the county. The work was CON-
pleted in advance of the time stipulated,
and The contractors are entitled to much
credit for their energy and the general char
acter and fitness of their work.
The present jailor, Mr.. Danforth, and
his assistant Mr.. Frank Obanion are faith
full officers, and as considerate az they are
permitted to be of the comfort and feel
ings of the inmates.
THE NEW BRIDGE.
We also visited as the work next in impor-
lance. We found it in good state of pro-
gress. Mr.. Owens, the contractor, informed
us that he expected to have 1t SO that wagons
could cross the present week. 1t appears to
to be very substantial structure. The CO.
dar piles we were informed were driven
from eight to twelve feet in the ground. The
other timbers which come in contact with
the water are of cypress, and are secured to
the piles by iron fastenings. The bridge
when completed will be found q great ad-
vantage, especially since the river has be-
come so much higher than formerly. An
other at or in the direction of Cheathams
Ford would be found not less useful, and
we are glad to hear that the building of it is
under consideration by our authorities.
Last but not least, we inspected the re-
cent work of Mr.. Street Commissioner Ivey,
on
MIXES LANE,
the hill this side of Cheathams
Ford. All said work has been well done,
and the road can scarcely ever get in 80 bad
O state again as it has recently been. The
hill at the ford has been digged down con-
and drain has been made the
whole length of the lane. Mr.. 1vey de-
serves credit for the skill and thoroughness
with which he has accomplished these de-
sireab,e ends.
San Marcos is badly infested with boot
,hax