The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1885-11-06
FOOD In PRISON.
AN Ex-coNvIcT GiveSsAN ACCOUNT
OF HIS EXPERIENCE.
Bill of Fare for the Year-How to Cook
i'm . Cen-The Prisoners Stove.
Hail Columbia"-A Candy
Pull
IEx-Convict In Philadelphia press.I

last him for his three meals He IL asked
how much he wants and IL given all he asks
for. The quality OF the bread Is excellent;
it ID, in fact, far superior to most that is
bought in Philadelphia bakeshops It In
good, wholesome homemade bread; the
-four Is made in the institution, and a re-
mark of one OF the Keepsrs on being spoken
to by the writer concerning the good quail
ties Of the bread may best describe 1t to my
readers He said: II would like to have
one-half as good for my family" For
breakfast the prisoner Is given pan OF
coffee, which, with the bread, goes to make
up the meal.
For dinner on Mondays, Tuesdays aud
Saturdays, he receives a pan of mutton
soup which contains a large piece Of meat
some potatoes and other vegetables; on
Wednesdays he is given pan Of bean or pea
soup and q piece Of beef; on Thursdays, a
pan Of beef soup and vegetables; on Fridays
either oatmeal and milk, cornueal and
milk, rice and sugar, buns and cheese. or
fish and potatoes boiled in their jackets.
He receives all Of these at different periods
of the year, at least this has been the
course during my Imprisonment, although
any or all of them are liable to be replaced
by something the doctor thinks more suita-
BILE, as he has the control Of the food.
On Sunday the prisoner enjoys q dinner
composed OF piece Of pork and some baked
beans, and when tomatoes are In season the
mutton and beef soup is filed with this ex-
cellent vegetable. On every day but Friday
and Sunday the prisoner receives from
two to six undres ed tomatoes, which he
generally slices up in vinegar and enjoys
for supper. He also receives for at least
two months in the year on Saturdays Irish
and sweet potatoes boilsi in their jacksta
x;.rtc a.I rt- tha ,nrso
oner Is given six or ssven apples; he also re-
ceives on Christmas a dinner Of roast beef,
potatoes and turnips mashed together, with
a bountiful supply Of gravy, aud on New
Years he is given a large Dutch cake This
comprises the full dinner bill of fare during
the year. The supper consists Of tea, bread,
and whatever the prisoner has saved from
dinner and warmed over.
COOKING IN A CELL
Some IT my readers will no doubt wonder
how in the world a man can warm over or
cook any thing without the necessary uten-
sls, but as necessity is the mother OF invsn-
ton, this Is readily accomplished in the
following manner. As the gas is not turnel
on until dark. there Is. OF course, very
little cooking done in the summer time, but
there is little nece 'sity for it, as the pris-
oner generally makes his supper Of sliced
il generally dark efore supper is served.
The gas is turned on and this forms the pris-
oners stove together with frame made in
the following manner:
A strip Of wood Il nailed against the wall
above the gas fixture and four pieces OF
wood are nailed together to form a hollow
square, one side OF which rests on the strip
of wood nailed to the wall In the opposite
side are two nails, to which are ATTACHED
strings which are also fastened to two nails
In the wall about a foot above the strip Of
wool. This holds the frame In q horiz 'ntal
position over the gas j't, and the hollow
square forms a support to the prisoners
plate or pan, whichever he wishes to use II,
for instance, he has some mutton left over
from dinner the prisoner cut, it up fine with
vegetables. and, as he always saves his fat
from the beef, he Is never without some
grease with which to fry his sup
per. After greasinz the pan thor
oughly he places it over his hollow
square, then put In the hash, and in this
way a very palatabls dish is made. Then,
when he has some beef left over on Wedues-
day, he cuts it up in slices and fries it, thus
| forming another addition to his menu.
Another excellent dish Is 1Hail Columbia
| Stew" which is made by cutting up the
mutton and beef left over with potatoes and
vegetables, and taking some cold soup.
straining it thoroughly through cloth SO as
to gst it as clear as possible, seasoning the
| whole to taste and placing 1t in q pan over
the ga, using the plate for a cover. Let 1t
remain over the gas until it has become
| thick and then remove and serve On a
cold winters night this dish was exception
| ally welcome. aud very much doubt IL
any epcure enj ,ysd his elaborate stable
d'hote" any more than have enjoyed this
homemade di.h christenei @Hail Columbia
| Stew"
LEMON TAFFY.
Then again, You may be surprised to learn
| that. In addition to their other amusements,
| the prisoners enjoy O candy.pull once in
| while. Each prisoner Is given large pan
| OF molasses once a mouth, which serves him
as butter for his bread and sugar for his
coffee. and when he is desirous Of having
some candy he rigs up his stove. pours soma
molasses in his pan, and lets 1t boil away
| until IL has arrived at the proper consist.
ency, when he remove; it and pours it into a
well-greassd pan already prepared He
then allows IL t, become coil. after which
he pulls 1t until it becomes o brightest yell
low, and allows 1t to become hard again
when 1t Is really sor use.
| And this treat Is not only sharei with the
keeper, who enjoys 1t as much as the pris-
oner, but he Is generally given some to take
home to bis little ones Its quality is won.
derfully improved II he can induce the
doctor 20 Let him have lemon to cure his
bilious stomach. The lemon instead OF be-
ing uei for this purpose, however, Is
saueez ID into the boiling molasses, and the
| peel is cut up In very small particles and
tarown in also This Of course changes the
candy into lemon tafy, and carries the
man back to the times when he was q
youngster and went into store, the counter
OF which was as tall as himself, and asked
for a p,nny's worth Of lemon taffy,
pleaser
IL Of course takes some time for first
tern, mar to become initiated In all these
branches of the culinary art but 1t comes
by degrees. II might be supposed that the
hrs. few weeks would be spent In endeavor-
ing to get used to the change Of food, and
10 it is by soma; but with me 1t was differ
emit and for the first month or two, the hav-
ing TO wash my own dishes and receive my
meals In q tip pan or on . tin plate. was
more like camping out than any thing elss
have ever experienced But the difference
soon dawns upon you, for the absence OF the
sweet liberty which goes hand In hand with
,arap life Is severely felt
| Cfvilian's Dress for French Soldiers.