The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1886-04-15


place in
THAT BEAUTIFUL NAsoENT BUILDING,
to which all faithful Texans will, in COM
ing years, turn their eyes, perhaps, when
they pray. {
The railroad encircles the mountain
and enters the yard on the opposite side
of the road which the prisoners take going :
to the quarry. The tunnel which has been
dug in the mountain, with view to break
ing the rock with powder, is eighty feet
long, with two branches, each fifteen
feet in length. Coming up to the mouth
of it we met party of children coming
out, with their faces red and perspiring,
and rubbing their eyes to get them accus-
toned to the daylight. We bent our
heads, and went little way inside, but de-
clined exploring it further, as the air was
oppressively close and hot. How the men
ever stood the work at the other extremity
is mystery.
Up a green hillside, just opposite the
derricks we found three houses and a
tent, which accommodate two families and
number of blacksmiths. A pleasant
looking woman came out and gave us
water, and seemed glad of an opportunity
to chat. She was the wife of one of the
blacksmiths, and boarded eighteen others,
doing the cooking, washing, and ironing
| for all these men. Ye who make light of
woman's work, think of that.
While we were still talking to her we
heard the clatter as of thousand feet
coming over the rock, and we fastened
away to see the convicts returning to their
work. They came marching down the
slope with guards " to the right of Them"
and guards ito the left of Them" and,
indeed, the guard must seem to them an
omnipresent being-ever on the watch for
any INSTRUMENTATION, and ready to check
the least misdemeanor. They certainly do
LOOK CowED AND sPIRITLEss,
and one might suppose they had adopted
the inscription over Dante's Inferno, and,
entering here, had left all hope behind.
The guards to the left filed off to the top
of the mountain, where they could look
down upon the workmen, and stood with
their guns upon their shoulders, sharply
defined in silhouette against the blue of
the sky. Those on the lower side impro-
vised seats out of barrels and boxes-one
we noticed had a camp chair-and, resting
their guns on their laps, made themselves
comfortable. 1 asked one of the guards
if they had many visitors. sob, yes" he
said, 'lots of them every day, and more
on Sundays than other days." and indeed
it must be so, for there were five wagon
loads of people there that day besides our
own carriage.
On our return to the yard, Captain
Smithers took us through the prison, or
a. 'oast as much of it as we, cared to go
through. The two wings built at right
, angles have hunks extending their full
length, with trough made along by the
/ wall where, l suppose, the prisoners wash
, their faces. Peeping through the open
ings in the doors we saw that many of the
, hunks were occupied by sick men; poor,
wretched, forlorn criminals. 1t may be
| that our feminine sympathies, and the
r fact that we had never before witnessed
scenes of this kind, caused US to exagger-
: ate the horrors of the situation, but the
3 whole interior view was inexpresslbly re-
g voting to us, and
y "LEs MIsERABLEs"
was the one expression which kept re-
: curing to my mind, and were the only
@ words which seemed adequate to
e express the utter wretchedness of these
e sick outcasts. No comforts, no dainties
% no woman's hand to minister wher
: woman most is needed. They hat
= placed themselves beyond the
pale of things like these and
were paying the penalty of vic
v lated law. hope it will not be thought
d that we INDUCED in any sickly sentimen
v tality. We had seen kindly physician
t making the rounds of his patients, and
d knew that these people were humanely
v cared for, and yet the burden of their woe
3 saddened our hearts for hours. We saw
Is no evidence anywhere of any such cruelty
n as we have recently read of among the
is convicts of Kentucky, but at the best it is
# pitiable sight, and one calculated to in
70 spire wholesome aversion to that sort Of
ir life and salutary respect for the law
"a One man was bathing his own head in {
g. pan of water, others were stretched ou
RS seemingly asleep, and one we noticed wal
reading bible. One quite near us looked
10 so pale and deathly that we thought hi
d prison life must soon be over.
re We were shown in the dining room, but
mr. the smell of victuals were neither appe
at Using nor savory, and as our own plcnl
m dinner was still awaiting us, we fingered
ir only long enough to see that the dining
room, which runs the length of one wing
Of separated from the sleeping apartment b.
TO partition, was furnished with long row
to of benches and tables, made together JUS
like the desks in school room. The con
te victs are not troubled with tablet coths
e. napkins, and they violate no rules OF pre-
IS, priety by eating with their knives or fai
r. ing to eat with their forks, since they ar
allowed neither knives or forks. VIZ. Wal
ner in the last Harper says: "To an ange
k, or even to that approach to an angel j
ms this world, person who has satisfied hi
D. appetite, the spectacle of crowd of pee
he pie feeding together in a large ROOF
he must be little humiliating. The fact i
ut that no animal appears at its best in tn
re necessary occupation" If this could /
e. said in regard to the dining room of a fasl
wv ionable hotel, glistening with glass an
DIS silver, and gay with happy humanity, no
Ill, intensely humiliating, not to say DISCUS
ed ing, must be the spectacle of a lot of col
victs feeding themselves with their finger
MS, 1t is enough to make one doubt the un
,le versal kindred of mankind, and to as
TO- oneself if these do not belong to a diffe
N. ent species. l have had vague ideas I
int what convict life might be, but never b
ne fore realized all the horror of it. III