Omaha daily bee., 1886-10-03
WITHIN THE PRISON WALLS,
A Representative of the Bee Reviews the
Procession Of Conyicts,
SOME wELL-KNowN PRISONERS.
Jimmy Burkc-A Handsome Murder
Css-A Young Lifc-pTisoncr-Thc
Story ora Ecyolt-SOmc omaha
ConNiCts-Prison Contract.
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urrmca ryrnc omaha sunday Brel

] the entrance, the only sound was thal OF
shutlling feet, and there was not much
even Of that, They seemed to have been
! perfectly schooled and walked as if upon
Il secret mission and with strong desire
to attrac as little attention rs possible.
! There was fewer than dozen keepers in
| the vicinity, and yet 300 mortals, drawn
from among the most reckless daring
and vicious classes in the community,
skunk away like sulky children to avoid
contact with their watchful supcriors.
There were,
AMONG THESE UNFORrUNATES,
burglars thieves, robbers, cmbczzlcrS,
forgcrs, iirc-licnds, bgamistS and muir
dcrcrS-men, who, when without the
walls, contemncd the law and defcd its
officers; and yet there was not one of
them who did not appear absolutely
crushed. The greatest braggart was pos
sbly the most abjCct convict, and more
than any of his associates was mindful
lest Il glance, shrug of the shoulders or
q muscle of the face should reveal to the
officers OF the place that he did not feel
the superiority of their position. As each
OF the tiers was filled, the guard walked
past each cell and counted the inmates.
w hen every convict had been asccr
tanned to be in his place, the Gagged
humans were left to discuss their soup
and bread.
This scene Is enacted in the evening
when the men have finished the work of
the day. After supper, they are at liberty
to read until dusk depriveS them of nat
ulal light. Even then, some are supplied
with candles, by means of which they
prolong their reading until o'clack
" han "a hnll iS nnI Iigrl, j.
tmgushcd in an instant. The immense
pile OF cells is then left 10 darkness and
the night watch, whose lights serve in
weak manner to dispel the heavy gloom
which would otherwise envelope the vast
interior.
JIMMIE BURKE.
Pointing to the first cell on the ground
tier of the south front, Warden Nobes re-
marked: That is Jimmie Burke's." |
approached the CRATE. Burke stood at
the bars. He was as difidcnt as a back
ward school boy. He was under the gaze
Of the warden, and long familiarity with
prison regimen had seemingly caused him
to forget his former demcanor. His face
was pale and dried up, and an ugly circu-
lar scar told of the throw he got
from We'll, into the glass case in
Collins harness store. on farnam
street in Omaha, more than six years ago,
an instant after he had sent Il bullet
through Weil'S heart. | saw hm few
minutes later when the cXclted crowd
ran after him through the streets, and
again, when. covered with blood, he was
lodged in the old county jail. But he
has changed greatly. We exchanged II
few commonplaces, and badc him good
bye. He Will be at liberty next May.
We entered the warden house. OF the
chapel and adjoining the warden's Office,
Mr.. Nobcs unlocked door. 1t led to a
small room. In this were
THREE WOMEN.
They were all young. One was petite,
neatly attired in alpaca, with pretty
face, expressive features, set off with
luminous hazel eyes. We took a hasty
glance, and then retired. The woman
in black is mlrderess, said Mr.. Nobes.
Our party was amazed They could
scarcely have been otherwise. | had
seen such faces before, but they We're
those of idcalized women who had never
known either shame or crime. She was
n Mrs Brown and had come from Kear-
ney. and the recital of her story by the
warden caused us to marvel that the jury
could not find Justification for her deed.
A YOUNG LIFE PRISONER.
Mr.. Nobes has an office and private
apartment. These are eXcellently 1lr-
nished. In the first, are the records. Behind
the rail sat a young, handsome man, with
intelligent features and well-shaped head.
He did not notice us but continued the
pcrusal of the paper which he held before
his face, We entered the next apart
ment That young mans name is Hall.
lie came from Cheyenne. He keeps the
records. He's been here for five years.
said the warden. | had not thought of
him as Il convict. "He was convicted of
murder. He's in for life!' That was the
succinct sketch of Il life that evoked re-
gret for some of our party, because the
n1a M tNr-t ti,-n .,f
He looked as if blood enough for seventy
years coursed through his veins. Fifty
years to serve in Jail! i was shown
A STACK OF PHOTOGRAPHS.
AS coincidence, it contained pictures
of the most noted convicts in the state.
Many Of these l had met. Each photo
tograph was numbered and the work
was done by the prison artist. No pains
were taken TO make them gems Never
thelcss, they showed well the features of
the criminals. Occasionally, there were
duplicates, one showing the man as he
appeared In citizens dress, the other
when he was shorn of beard, muStache
and hair and clothed in the zebra suit
In most instances the difference was re-
markable. With bearded and mustached
faces, they appeared as gentlemen; with
out these adornmentS, they seemed per
feet devils. With the history of every
individual the warden seemed most IA
mlllar. lie mad long been in ntlmate with
them, his connection with the Institution
dating back about eleven years In re.
sponse to question, the warden detailed
the circumstances of
THE UPRISING OF THE CONVICTS
only "A short time after he had been given
charge of the penitentiary. The inmates
overpOwered him, pinIoned his arms,
locked him in the guard-house, shot one
of the sentrieS and took possession of the
place. They were slow in getting out
however, knowing that their clothes
would betray them and defeat their at
tempt to escape. Meanwhile, Nobes
worked himself loose, and word was
finally sent to Lincoln. Citizens has
tened to the penitcntiary and the convicts
were soon brought under control Ii
was severe lesson for new man and
from il Mr. NObes has doubtless learned
some things with which TO be guided in
his conduct of the institution Passing
through the basement, and through sew.
eral other parts of the prison, saw n
number OF people who have at times
FIGURED IN OMAHA.
First of these was Jack fl anley, the
young man who fought with Fell three
years ago, one damp, cold morning in
May, on a muddy plain just beyond the
Platte on the Republican Valley road