The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1888-01-27
MANNER OF SLEEPING IN swIMs' JAIL.


My prison mates received me very kindly
and answered questions freely. had no
hesitation in telling them who ] was, and
this Al once won their confidence. They
were Union men from various parts of
East Tennessee. Many of them had been
in prison for six or eight months, and the
oflenses charged varied from that of sim
ply preferring the old government to the
new. slave built Confederacy, To that of
bridge burning. or of being helpers of the
Union army. The latter were called spies.
One of them was blind, the Confederates
accusing him of only feigning blindness;
but from all | could observe, think it
was real ...
was greatly interested in the one negro
In this miserable place. He was very
friendly and ixious 10 &c q. service TO us
in any possible way. Some days after my
arrival he was taken out and brought back
again after an hour or so, seeming to be in
a good deal Of suffering His story, which
he gave as if it were the most ordinary
thing in the world, moved me To indigna-
ton which | would gladly have expressed
in some way more vigorous than words.
lie was arrested and imprisoned Oh sus.
pici0n of being IA fugitive slave. The law
in such cases did not put the burden of
proof on the person arresting. but OH the
negro. Aleck had been treated AS law and
custom provided. He was first carefully
examined, and whipped till he made some
kind of confession; then he was put in
JAIL and advertised in accordance with
that confession. Ii a master appeared and
proved property, he was obliged TO pay all
Jail and whipping fees, costs of advertis-
ing and liberal reward to the person ar
resting; and then, usually logging the
negro numerically for the trouble and
expense he had caused, he could take his
property. But il no answer came to the
advertisement, it was taken for granted
that the negro lied, and he Was brought
out and fio0ged into a new confession,
after which he was remanded 10 Jail and
again advertised. Thus they continued,
if no master appeared, fiogging and adver-
Using, for Il year, when the poor fellow
was sold at public auction, and the pro-
ceeds applied TO pay the expenses of all
these barbarous inflictions! No trial was
allowed by which the negro might prove
himself free. When once arrested, unless
he happened to have some powerful white
friend his doom was sealed; and in this
way, in the old slavery times, many
freed negro found his way back into bond
age.
No answer having been received TO the
advertisement for Aleck, he had been
taken out for one Of his periodical whip
pings He had now been in this prison
for seven months, and was to remain five
more, with no prospect but that of being
sold into perpetual bondage We pitied
him from the bottom of our hearts, and
are glad to believe that, il he lived, the
triumph of the Union armies relieved him
from his dreadful position. These things
We're not all aScertained on the same even
in" though several of them were, for / did
all cnulI To get complete mastery of
my surroundings, that / might he ready
for any possibility of escape, But the
chances were slight indeed. The floor
and the walls We're of solid oak, many
inches thick; Il circle of guards was all
the time Oh duty outside; and the only
egress was by means of ladder put down
In the presence of the jailer and strong
guard.
As we were talking in the darkness, we
heard the tramp Of many feet on the out
side stairway, with the clank of chains,
and listened to learn what next was
coming 10 pass. The noise came over
head, ami then the trap door opened aud II
stream of comparatively cool air poured
down from the room above, and drew i'll
through our narrow windows. We
oreathed with u sense OF indescribable re.
lief-drnking in the air as the desert
traveller drinks from the mountain brookl
oh! what luxury il would be, il that
trap door could only he kept open! 1t
might have been il our life or comfort had
been valued by those in authority.
A number of men were seen above by
the feeble olinmer of the jailer's candle
and the long ladder was thrust down and
seized by a man below to prevent it from
striking some head, and it was clear that
Others were being sent down. The Ten
nesseeans cried out: "Don't put any more
down here. We're full! Well die il any
more are put down"