The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1888-06-13

power to any one or two men to make and
execute their own laws. for these rules are
virtually the laws, and these laws should be
no Stricter than the laws for the government
of good society outside OF prison. 1t is an
outrage to put two or three cOnVictS or men
of any kind right side by side and not expect
them to talk. 1t cannot be done; the rule
is al outrage on human nature.
You wanted to know what | thought
about the state board of charities. WelL
in tie first place l understand that the prin-
cipal part of their duty is to look after pris-
OnS, jails and all state institutions. and cor
rect any abuses that may be in them. Now,
in order to find abuses the way to do is to
go through an institution unaccompanied by
any officer Of the institution, and in seeking
information do not pick out the stupidest men
in the prison. l don't ever expect to see
the condition of the convict, or the poor
man either. improved during my life OF
yours. The convict is getting just the kind
of deal that the majority OF the people of
society intended he should have. X
You wanted me to keep dairy for one
| week and send to you. Well, | had to
| laugh loud and long when | thought the
proposition over. Not at the proposition.
but at the thought of what the dairy would
look like when it was finished. | am afraid
it would read some like the song called
| ''Sandie's Mill. )" which consists of one verse
repeated as often as you like. | will give
you one days dairy. and to get weeks all
you will have to do is to multiply it by
seven; if you want months or years
multiply by 30 or 365 Well, here goes fol
days dairy:
Bang. bang. bang! OH an old cracked buzz
saw for the opening chOurs. A man might
| forget for few moments where he was il
they should wake him up with bell as they
do civilized people. But it is against the
rules to forget where you are even for a
minute of your waking life. But we do ge,
away from them in our dreams once in a
| while. But even should we be awakened
by that
''Tocsin of the SOUL the dinner bell,
the illusion would not last long. The mo-
ment you had couple of grinning, paupel
| Irish potatoes fired in at you under the door
you would know right off where you were.
| After the buZZ-Saw overture comes break
fast, consisting of a couple of potatoes, a
piece OF dry tasteless boiled beef and a CUP
you may call it what you like. but we call
| it "bOOt leg"-cOtfee. this without milk OF
sugar. This with all the bread you want,
is breakfast After breakfast you sweep
out the cell and wait till daylight to 60 to
work. AS don't work my cell is locked
up between breakfast and dinner. and | put
| in my time as we'll as | can in space eight
| by four and one-half feet in size, and about
seven feet high.
l have to bend my head down to come
through the door. l read build castles and
day-dream till dinner breaks the monotOny.
| The dinner is a couple of potatoes, chunk
of boiled beef. either salt or fresh, and
bread. The dinner is varied by beans twice
| a week, soup twice week, and turnips
| once week. the latter sliced up and cooked
as you would cook them for an old cow
After dinner more reading. more castle
building, more day dreaming, and when
supper comes the chances are there will be
some growing when you see a rusty, greasy,
dirty sheet iron dish fired into you with a
spoonful of dried apples sweetened with
glucose on it. This--with cup of stuff
| they call tea. is your supper three nights in
the week. The other three nights you get
either rice, cooked corn, or a piece of butter
with plenty of bread Sunday, no supper.
You can form pretty good idea of how
much of this kind of stuff man in my con-
dition can eat. | could barely live on it
| when we'll and able to move around, to say
| nothing of having to put up with it after
having been laid on the hulks for over a
year. Well, after supper comes 1.-THE man
in black" He always comes with those
dried apples, and have to fight him some
times for an hour before 1.-The man in white'
gets hold of the helm. Sometimes 1.-THE
man in black' holds the fort for day at a
| time, but 1.-The man in white" always pre-
walls finally. After snbduing 1.-The man in