The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1888-01-19

The jailer advanced to the middle of the
room, and kneeling down, took large
key from his pocket, and applying it to q
hole in the floor gave it a turn and then
with great effort raised ponderous trap
door right at my feet. A rush Of hot air,
and sitting stencil as from the mouth of
the pit, smote me in the face and I in
voluntarily recoiled backward; but the
bayonets Of the guard were behind and
there was no escape. The ladder was then
thrust down, and, long as it was, it no
more than penetrated the great depth
The wretches whose voices / could hear
confusedly nlurmuring below were ordered
to stand from under, and was compelled
to descend into what seemed more like the
internal regions than any place on earth.
1t was hard to find the steps OF the ladder
for the candle OF the jailer gave almost
no light. and l had on handouts; but
went down, feeling for each step, to a
depth of some thirteen feet, stepped off
the ladder, treading on human beings I
could not discern, and wedged in as best I
might Then the ladder was slowly drawn
up, and in moment more the trap fell
with dull and heavy sound that seemed
crushing down on my heart, and every
ray Of light vanished. I was shut into
living tomb-buried alive!
could feel men around me and hear
their breathing In the darkness, so that I
knew the den was crowded full. Though
1t was night and cool outside, the heat here
was more than that Of a tropic noon, and
the perspiration soon ooZed from every
pore. The feted air and the stencil made
me for time deadly sick, and worst OF all,
there was an almost unbearable sense OF
suffocation. I wondered If it could be
possible that they would leave human be-
ings in such a place till death came in this
horrible form-death, which could not DO
long delayed. I thought OF the Black
Hole Of Calcutta, where so many English
men were suffocated in one terrible night
by a savage East Indian; I had heard OF
negroes being burned alive or whipped to
death in our own south; but these horrors
were always, supposed, meant as ven
geance for some fiendish outrage. Yet OF
all the forms of death, that by slow suffo-
cation had always appeared most dreadful,
and this now seemed imminent.
AS had been brought to this place in
the dark, knew nothing Of its character,
and after the first moment Of stupefaction,
resolved to explore its size and nature.
No one of my companions had yet spoken
to me or / to them. Whether they were
black or white, soldiers or citizens, chained
like myself, or with the free use OF their
hands, ! could not tell, and I scarcely
liked to ask, lest the answer should add
new misery. jambed my way through
the living throng to the wall and felt
along it to learn il there was door or win
dow. There was no door, the only en-
trance to the fearful place being by the
trap door down which came. Neither
were there any windows, but found two
holes in the wall, opposite each other,
each little more than foot square, and
| filed with three rows OF iron bars. The
| walls, as could be told at the holes, were
very thick, being made of an inner case OF
oak logs and a brick wall outside. Even
in day time, these holes gave little light,
| for one was close under the outside stair
way already described, and the other be-
| low the level of the ground. Yet little
air could come through the thick set bars
| and served to revive me-making it pos
sible to endure life here for 9 short time.
When the first shock had passed and
became partially Injured to the terrible
| oppression Of the atmosphere, tried TO
ascertain something Of the condition OF
my companions. The most fearful de-
scription of this place Of torment that can
| be given is contained IN the plain cold
| flgureS-the number of the prisoners and
| the size and manner of their lodging. Be
/ fore entered there were fourteen white
men and one negro This evening the
| number was increased 70 nineteen and
soon after to twenty-five, Af which point
It remained for many days. The room
! was just thirteen feet square, and about
| the same IN height These numbers ara
/ not approximations, but are meant TO Be
accepted exactly and literally. The entire
/ furniture OF the room consisted Of four
/ buckets for water and aIopsl And hare
/ twenty-five men had TO remain day snd
| night, with no respite, and no power &c
leave the room for any purpose, for more
than two weeksl II was possible, As WI
Be seen by reference to the accompanying
| sketch, for ali to lie down at once; but 4
required the incest fitting and no small
4 -. -
| rows OF ten persons each, occupying the
| space OF thirteen feet, and two persons
could rest between the feet Of the rows.
But when one turned, an in his row wers