The intelligencer., 1889-04-27
GEORGE DE MASTERS.
Many people in Lafayette county
will remember George De Masters, and
the following letter from him may be
read with jui crest:

Many people in Lafayette county
will remember George De Masters, and
the following letter from him may be
read with interest:
MISSOURI PENITENTIARY
April %, 1889
Hon. A. A. Lesueur, Sec. of State.
Dear SIr:-I would like very much to
see you some time during this month
or the first of May. il you should hap
pen TO come down here at any time on
business. have been wanting to see
you for some time, but | knew you
were very busy, so | hesitated TO ask
you TO come. only write you this to
let you know | am here. IL has been
so long since l saw you | guess yon
have almost forgotten. But am still
alive and kicking. Nor do | intend
to throw my ring, or self either,
into the sea to propiliate the Fates, as
did Palycrates. No; [ have dctied the
Fates, Time and the Missouri Pen for
almost'l3 years, without any percept-
ible change, and still propose 10 hurl
defiance in their face, till L can once
more hear the eagle scream amid the
wildwood, where the blushing wild
rose stoops to lave its glistening petals
in the lambent waters of the mountain
brook, whose murmur gives back its
sony of gladness as it roams through
the forest depths, now hiding its glossy
surface beneath the shadow of the
dropping lily, and kissing the bright
sunshine as it paints rainbow tints
upon its sparkling, dancing bosom.
j have not been idle. l have made
the best use OF my Incarceration pos
sible. | have the sOiU and energy to
get on top sometime, and L will 'git
thar" sure as shOOtin'. Yours respect
fully, GEO. M. DE MASTERS.
George De Masters, by his wild and
reckless course, made himself some
what conspicuous in Lafayette and
johnson counties along about 1872 or
'73. AT the February term of the cir
cult court of Jackson county, 1877, he
was sent to the penitentiary for Sec
ond time, for robbery in the first de-
gree and larceny, for term of twenty
three years. He was then % years old,
of robust physique, round head, firm,
ferocious aspect of countenance, and
altogether a desperate character. He
was at first bad prisoner. He refused
obedience, and defied the authority of
the prison. In August, 1877, for fight
| ing and resisting officers, he received
terrible punishment, one of the most
severe ever inflicted in the prison,
sixty-thrce stripes. Gradually he be-
came better man, or at least more
tractable one, and of late has had no
discredit marks. He seems to have
improved himself mentally. as while
not we'll educated when he went into
the penitentiary his letter, given above,
is we'll written, both as to penmanship
and spelling.
If because of his early bad record as
prisoner DE Masters is made to serve
his full term he will be released OH
March 6, 1900. If by reason of his long
sentence and subsequent good behav-
ior he gets out in three fourths of his
term, he will be able "to hear the eagle
scream amid the Wildwood" on the
9th day of June, 1894. The Missouri
penitentiary has been to him living
tomb. In the one case, when he is re-
leased he will from youth of 2S, have
advanced to being past middle age and
oil, in the other he will be 45 years old.
Imagine man at sea in an open
boat. He has no sails to watt him
toward promised land, not even an
oar to stimulate progress in some d.
rection, as q mental relaxation and
physical exercise. He is alone. AS
| far as the eye can reach on every hand
there is only the monotony of undulat-
ing waters, with boundary, equi-
distant upon every side, of the horizon.
There is no storm imminent, the breeze
blows listlessly bv, no birds wing
cleaves the air, no marks are upon sea
or sky. Hunger is averted, but thirst
seizes the shipwrecked mariner. Days
pass by. His lips are psrched, his pal
ate dry, visions of perennial springs
fit through his brain in waking
| dreams, he yearns, he burns, his ago
ny is intense. He wildly looks about
him-"water, water, everywhere, and
not drop to drink" This is physical
anguish. Is not the mental anguish OF
isolation very nearly as great? Just
think of this living death. If there is
anyone left who ever loved George De
Masters and would convey to him now
word of encouragement. of hope, the
writer will be glad to take it to him,
and to add whatever he can do or say
to alleviate his lot, cen though he
be Pariah and an outcast.