The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1890-06-26
Our Convicted Dead.
There the prisoners rest together;

Time, Sunday afternoon; place. Lake
view cemetery, Saltwater; dramatis per-
SOnB, one who has suffered bonds seeking
died in bonds. A melancholy spot, mel
ancholy errand, and certainly l was in
very thoughtful, if not actually in mean-
chelic frame of mind. Lakeview cemetery
is said to be one of the most beautiful in
the state and it deserves this reputation.
The grounds are rolling, in some places
quite densely wooded. while elsewhere the
trees have been thinned out and replaced
with shrubbery and Towering plants. The
afternoon was calm and beautiful. After
entering the gates the sun seemed to shine
with SOftened radiance. The carol of the
birds, while not less cheerful, sounded al
most reverental; and even the dainty but
terflies seemed to be conscious of the sa-
credneSs of their surroundings as borne
upon their gauzy wings they fitted hither
and thither over the grassy mounds 1t
was early in the afternoon and there were
but very few persons within the grounds.
A mOurner here stood by the side of newly
made grave silently cOmmuning with his
| own sad thoughts. Others were busy with SOL
emn industry planting flowers or otherwise
decorating the mounds that covered the
mortal remains of friend or loved one.
| There were many beautiful monuments;
but it is not my object now to write of
them, as it was not my object then to more
than glance at their elegance and perhaps
casually examine them. The graves which
l was seeking were nameleSS ones.
There are three localities within these
grounds which have from time to time been
set apart for those who have fallen under
the iron hand of the law and who have
never lived to see again. in this world, the
glorious light of freedom. 1t was the Gus
| tom years ago when an inmate of the prison
died to procure only sufficient ground to bury
the one person. yet the Ostracism that was
the unfOrtunate's lot during life, became his
again after death and there they le side by
side. In the older graves the slight emf
nenceS that mark the different burials are al
most Obliterated by time. and soon there will
be no sign to indicate that beneath reposes
the mortal remains of one who in life could
only look back upon the history of a mis-
spent, or, mayhap only an unfortunate ex-
istence. When the confines of this locality
seemed to be encrOaching upon the buryng
| OF the free jump was made and for a time
| they were buried in the immediate vicinity
of the pauper's field. There quite num-
Der of mounds without headstOne or foot
stone indicate the number of inmates who
have died during the later years. But in
the midst of these the spectator is surprised
to see rising granite shaft, and should he
approach and read the inscription he would
| find these words, ''AIl nay night has passed
away" IT'S the grave of poor Kirk.
| Scarcely past the line which separates
| the youth from the man, his light went out
amid the gloomy surroundings of a prison
house. His pen was missed from the col
! umnS of THE MIRROR. His kindly, atfec-
tiOnate nature had endeared him to officers
and inmates alike. But is was fated
that he should die in bondage. And now
his remains lie almost within the shadows
| of the prison walls. far away from the hills
and wales of his native "bonnie Scotland"
This portion of the cemetery being pretty
we'll filled up Warden StOrdock purchased a
number of lots contingent to each other and
the ones who have died recently have been
buried here. 1t is here that only few days
ago was laid away the remains of Emerson
Williams. Poor fellow. Death was glad
release to him and indeed the only release,
for freedom could have brought no joy to
him except the intense happiness of dying
free man.
Thus it u.s. ''ID the midst of life we are
in death" is just as true of the colony
within the walls as it is in the outside
world. And yet, in the midst of the living
death, how few give thought to the physical
death. that ends all the joys and the sorrows
of this life! One would naturally think
amid such scenes ones mind would natur-
ally turn to the life beyond the grave. But
there the thoughts are turned to the life be-
yOnd the confines of the iron doors. and once
beyond their portals the mind is at once en-
crossed with the cares and turmoil of busy
life. Coming from the influences of the
cemetery feel almost like preaching SER
mon, and don't know but perhaps would
if thought were good enough. Certainly
inside of the walls or outside we should
never forget that this life is but transitory
and beyond it is the grave and beyond the