San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-12-23
UNCLE SANS PRISON CAR.
1t Contained Thirty Eight Despera-
does from the Indian Territory.

1t Contained Thirty Eight Despera-
does from the Indian Territory.
From the indianapolis News.
A hundred and fifty years Of prison
life were represented in car load Of
convicts that went east through the
city last evening, coming in over the
Vandalis road. They were United
States prisoners from the Indian Ter
ritory On route to Detroit, where they
are to serve out sentences for crimes.
"Motley's the word" in describing
that prison car load of human live
stock. Thirty-eight more degraded
looking outlaws never passed through
Indiana. There were Indians, half
breeds, negroes, cowboys Irish, Ger
man and Americans of the lowest
type of each. Murderers, horse
thieves, train robbers and bandits
occupied the once clean cushions of
| the coach. two to q seat. They were
chained I'm couples. Some were young
and cheerful; others were middle-aged
| and resigned; still others were stolld
and brutal, feigning sleep, yet cycling
the guards and giving ear to every
word dropped by persons admitted to
| the car. All were unshaven and un-
kempt. One young..and rather coarse
| looking women was in the number.
She had seat to herself at the rear
of the car and talked freely with the
guards and some of the near pris-
ers.
"Say, son, give me q Nickel" said
one of the prisoners to an Indianapolis
News reporter. 'How far Is it to
Detroit?" asked another. "Wbat
state are we in now, anyway" quer-
led third.
"What are you charged WITH"
young fellow.
"Oh, I was born ed lazy, and picked
up a horse to carry me-"
He said he was only Is years old !,
and two Others near him gave that as
their age. They had apparently
spent all their lives in outlawing, for
they were brazen and depraved.
"The Indians are not the most trou-
blesome," said the chief of the guards,
w. B. Paps jailer of the Federal Jail
at Fort Smith. "They are quiet in
manner and give us little trouble.
But those white fellows are not to be
trusted for an instant. will be glad
when this job is attended to- And
one heartily sympathized with him
| as he looked at the unfortunates and
caught the steaming odor that came
from them like the fumes from a
sewer.
"Gibson Cartridge was one of the
desperadoes. He Is half-breed
Creek Indian, and has taken the life
of seven men, so the guard said. But
Uncle Sam doesn't punish him for
such a trivial thing as this. In au
| evil hour Cartridge stole a horse, and
this big government leaped upon him
with a yengeance-and Cartridge will
not need q horse for twenty years.
When an Indian kills an Indian the
government looks on serenely and
furnishes gun and ammunition, II
| the murdered man (?)-Indian-has
friends, and they cry for justice, they
are referred to the Indian Councils.
The tribes try their own murderers-
or are supposed to. But if an Indian
steals horse, that's different.
Another worthy who is taking this
ride at the expense of the Government
is Andy Triple of evil repute. He is
one of the robbers who stopped a
train at Briar Creek in the Cherokee
Nation. One of his pals is to die for
his crime. Andy gets of with a
twelve-year sentence.
1t was a melancholy though inter-
esting thing to see the prisoners.
Cur:ousity was the only evidence of
sensibility aroused in them. Some
looked to be better than their circum-
stances, and doubtless might be coll
verted men. With clean clothes and
faces some might pass for cookbook
ing citizens, but the majority save
unmistakable evidence in their faces
of criminal lives, and in their stubby
boards, begrimed with the dust and
SCOT of travel, their frontier and
filthy clothes and the record given
them by their guards, they created
the atmosphere Of q moral pestilenoe.