Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1891-07-23
PRISON LIFE TRICKS.
Numerous Devices of Convicts to Kill
Time and Secure Better
Treatment.
Malingering Very General Method
of Prisoners to Shirk the Mo-
nOtony of Labor.
Another Phase of Convict Life is the
Incipient Mutinies Which Often
Occur.

Occur.
There are many incidents in the prison
life OF convlcts that are not of the ordin-
airy, and may be said to form part of their
pleasures, although some are weird and
tragic enough in themselves to be classed
as anything but pleasures. | recolIect on
one occasion that was appointed special
''trusty'' over a tall, lank, dark-featured
young southerner who, In a moment of
hopeless desperation, had cut his throat.
Teddy, as we called him, had been head
strong boy, and his parents could not con-
troll him, and. after youthful vagabond-
age he had enlisted in the regular army
where he was always in trouble. When
under my care in the special hospital
ward to which he had been sent he related
much of his past life to me, and | learned
that he had attApted to take his life
when he was a soldier in the same man
ner as he had done in state prison.
He was not bad sort of fellow. but
being of a sensitive nature, as we'll as
unreasonable, he allowed his gloomy
thoughts to master him, and this would
result in periods of depression and
subsequent desperation, and he cared not
what he said or did. In fact, he was in
cllned to emotional insanity
One night, while my fellow trusty and
| were engaged In conversation, he lay on
his cot bordering over his gloomy fate,
when something we said aroused him and
ne flew INTO rage, got sup and grappled
me In desperate manner.
STRUGGLING FOR SUPREMACY
lquickly flung him back on his cot and
pinioned him, telling nv fellow trusty-a
mere boy-to ring up the guard.
1t was a terrible struggle to keep him
in subsection until the guar arrived, for
his frenzy gave him almost superhuman
strength. He quoted down as soon as
the guard arrived and said he was fool
for getting into such temper, and as he
feared the straitjacket he promised to be-
have in the future. He, however, in an
other of his frenzied attacks attempted to
tear open the wound N his throat, and it
was by no means an easy matter to prevent
him doing so. But a reasonable and
sympathetic talk generally conquered his
exciteability. He finally was sent to the
insane asylum.
One morning as prayer was being said
In the prison chape one of the convicts
set up howl and began barking like a
dog, after which he clapped his hands
one, two, three; one, two, three-and this
caused general mlrmur of mixed mer-
riment and expectation.
Two guards Immediately passed to the
end of the form On which he was sitting,
and were hustling him out of the chapel,
when he flew into rage, struggled with
them as we'll as at the officiating chaplain,
who was particularly an obnoxious man to
the prisoners. Whether the fellow was
insane or not canrot say. The prison
authorities thought he was not, and he
was roundly punished for his esca pade.
On another occasion as we were march
ing into the hall forsupper one of the con-
victs set up a howl, threw up his arms
and dropped dead on the foor-a fellow
convict had stabbed him. There was
some eDmity between the two and it re-
suited IN the death of both.
DIED ON THE EVE OF FREEDOM.
J. was hospital trusty and a long line
of prisoners we're being attended to by
the doctor for real or imaginary ills. One
of the prisoners on particular occasion
had nearly served his term of sentence and
he was to have been examined in order
that the medical officer could report on
his condition.
| was preparing dose of common stuff
for the prisoner standing next but one to
him when he fell forward on the floor and
blood gushed from his mouth in a
stream. He had ruptured blood vessel,
and In spite of the doctors efforts the
poor fellow died.
Malingering is very general method
among prisoners to shirk the monotony or
the labor consequent on their imprison-
ment. Anything that will relieve the
tedlousress and is at hand is brought in
to action. One here in the quarry will
mash his finger in order that ne may be
sent into the hospital
Another here will-quite accidentally,
of course-fall down the corridor steps and
sustain such injuries as to insure a quiet
and so forth; but the prison doctor is on
faith with all classes of malingerers, and
uses his experience in treating such as
come before him. Consequently the good
times often anticipated never materialize.
MEN WHO EAT SOAP.
I know one ignorant, soft beaded fellow
who became really i'll by eating the soap
he was allowed with to perform his daily
additions. Often have cases come before
me where soap eating had put men into
a feeble state of health and lent a sickly
aspect to their countenance, but this fell
low was sick and no mistake.
After a course Of treatment which was
In itself as bad as the cause for it, he was.
however, restored and sent into solitary
continent as further punishment. He
never ate soap again, but, remark, he
was subsequently poisned by eating some
OF the vegetable growths around where he
with his fellows, was wont to labor.
All things considered, the malingerer
comes out only second best, but it must be
terrible punishment that causes men to
resort to 1t IN order to tighten their bur-
dens
The two most notable cases | ever met
of this kind were when a man boldly put
his foot under falling mass of stone ia
the quarry, causing it to be terribly crush
ed, and to be eventually amputated; and
In the second case, where man feigned
rheumatism and underwent every conceiv-
able torture at the hands OF the prison
physician, VINO knew the fellow was sham
ming.
Accidents, pure and simple, are not fire.
quent. The la1 ge,,' derrick" that are used
IN the quarries of some prisons are often
the cause of very serious and, at times,
fatal accidents.
A man doing life sentence for the
crime of murder was ''slinging' large
block of stone in one of the quarries while
another block was being hoisted up by the
derrick. He bent over the stone to pick
up the sling, when the derrick chain snap
nd Il 4, IL