The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-07-29
The aagieIa Daily Eagle aednesdaY aorimg Gully 20, 1891.
DREARY PRISON LIFE.
MULTIFARloUS TRICKS OF THE CON-
WCTS TO Kill TIME
Tragedies Behind the Bars-Men Who De-
Hberately Main Themselves In Order to
Eyade the Regular Routine of Prison
Life-lTsn Who Sham Sickness

| HberateIy Main Themselves In Order to
Evade the Regular Routine of Prison
/ Life-aIen Who Sham sickness
There are many incidents in the prison
life Of convicts that are out Of the ordi-
nary, and may be said to form part Of
their pleasures. although some are weird
and tragic enough in themselves 70 be
classed as anything but pleasures Tree
ollect on one occasion that was appoint
| ed a special "trusty" over tall, lank,
dark featured young southerner who, in
moment Of hopeless desperation. had
cut his throat.
Teddy, as we win call him, had been
a headstrong boy, and his parents could
not coptrol him, and after youthful
/ vagabondage he had enlisted in the reg
Mar army, where he was always in trou-
BILE. 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 attempted 20
take his life when he was soldier in the
same manner as he had done in state
prison.
/ He was not bad sort of fellow, but
being of sensitive nature, as well as
unre asonabe, he allowed his gloomy
/ thoughts TO master him, and this would
result in periods of depression and sub
sequent desperation, and he cared not
what he said or did. In fact, he was in
clined 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 he few into rage, got up and
grappled me IN desperate manner.
quickly flung him back on his cot
and pinioned him, telling my fellow
/ trusty-a mere boy-to ring up the
guard.
! 1t was terrible struggle to keep him
in subsection until the guard arrived. for
his frenzy gave him almost superhuman
/ strength. He quieted down as soon as
| the guard arrived and said he was fool
for getting into such a temper, and as
he feared the straitjacket he promised
| to behave himself in the future.
/ He, however, in another of his frenzied
attacks attempted TO tear open the wound
| in his throat, and it was by no means an
easy matter 10 prevent him doing so.
/ But a reasonable and sympathetic talk
/ generally conquered his excitability. lie
/ finally was sent to the insane asylum.
One morning as prayer was being said
/ in the prison chapel one of the convicts
set up howl and began barking like
dog, after which he e. Lpped his hands
one, two, three; one, two, three-and
this caused a general murmur of mixed
merriment aud 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 few into rage, struggled with
! them and hurled horrible curses at them
as well as at the officiating chaplain,
/ who was particularly obnoxious man
1 to the prisoners. Whether the fellow
was insane or not l cannot say. The
prison authorities thought he was not,
and he was roundly punished for his
escapade.
On another occasion as we were march
ing into the hall for supper one OF the
convicts gave a howl, threw up his arms
and dropped dead on the hoor-a fellow
convict had stabbed him. There was
some enmity between the two, and it re-
suited in the death of both.
was hospital trusty, and long line
! of prisoners were being attended to by
the doctor for real or imaginary ills. One
of the prisoners on this particular occa-
sion had nearly served his term Of sem
tence, and he was to have been exam
ined in order that the medical officer
could report on his condition.
l 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 a blood
vessel, and in spite Of the doctors efforts
the poor fellow died.
Malingering is a very general method
among prisoners to shirk the monotony
or the labor consequent on their impris-
onment. Anything that viii relieve the
tediousness and is at hand is brought
into action. One here in the quarry
VIII mash his finger in order that he may
be sent to the hospital
Another there will-quite accidental
" OF cOurse-fall down the corridor
steps and sustain such injuries az 70 in
sure a quiet time Of convalescence on a
hospital diet, and SO forth; bat the prs
on doctor Is an fait with all classes Of
naiingers, and uzes his experience in
treating sucn a. come before him. Con-
sequeutly the good times often sutici-
pated never r1R5srislize.
l know one ignorant, soft headed fell
low VINO became really III by eating the
soap be was allowed with which 70 Per
form his daily additions. Often had
cases come before me where soap eating
had put men into a feeble STATE q health
and lent a sickly aspect % their counte-
nances, bat this fellow was Elck, and no
mistake.
After a course Of treatment which was
in isseif as bad as the cause for II be
Wa, however, restored aad sent into
( solitary confinement as further punish
IIeut- be never ate soap again, bus,
may remark, he was subsequently pei
soned by eating some Ct the vegetable
growths around where be, with his fsA-
lows, was wont 20 labor.
AL things considered, the In2ltnRsrer
comes out only second best, but IN must
be a terrible punishment thai causes
men 70 resort 70 II IN order 70 hgh.en
their burdens