Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1891-07-16
PRISON LIFE IN CHILE.
HOW MURDERERS ARE WALLED
IN LIVING TONES.
Some Thrilling Stories OF santiago
Penitentiary Life-The Romantic
Tragedy of Rich Young
Lieutenant.

One of the institutions of this famous
| capital to which the citizens point with
pride is their model penitentiary. writes
! Fannie b. Ward, in letter from Chile
to the Philadelphia Record. 1t is an
enormous structure of red brlck-a
rare building material in these parts
: the houses being universally OF stone
or adobe, covered with grayish plaster
surrounded by massive wall OF the
same, on top of which soldiers are con-
tinually pacing to and fro. The visit
or hardly knows whether to be most
impressed by the immensely of the con-
Germ, it being nearly large enough to
hold the entire population, its scrupu-
lous cleanliness or the dead silence that
prevails, as unbroken as if there were
not living creature within hundred
miles, though at present there are
about two thousand human beings in
side the wall.
We first visited the workshops,
where everybody was working silently
and steadily, his eyes bent upon his
work, not II whisper being permitted
or a moments pause of the busy fin
gers. But when we entered, at signal
from the overseer of each department,
every man made military salute and
remained standing until permission
was given to resume work.
Certain it is that if the majority OF
Gillian Rotos the word literally
translated meaning ragged people, "
here used to designate the poorer
| st
years in the Santiago penitentiary
their condition would be vastly better
ed. They would be sure of shelter.
sufficient food and clothes enough to
cover their nakedness-very uncertain
blessings in their present state; besides
being compelled to keep tolerably
clean for the first time in their lives,
and made to work at something useful.
All are obliged to learn trades
blacksmithing, carpentering, shoemak-
ing, etc. There is a school. also.
where even the Oldest and most dense
ly ignorant are taught to read and
write; and chapel where all receive
religious instruction. After Il year or
two here the Roto. who came in rag
geo, dirty and worthless to degree.
may 60 forth clothed in his right
mind" having formed new habits of
industry, and with a resource against
future want in the trade he has learned.
But there is another side to the pic
, ture-one so dark and terrible that as
we contemplated it the bright day
seemed suddenly overcast. the sun
? ceased to shine and the birds to sing
In this splendid model building
e there are Shiny, noisome cells where
0 daylight never enters, in which human
beings are literally buried alive. Hav-
e ing heard of them, we requested to be
shown one of these cells The gentle
manly superintendent denied there
o were any such. But we knew better;
; and later on, the iudicious investment
Of dollar induced subordinate to
:. give US glimpse of what we came to
see.
4 Under the massive arches OF the
q enormously thick walls, where per-
It petual twilight reigns even in the out
side rooms, are inner cells, two feet
# wide by six feet long, destitute of /;
K single article of furniture. There is /;
sc thick iron door, which is securely
nailed up, then fastened all around
: with huge clamps, exactly as vault:
n are closed in the Santiago cemetery
g and over all the great red seal of tn,
- government Is placed-not to be re
moved until the man is dead or hi
as sentence has expired. The tiny grated
e. window is covered with several thick
I 81 Il !
u ing dense darkness inside. SO that tn
prisoner cannot tell night from day
" There is no ventilation, except through
~. III this netting, and no opening whateve
va to the tomb.
IS Low down in the iron door, close /
the ground, is a tiny sliding panel,
Mt foot long by two or three inches wide
tn arranged like a double drawer, so tina
Up food and water may be slipped in o
be shallow pans and the refuse returned
,h Twice in every twenty-four hours th
y pane is operated, and if the food r.
, mains untouched a certain number ,
n days it is known the man is dead, an
II only then can his door be opened III
he less his time has expired. In the san
,e. clothes he goes in. unwashed uncombet
at without even a blanket or handful
nd straw to lie on. he languishes in sicl
ness. lives or dies, with no means
gs, making his condition known to tho
zen outside. He may count the laggir
, Jtn hours, sleep, rave. curse, pray, long fl
,ho death, dash his brains out, go mad
al he likes nobody knows it. He is de;
ly, to the world, and buried, though Ii
hit ing. Six months is the usual sentenc
so and until lately two years has been Il
1t limit. They told us that but one m;
has ever been known to live yea
ost and the majority do not outlast the Sc
o. ond month. Those that survive t,
, a six months are almost invariably driv,
IL, ing idiots or dangerous maniacs r
fit door is always opened at night, VIII
ard the sentence has expired, because
nd his enfeebled condition after long dar
ice ness, the glare OF day would be tortul
ty if not death. They expect to find t
ort- wretch stone blind, emaciated 10 I