The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1891-11-12

view of the case did not strike him favOra-
bly,, AND CLOSED THE INTERVIEW BY
GIVING HIM A WHIPPING AND TELLING
HIM TO GO BACK TO WORK." That is only
one of several stories that Mr.. Hart has
picked out of Capt. Powell's own book.
Those are not isolated Incidents, but of
such things are the days, weeks and years
linked together. The captain describes
this work in the turpentine woods. which
he drove the sick negro to do. as ''severe
to degree almost impossible to exagger-
ate." The captain must have become hard
ened indeed that he can tell these things of
himself; but he evidently looks upon him.
self as humanitarian and refOrmer. for he
says of his predecessors: 1.-THE story of this
regime is one of almost unrelieved barbar-
ity. For example, the guards were
armed with muskets and bayonets. The
latter were carried fixed and when squad
returned at night they were called into
frequent requisition to keep laggards in
line. Often man would drop from fatigue
and he would be instantly and mercilessly
prOdded with cruel steel. The legs and
backs of nearly all the cOnvicts were COW
cred with scars of bayOnet wounds. The
squads were worked in this manner to make
it possible to work them up to the last mo-
ment." These cOnvicts, it should be re-
membered. were worked in chains. so re-
sistance to this treatment was impossible.
1t is true saying, and perhaps it always
will be true, that there can be no
employment so vile but what there can
be found men vile enough to do it, and
men in high places to defend it. There
cannot be any great difference between the
moral degradation of the criminal and his
keepers where such condition of things
exists; and it is. perhaps, nearly right to say
that the difference is often in favor of the
convict. But we should not stop at the
keepers-whO. perhaps, do not pretend to
be better than they are-fOr they are only
the instruments in the hands of the lessee
who, perhaps sits in the halls of legislation
-One does at least. A lady once remarked,
after having looked from the gallery of the
United States senate down upon the sill
vered head of one of those lessee senators,
that she could see the blood of murdered
convicts dripping from his white locks.
But it is not he alone that is to blame for
the disgrace-he is only one among the
thousands who uphold the system by their
votes. The state is the responsible party.
but the state is large and it takes long
time to reach its heart. We are often told
that those convicts are only negroes and to
treat them otherwise would be to treat them
better than they were treated as free men,
and thus make the prisons places of resort
for them. But are they all ''only niggers?"
Capt. Powell tells this. and it should be
enough to cause the good people of Florida
to rise in their wrath and crush the infa-
nous and mOnstrOus system:
When l had the irons on six men looked
around for the seventh convict and was
amazed when the sheriff pointed to very
pretty and handsomely dressed young
woman seated by the door. There is your
seventh prisoner" he said. had noticed
the girl when l entered and supposed her
10 Dc HIS UduRuttI VI d tucIuUcI VI SUtuO
charitable visiting committee, for she had
every appearance of intelligence and refine
ment. l dreaded to think of the fate
that awaited her-the only white woman
among a horde of negresses and desperate
and abandoned men in an isolated camp
with nothing. absolutely nothing to sustain
or fOrtify her for the ordeal.
When l reached the convict camp with
the unfortunate girl she was in such flut-
ter of terror that she walked right behind
me, clinging to my coat. l had inspired
her with some confidence and she was
afraid that might leave her alone among
all those people. Henderson. the warden,
spoke to her roughly, and his words sent
the blood rushing to her face while her
limbs fairly sank under her. 1t was alto
gether sOrrowful sight; l regret that l
ever saw it. 1 felt sorry for the girl and
as the time passed it hurt me to see how
shame and desperation did their work.
She dOnned the stripes in parOxism of
wild grief, but before long she hardened
herself to her degradation and abandoned
herself to it. 1t made bad woman out of
her and her beauty was practically all that
remained of her former self.
A person with cork leg, cOrkscrew eyes,
hluo-hottla nose and iug-handlod ears.