The Portland daily press., 1893-12-26
THE YELLED WOMAN.
Mysterious Strangers Visit to Sing
Sing Prison.

Every Two Months Regularly She MaL,ss
Her Appearance, and With Her Face
Covered Stands and Watches tho Line of
Passing Prisoners-Known to No One.
Sing Sing prison has mysterious WON
an visitor, but that is not remarkable,
because seven-eighths of the visitors to
the convicts there are women. They all
have burdens OF sorrow to bear, but rarely
Of their own making, and they come and
go, year in and year out, to see loved ones
whom the world does not love and has put
behind bars The gray prison walls hold
all that is dear in life to these mothers,
wives, sweethearts and sisters.
Many romance brought to tragic
climax by the merciless hand of the law
is suggested by these untiring visitors.
Even the ubiquitous hackmen who infest
the Sing Sing railway station seem to APP
preciate this, for when these unhappy ones
alight from the trains and look uneasily
and self consciously about the drivers real
ize intuitively the nature of their errand
and. treat them with a Difference rarely
met with in their class. They approach
respectfully land in subdued tones say kind
~, ITO the prison, madam" or, "Right
this way to the prison
About one visitor only is there any mys-
terry. Others give their names and go to
see some convict who is known to the keep
ers. This one goes yelled, and no one
knows who it is she goes to see.
A tall, 1.-the, graceful woman, attired
all In black and wearing heavy black
veil occupied the seat in car directly in
'front.' OF and opposite that occupied by a
World reporter one Saturday recently.
She was uneasy and restless, though not
obstrusively SO. She carried herself with
the fine reserve OF woman OF breeding
accustomed to do just such things. Some
times she would look anxiously about the
car, as it in fear Of being recognized,
though with her veil recognition, even by
an intimate friend, would clearly have
been impossible.
An old time hackman at the Sing Sing
station approached her as she alighted.
She got into his ramshackle conveyance as
If she had been in it before, and it ratified
up the hill and over the stony road along
the bluff to the prison few hundred yards
In advance of the equally noisy convey
ance of The World man.
OSAA
having finished their evening meal in the
great feeding hall-it would raise the
ghost OF Brillat Savarin to call it a dining
room-march in lockstep to their cells
in long single files. They come through
the stone tagged prison yard with a
steady. machinelike shuttle of their heavy
prison shoes. Keepers stand about with
heavy sticks in their hands.
Near the entrance to the long granite
building containing the tiers OF cells are
two great open boxes of bread. Each
striped miserable reaches out and takes
piece with his left hand as he passes.
Slung on the right arm OF each is an iron
slop pail, on which is painted the prison
er's number The shuttle OF the slowly NOV
ing line continues for perhaps 20 minutes,
at the end OF which time each OF the l,300
mas, with ms supper IN one hand and MS
slop pail IN the other, been locked IN his
cell.
The woman had been shown to the yard
ana STOOD, Keeper by her SIDE, under the
port1co Of the inhosp1tabie looking hospi-
tai building. The long lines OF conylcts
marched toward her and turned not 10
feet rom where she stood and marched
past the breadbox into the building. She
supported herself with one daint1ly gloved
hand against the stone wall, and leaning
forward m an attitude OF eager interest
laced down the approaching line.
She tapped the pavement 1mpatlently
from time to time with the toe of her neat
boot.
some one IN that long line r1veted her
attention, but there were hundreds there,
and the ven prevented any one from seeing
which striped one it was.
Inc prisoners all turned away their
neads as they passed the woman. was 1t
prison rule that prompted THIS, or
sense OF shame that has survived harden
ing crime? Not one did otherwise. Many
faces flushed, and II any one IN that line
recognized the trim figure and graceful
pose OF the strange woman he could never
be detected " the hush, for flushed faces
were too numerous
When the last man OF the last line, a
negro ON eruoches, VINO Killed policeman
on wan street, had dlsapPeared IN the
door, the woman was escorted out by the
keeper' She thansed Fr1nclpal Keeper
Connaughpon for hzs courtesy, winch, to
Ri Visl0ors' n'en aro women, Is Always
tne same. Her VOICE was pleasant ana
snere were no tears Indicated IN 1t. her