The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-07-23
JESSE PONEROY'S PRISON LIFE.
Twenty Years in Solitary COnfine-
ment of the boy" Murderer.
Globe.


When. in Difference to public ciamor, the
sentence OF death upon Jesse Pomeroy, the
Massachusetts boy fend, was twenty years
ago committed to Imprisonment for the
term of his natural life, the alleged elem
ency was coupled with conditions that, 10
the average mind, made the punishment
worse than death: 1t was decreed that he
should not be allowed TO work with the
other prisoners or even to see a human
face other than his keeper or his mother
she being allowed to see him only at long
intervals To add further TO his punish
ment and isolation, his cell door was
blocked granite thereby cutting off even
the, view of the cell door, and audiences
with him could only be gained through
another cell, which was kept vacant and
used for this purpose only. In all these
twenty years the conditions have been car
ried out.
a reporter recently secured a half-hour
chat with the historic monster, and listened
to him as ne talked of his past, his future,
his treatment at the hands of the prison
officials his education, and, foremost Of
all in Importance. his many attempts TO es-
cape, avowing that he was not disheartened
and would some day make a break for lib
erty that would be successful.
Pomeroy's eyes unlike those of the
ordinary man, and as he looked on his Wis
itor one of them, which is marked by run
ming in color or whitened like a bad-seeing
eye, was plainly noticed. 1t, to all APP
pearances, is what a horse breeder would
call a wall eye, the white in il extending
over the pupil and being of a splashy. in
definite, but most evident reformation 1t
the witnesses of his criminal wanderings
with the childish victims of his demonism
to IDENTIFY him. 1t is a mark which was
placed on him In infancy, and as he grows
older 1t seems TO spread and to be like a
white cloud in the bleared window of this
the right eve. The other is of gray or
wbitish blue color, not affected, not weak,
not bright. perfectly unfeeling. quite de-
cided in eXpression-the eve of sense and
1t does not finch, but ii does not recipro-
cate. 1t dwells hard, steady and
challenging, as If Its owner were depending
on his ears mainly TO know your errand.
He spends much of his time in reading.
When asked what kind of books he read,
his answer was that he had read about
everything in the library. He was fond of
anything of mechanical nature. and has
studied every book in the building in which
that subject is referred to. He told how.
by the of grammars, he learned three
languages, and could translate fairly well.
He could talk but little, however, in any
of them; because his pronunciation was
prove ii. He knew the books, however, by
heart :. - o,.oo. :, ,o,u .,.e
languageS?' was asked of him.
His answer was that some day, he was
confident he would be liberated, and then
the more he knew the better off he would
be. The law was not of sufficient power To
keep him there all his life. he maintained
and some day he would be able to show
it, He had studied the public statutes and
knew what he was saying, he said. He
ratified off law in manner that would
do credit to a menloer of the bar.
The officers OF the prison claim that they
do not fear their prisoner, nor do they look
upon his efforts 20 escape as genuine. He
does it for mere Gev.ltry, they say, and has
not brains enough or sufficient courage tC
make his way to the outside of the prison
should he once get from his cell. However
he is cunning, they admit, and keeps them
on the watch the greater part of the time
He gets things which they cannot account
for, and how they are at a loss to say
Every week officer goes through every
nook and corner of his CELL takes his bee
to pieces and overhauls everything in the
room. At times they find pieces of wire
steel, iron and other trifling things which
| are of no use to him, but which he treas
ures and guards carefully If they
| were some day to be the means of his es
cape.
And so the story of his prison life goe!
on. Day after day, month after month anC
year after year he sits in his cell, thinks
| and plans. Since 1875 he has had only t.
eat, drink sleep, write, think and try t
escape.