The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-06-19

and 70 strike a boy with a hoe"
| Il replied instructing Mr. Wimberly 70
| deliver Harris TO Acting Captain Davis 70
| work on the canal I also wrote TO Capt.
Davis al the same time that Mr.. Wimberly
[ had reported 20 me that Harris refused
70 work on the farm. and was giving a
Z great deal Of trouble. Put him on the
| eanal, / said, and see that he does work
I 1 heard nothing more Of Harris. Friday
I i was with Mr.. kehoe al the canal and
inquired for him. 10 show him 10 Mr..
I hehoe The guard told US where he was
az work, and we went to see him. He was
I men picking up roots and chips and car
I tyins them out OF the canal On INQUIRY
I OF the guard he told US that Harris would
nor work and he had had TO whip him. but
tnat u didn't seem 70 do any good. After
| loohin8 al Harris for a while we went on
70 other parts OF the work The next 1
hhow OF Harris was on Tuesday afternoon.
/ tHe Gay ne died. When / was in camp I
/ INQUIRED OF the hospital steward how many
/ go mere were. He told me there was
| uul one. Harris. I asked II the doctor
I nad seen him, and what the doctor said
/ vas the matter with him. He replied
! mat the doctor had seen him the day be-
lore' ana said that he had light fever
! ana ha1 prescribed for him. / asked how
I ne was then. The guard replied he was
aoout me same as the day before. He told
I me tnat Harris was not eating anything. l
3 I.
/ ne tlid me since sunday. / told them to
I lei Harris lay up for several days; if he
I couldnt eat he couldn't work. That night
| A0out O'Clock the hospital steward came
I 70 me IN town and reported that Harris
was dead. I asked him if ne had reported
I 10 Dr. Chisholm. and he said he had just
come from there. The next morning / re-
ported the death to Dr. Charlton chair
7 man Of the committee on chain-gang, and
I ne informed me that DIR. Chisholm had
also reported to him. He spoke of the
suddenness Of the death, and thought it
I best 10 have a conference with DIR. CHS
| holm. We came down to the court house
ana met DR.. Chisholm. We talked over
/ the matter and the two doctors agreed to
hold an autopsy. The body was sent for
and brought in to DiXon's undertaking
rooms. When the autopsy was had, DR.
/ Charlton, assisted by DR. Chisholm, in the
presence Of Mr.. Dale and myself, and 1
think a part of the time Capt. Dixon and
his assistant were present. After the eX-
animation of his lungs and intestines the
doctors agreed that there was an old
pleurisy in the lung, but that the cause of
his death. as shown by the intestines,
was malarial fever. and such l entered on
the record. That's about all l know"
Maj. Blandford differed with Mr.. Dale
as TO the transfer of prisoners from the
poor farm to other work. When asked
about this he said
The court cannot sentence a prisoner
to the poor farm. II it not place of pun
ishment. 1t is added as a recommends
ton to the sentence sometimes that the
prisoner be worked on the poor farm. FREE
quently when it is woman or a boy the
judge recommends that the prisoner be
worked onlthe poor farm"
Cannot the judge give an imperative
sentence to the poor farm" Maj. Bland
ford was asked.
II never saw an imperative sentence to
the poor farm. The question has often
come up for discussion before the board
of commissioners and the opinion of the
county attorney is as l stated. Some
times there are more prisoners than can
be worked on the poor farm and we put
them at other labor. There is other light
labor. l sent Harris to the canal because
the farm gang is moving all the while.
knew Harris reputation of old, and
that he would retard the work of the
entire gang at the farm. The work at
the canal is stationary and he could not
retard the others when refractory. There
is light work to there. A boy of 10 years
could do the work Harris was engaged
at. He was merely pretending to work
when / saw him killing time
Did you ever transfer prisoner be-
fore?"
II have transferred prisoners often. Tho
assignment of prisoners is made by the
being sent to the farm and the more able
bodied to the canal"
What are the whipping regulations at
the camp. or what were they them"
The whipping was regulated by the
guards at the time Harris was there. The
limit was forty lashes, the same as in the
state penitentiary. 1t was very seldom
that half that number were given. The
old ante-bellum regulation was forty, less
one, on the bare back The law in refer
ence to chain-gang prisoners is that the
persons In charge of the prisoners or the
guards have the right to administer pun
ishment in order to enforce labor or pre-
serve discipline. While a whipping boss
may be appointed in the opinion of the
county attorney the guards still have the
right to punish under the law
Maj. Blandford was present at the post
mortem held upon the body of Harris
His observations differed very materially
from those of Mr. Dale. In response to
questions by the jury as to injuries on
the body, he said:
II noticed that the skin was broken in
several places. / examined the wounds
closely, for the purpose OF ascertaining
If they were caused by the strap. In my
opinion they were not caused by the strap,
but by scratching. The convicts tell me
that after being strapped there is sting
ing sensation with an almost irresistible
desire to scratch. / do not think Harris
received any extraordinary punishment"
What is done when a prisoner COM
plains of being sick?" he was asked.
Whenever any guard thinks that
prisoner is i'll he is laid off Immediately.
Whenever a prisoner is reported sick he
is examined by the hospital stewart and
the usual simple remedies administered.
If the case appears to be serious the ply
stefan is sent for.
Camp No is the principal camp where
all women and boys and whites are sent
The hospital is also there. There are no
| hospitals at the other camps. When a
| prisoner is seen to be sick he is sent to
the hospital at camp No. l. The regular
visiting days of the physician are Mon
| days and Thursdays. And 1 do not know
| that there are any special requirements
| on this line. He always responds when
| sent for"
Some of the jurymen seemed to be Of
| the opinion that DIR. Chisholm neglected
| his duty in not visiting Harris after be-
ing notified of his Illness Juror Nc
| Nally put question to that effect
He was led to believe that Harris was
| not i'll, as he was able to eat, and proba-
! bly, thought that il was NOT pecaSsar.,