Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1895-12-05
| looked about mr little box with :

ing force that for ten years at least that
little box--S feet d inches III length. s
feet in height and feet in width. with
its floor and roof of stone-would be my
only home-would be, must be, and no
power could avert my fate.
On the small iron shelf found tin
dish used by some previous occupant
and smeared inside and out with Cruel
Tl.c-a being no water in my jug, when
the me-. - for dinner 1, in my in
nocence, asked ,.., rf tle officers for
some water TO wash L. -. D. r. looked
at me with great contempt AL. .... :.
"Will you have it hot or cold?" "Oh,
cold, pleaser' He went away, but soon
came back again and said: "You are a
precious fiat. Lick it off, man. Before
long you won't waste Cruel by washing
your tin dish. You won t be here many
days and want to use water 10 clean
your pint "
After dinner / saw the men marched
out to labor, and was amazed 70 see
their famished, wolfish looks - thin,
gaunt and almost disguised ont Of all
human resemblance by their i'll fitting,
mud covered garments and mud splash
ed faces and hands. l myself was kept
in and marched about by my old friend
"Nosy" TO the shops and stores for
clothing, boots, etc. But the weary, 81
most ghastly specter march had wit
hessed constantly haunted me, and
said, will 1 ever resemble them?" And
youthful spirit and pride rushed to the
front and cried, Never -
Night and supper-eight ounces of
brown bread-came at length, and rose
up from my meal cheerful and resoluts
to meet the worst, be it what it might
short of deliberate persecution, with a
stout heart and faith that at last all
would be we'll
In the morning l arose, had my
breakfast-nine ounces of brown bread
and pint of gruel-and was eager to
learn what this labor" meant. | was
prepared for much, but not for the grim
reality. had been ordered to join par
ty S2-a brickmaking party, but work
ing in the mud districts" So we,
along with 1900 others, marched out to
our work, and as soon as we were out
side of the prison grounds saw sight
that, while it explained the mud splash
ed appearance of my spectral array, was
enough to daunt any man doomed TO
join In the game. Mud, mud every
where, with groups of weary men with
shovel, or shovel and barrow, working
in it. A sort of road had been made over
the mud with ashes and cinders, and
our party of 22 men, with five other
parties, moved steadily on for about a
mile until we came to the clay banks or
pits. Fortunately we had a very good
officer of the name of James. He want
ed the work done, and used his tongue
pretty freely. Still he was a man who
would speak the truth and treated his
men as well as he dared to do under the
brutal regime ruling in Chatham. He
speedily told me off to barrow and
spade, and 1 was fully enlisted as bar
row and spade man TO her majesty.
A steam mill or "pug" like monster
coffee mill was used for mixing the clay
and sand and delivering it in form of
bricks below, where another party re-
ceived them and laid them out to dry
preparatory to burning. Our duty was
'to keep the pug going keep it full
of clay to the top. The clay was in
high bank. We dug into it from the
bottom with our spades and filled it as
fast as possible into our barrows. In
by a line of planks only eight inches In
width and all converging toward and
meeting near the "pug. The distance
we were wheeling was from 80 TO 40
wards, and the incline was really very
steep, but that in itself would not have
been so bad, but the labor of digging
out the clay was very severe, and that
everlasting pug" was as hungry as II
it were i'll the habit of taking bitters to
give it an appetite.
One had no period of rest bet%aGh the
filling Of ones barrow and the stSTe up
the run. In an hours time my poor
hands were covered with blood bhsters,
and my left knee was lame duck in
deed, made so by the slight wrench CIV
en- it each time / struck III my spade
with my left foot, but l made no COM
DlulUU. -
me, with an oath, threw down his spade
and vowed he would do no more work.
Putting on his vest and jacket, he walk
ed up to the warder and quite as mat
ter Of course turned his back to him and
put both hands behind him. The warder
produced a pair of handouts and with
out any comment whatever handcuffed
his hands in that position and then told
him to stand with his back TO the work.
No one took the slightest notice, and the
toll did not slacken for an instant, but
one man was out of the game, and we
had to make his side good.
Noon came at last. We dropped our
spades, hastily slipped on our jackets
and at once set off at a quick march for
the prison. 1 naturally looked at the
various gangs plotting their way through
the mud and all steering i'll straight
line for the Appian way, whereon we
were, for, as all roads lead to Rome, so
all the sticky ways ION the works led
to the prison Our laconic friend was
trudging on behind the party, and TO
my surprise 1 noticed that several Of the
Otlef parties Ildu uu tllluub pcluu huiAS
behind his back, marching i'll the rear,
and as soon as we reached the prison
each poor sheep in the rear fell out quite
as a matter Of course.
When all the men were i'll, warder
came up and gave the order: Right
turnl ForwardP' and off the poor fell
lows marched to the punishment cells
for three days bread and water each
and no bed, unless one designates an
oak plank as such. 1t was all very sad
Twas pitiable to see the matter of fact
way in which every ono concerned took
it all
50 my first day in the mud and clay
came to an end, and found myself once
more in my little box, with a night be-
fore me for rest and thought. Although
1 had suffered, yet there were grounds
for gratitude and hope, and felt that l
might regard tho future steadily and
without despair.
TTo BE CONTINUED.