Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1895-06-14
ON THE INSIDE.
An Interesting Description of the
Customs and Habits of Jail
Prisoners.
A Kangaroo Court For the Punish
ment OF Offenses Against
Common Comfort.
Holding Out Tobacco and Other Rep
rehensible Tricks are Care
fully Corrected.
Some Interesting Points.

Some Interesting Point
Perhaps the average man may not be
familiar with the incidents Of life among
temporary prisoners in a county Jail, and
indeed, he may aver, he does not care to
famlliarize himself with the customs and
tactics of the inmates by actual expert
ence, contact and observation. And yet,
Notwithstanding this instructive aversion
to anything which savors of a curtail-
ment OF liberty, there are many interest
ing features of the life Of the inmates of
a county Jail of this close Of the Century
period. In the past few months there
has been an exceptionally large registry
at Sheriff Taylor's boarding house, and
som of the customs, rules and regula-
tions of those in the inner circle, as de-
tailed by one of the inmates, are surely
worth chronicling.
In the first place, the boarders organ.
ize among themselves what is termed a
kangaroo court" with laws made by
themselves and approved by the sheriff.
Every inmate is amenable to the rules
of this court, which is presided over by
one of the number, who is elected Judge,
and whose mandates are enforced by an
other who Is chosen sheriff. The object
OF the court is to promote a sort of peace
and dignity among the inmates, and to
r%eprehend, properly, any disposition
toward un%cleanliness, petty meanness, or
a disregard of rules. Fines and penalties
are imposed by this court, and its rulings
are inexorable. The inmates have a sort
of joint tobacco box, where the entire
supply of all is kept. Anyone who is
found guilty of holding out tobacco, that
is, secreting a supply about the person,
in order to be assured Of a smoke when
the general supply gives out, is brought
up before the kangaroo court, tried, and
if found guilty, is fined, if he has any
money, or if not, is punished, sometimes
by a sentence to scrub out the cells and
clean the spittoons, and sometimes, if
the odense is particularly heinous, be-
cause of the proven holding out of q
large amount of tobacco, is laid across a
table and several vigorous strokes
applied with a stout, oak paddle, in the
hands of the pseudo sheriff, who lays it
on forcibly enough to create a consider
able remembrance. Splitting on the floor
or out of the window is another INSIDE
meanor which is adequately punished.
Calling out Of the windows to persons
outside the Jail is also prohibited. And
with this court as q protection of the
rights of all, the inmates preserve good
order and cleanliness among themselves,
and mete out just punishment for Of
lenses.
One thing peculiar to all jails, perhaps,
and not the less to this one, is the slang
which is used generally among the in
mates. An outsider, listening to a con-
versation inside, would be astonished at
how little of the discourse was intelli-
gible to him. For example, a knife is a
"shib," but by what derivative process it
arrives at such designation it is diff
cult to understand. A shirt is a "skin,"
and pants are strides" but it is easy to
see the propriety of these two latter ap-
pellations. When it is desired to use an
expression of utter contempt and oppro-
brium, an individual who is thought to
merit the most complete disdain and dis.
gust is styled a "holligan." If he is
selfish and untrustworthy, he is ga
proper stiff" In fact, the greater part
of the language is made up Of similar
slang words and phrases altogether un-
ineligible to the uninitiated.
nr prjrA,s r,a.u, R.k3no Oor,da.