The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1895-11-14

| sDSOiul VI tut bDOTbS tuHt CTlIns
inals engage in. The innocent games
Of childhood, in the case of criminals,
are tinctured with cruelty and some
times accompanied by homicide. Grim
.nals skip the rope, but part of the
game is to trip up the jumper and lei
him fall heavily upon the stone pave
ment Criminals play leap frog, but
part OF the game is that he who makes
the "back" shall rise suddenly and vi
olently just as the frog mounts and
throw him TO the ground. The Grim
inals play blindmsn's buff, but the
man with the bandaged eyes carries a
handkerchief bearing in one corner n
jagged stone, piece of hard. sharp.
ened wood, or bit Of iron. With this
weapon he strikes those whom he pur.
sues. Another form of this game is
for the blinded one to be struck by
one or another OF his companions if
he fails to name the one that strikes
him. The penalty is not the innocent
on, of the children's'game, but blow
so severe that n physician has often to
be called in after the game is over.
IL has been found in those Italian
reformatories where prisoners are not
Kept In solitary confinement that pris-
/ oners' games are often accompanied
with bloodshed, and that it is nj.
most impossible to prevent cruelties.
This is especially true where prisoners
work together, for they secrete tools
and use them as weapons in brutal
sports. In one of these games the
! player has in each hand a stick, hav-
/ ing fixed in the end keen metallic
| point. He interweaves his arms, re.
volving the sticks with rapiiity, and
the game is for another prisoner to
/ thrust his head between the arms and
endeavor TO follow the revolutions of
the sticks without being wounded. 1t
/ usually happens that II, receives fif-
teen or sixteen wounds and comes out
with bleeding head. The victim in
another game has his eyes bandaged
and places his palm upon n table, with
fingers spread fan.like. Another
criminal then repeatedly strikes be.
/ tween the fingers with u pointed in
strument. Ii he wounds finger then
the two change places, and woe to the
man who refuses the exchange. The
| game is dangerous, although the Grim
inals assert that the wounds to the
fingers are not deep or severe, bo-
cause, rs they say, the metallic points
are short and do not penetrate far.
Tho sport of criminals is accom-.
panied by characteristic craft. This
is especially shown IN tho methods in
/ H.. II. - Al
prison life. The newcomer is con-
Quoted into an improvised court
chamber where tho judges are his fell
low prisoners. He is placed upon
stand and gravely tried upon pre-.
tended charge, and he has barely been
condemned when the stand is sudden
/ ly drawn away SO that he is thrown
violently to the earth.
Many games necessarily imply re-
sistance to pain AZ m absolute con-
/ dition of success. For example, there
| is game of "needles." One of the
| players places his closed fists upon
the table, holding strongly two
needles, one in each hand, the points
| being slightly exposed. 1t il the
/ game then for n companion TO strike
| with his own fists those OF the other.
1t is question OF endurance between
| the one who is pricked with the
| needles and the one whose fists are
/ beaten by the others knuckles. There
are games in which the fingers and
| hands are deeply wounded and the
scars are nm honorable distinction.
| The characteristic feature OF all these
| games, which are the recreation eX.
clusively OF criminals in prison, Is the
/ love OF combat. If, as is held by ex-
perts, sports are the means of working
/ OFF the superlluous activity of life, it
is evident that superhuous activity, in
case of prisoners, is especially power.
| ful. 1t has been noted in the case of
| prisoners that there is prevalence OF
/ great agility and lithencs9, which
! Professor Lombroso considers u mega
| tive evidence of mental weakness,
since it testities to greater develop
ment of the motorial centres at the
expense OF the other cerebral centres.
But usually this physical energyis not
properly used IN the ordinary life OF
the criminal and finds outlet and en-
| loyment III sports.
Another characteristic of the games
OF criminals is the admiration shown
for physical force, manifested in the
docility with which the vanquished IN
such sports submit to the brutality of
the victors, thing observed among
savages. Finally, the insensibility to
pain exhibited in sports of criminals
proves that such men are less acute in
their physical senses as we'll as less
sensitive TO the pains of others since
what seems to others uselossly cruel is
only the usual thing with criminals.
As the drunkard. his taste hardened
by alcohol, has need of stimulate
constantly stronger, 80 i'll the case of
the criminals the nervous system de-
mands stimulants so strong that, to
the ordinary individual, they would