The morning times., 1896-09-27
Fearful Things Which Drove
Gallagher and Whitehead
Mad With Suffering.
Men Are FIogged With Thorns Out
side Their CellS-WOrk In
the Quarries.
,Cnpyright. 1861

Copyright, 1866
II is impussiblr for those who have
not experienced the horrors of Port
Ia nd To conceive what those immured
there have To indure. This in e>pe-
ciaIly true in the case of political
prisoners. After conviction, which In
all Instances has been carried out by
the most unjust and unfair methods,
they are placed in solitary confinc-
ment for a period of nine months,
They are allow ed half AN hours exer-
cis.. daily, walking around the Jail
yard I'm single file, ten feet apart.
No conversation is allowed, nor, i'll
deed. is any conversation permitted
from the time N prisoner begins 10
undergo his sentence until he i~ re-
leased. The penalty for speaking i~
ten day = Oh bread ana water--a scrap
of bread at night and morning ana
a swallow of water. Talking back
to a ward-r leads TO fIogging, the
number of lashes being, determined
by the directors, who visit the prison
once. u month, and Oftener when
noy.ing is demanded.
EDWARD O'MEAG HER CONDOR.
Capt. Condon superintendent of con-
structiun of the fire department of New
York city. was confined for eleven years
in Portland prison. When released he
was oil the verge OF insanity. but "a rugged
III, Hn urns
sentenced i'll Manchester. England, IN 1867,
to death. but this, at the repeated demands
of the United States government, was conf
mrled 20 Imprisonment for life. After
eleven years Capt. Condon received his
PARDON nj returncdtothe country OF which
he was a citizen.
DR. Gallagher, who reached here two
weeks ago. is now almost hopelcssly insane
in a private sanitarlum Oh Long Island,
and Albert whiteheai. released from Port
land at the same tina. arrived here last
week in the same shattered mental condi-
tiun The horrors which the men had To
endure during those years at Portland left
them alive but robbed them of mind and any
semblauce OF health. Rugged Irishnen.
as they were, with the blood OF Erin's Isle
running fresh in their veins. they became
poor, crawling, broken Gown creatures,
little better than the lowest of beasts. from
the inhumanities OF their Imprisonment
THE ISLE OF PORTLAND.
Portland Prison is situated upon an
Island The Isle of Portland is u PROM
ontury. one vast, rocky cliff. without
vegetation and sheltered in no way from
the heat of summer or the cold Of win
ter. Both extremes are felt kecrly. The
island is. properly speaking. peninsula.
for it is connected with the mainland
by a long, pebbl: strip called chesil
Beach. This is twelve miles long. forty
feet high and one hundred yards wide.
TIE island is about four miles long and
thrrequarters of a mile wide. IL scpa-
rates the English Channel from Portland
Iiarbor Three sides are inaccessible from
the sea. rising 400 feet i'll mid-air. Upon
one of these cliffs the prison is built. Its
plan is such ina I escape is impossible. Not
one escape has been made within its his
tory.
The journey from London to Portland
is l6u mules The prisoners travel III r"-
vuliing carh packed together in cars
marked " ReSer ved.'' At the Portland
railway station they are met by van
marked ". R. aud into this window
less vehicle they are hustled and bounced
along The rocky road Ia the prison. From
the time of setting out on their ioIrncy.
often. with its delays, fifteen hours be-
fore, they have had nothing t. cat, and
In this hungry condition they arrive at
their future home, only to be stuffed into
the diriiest of cells to await the further
pleasure of the keepers. often no at