The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-02-02
BIG TOM, CONVICT.
He Was Tempted, But a'LittIe Child
Saved Him.
From the Detroit Free Press.

From the Detroit Free Press.
There were those who said that convict
1880 was innocent of the crime which sent
him to prison for such a long term of
years that there was scarce a hope of
his ever being a free man again. They
meant that he was technically guilty. He
had sought to save a woman from a. beat
ing at the hands of her husband. and in
the struggle and excitement he had struck
dow winch caused the death of the
man. 1t was accident, in a sense but il
was also manslaughter No man who is
man Will stand by and see a woman
beaten, and yet If he interferes he must
take his chances with the law big
Nom, as the convict was sometimes re-
1erred to, was like most big men-a child
In his gentleness and good nature. He
went to prison weeping. He did not COM
plain, but he grieved. He thought'of the
years and years which must drag away
before the prison doors would omen 10
him, and he moved about like a weak old
man. The prison officials felt to pity the
man, but q convict is a convict and all
must be treated alike=an who show ODE
dience to the rules. They sized him up
as child-like and good-natured, and vet
they said to each other as they talked Of
Look out for Big Tom! He will break
loose some day and do some desperate
first six months OF his term-then during
the second-then they almost became
afraid of him. Men who are slow to anger
who go on grieving, brooding and hear
ing a mental burden for weeks and months
are devils when the climax comes. Big
Tom had the management of the trip-ham-
mer IN the machine shop. Had they put
him in the shoe shop or tailor shop he
would have rebelled at once His place was
beside the biggest piece of machinery in
the shops. Two pieces of machinery, as it
were-"Tom and Trip" Day by day, and
week by week and month by month, as the
ponderous hammer rose and fell and its
blows shook the very earth for yards
around, making the convict smile and look
proud the guards had an eye on him and
kept saying to each other:
1T will come! 1t is only delayed! When
he breaks loose he will kill some one and
have to be killed in turnr'
Nearly half of the second year had pass
ed ana the giant convict had never even
sulked, when one day there came into the
shop as sightseerS a husband wife and
little girl of or years old. Children are
seldom seen in prisons, and it is a rare
thing that they are taken into the shops
in the yards. If any one in that portion
knew that convict No. go had daugh-
ter-a fair-haired, handsome child who
could only walk alone when the jury pro-
nounced his verdict of guilty" they had
forgotten the fact. His wife had visited
him as often as visitors were allowed, but
the child had never been seen within the
grim walls. knowing that her husband
had killed man by accident the wife
could bear to see him wearing his horri-
BILE stripes of convict, but to let the
at the iron barS-to ask why all those men
were there-a thousand times no. And
so this was the first child Big Tom had
seen since the heavy doors shut him in
Father, mother and child came close to
him and gaZed at the ponderous hammer
with wondering eyes. You would have ar
gued that the sight of the child would
have softened the convict's heart and
brought tears to his eyes, but it did not
It brought a feeling of madness-of des-
perauon-of frenzy. To save a woman
from brutal beating at the hands of a
drunken, worthless thing not fit to be
clasSed with men, he had struck a blow
A jury had called it murder in the second
degree, and he was here in prison on a
sentence almost never-ending. He had
been wronged, and the knowledge of il
fired his heart and brought the long-ex-
pected outbreak. With a sudden cry
which startled every one in the noisy shop
Big Tom made a. spring forward, seizeCl
the child in his arms, and there was a
shout of defiance on his lips as he held
her at arms length and glared about him.
The mother of the child gasped for breath
and staggered back to the wall and sunk
down. The father stood staring, as il
struck dumb, but presently held out his
hands In silent supplcatioR.B Big Tom glow
cred and muttered in reply. He was
eonvict-a chsldess father. He was dead to
his child-she was dead to him. He could
not make another fathers heart ache
and throb and grieve as his did, but he
would secure revenge.
AFTER muttering he was silent No one
cried out. Guards and convcts were seem
ingly stupiled. There was the hum of