Omaha daily bee., 1896-02-24
PRISONERS ARE ON PARADE
Thousands of People Call Daily to Sc
Walling and jackson.
PROCESS TELLING ON THEIR NERVES

fhUIeoo ItlllN0 UN lHslh NthVtS
JniIors Compelled 10 Limit the Time
In which Visitors Arc Admitted
-BuiiS OF the Callers Are
Young Women.
CINCINNATI. Feb 23.--when the head
less body Of Pearl Bryan was discovered
near Fort Thomas en- February /, the fret
feeling was a chill of horror at the revolving
devilish ingenuity Of the crime Four days
later when the confessed partners In It, Scott
Jackson and Alonzo walling not to men
ton the lad William Wood, were arrested
the excitement over this rnspcakable atrocity
became passionate. indeed, almost furious
As one by one. day by day, the dumb wit
nesses of this crime matchless for cold
blooded cruelty, came to light all other
passions gave way to that of vengeance,
Pearl Bryan's veil, stained crimson with her
own blood shed by hands into which she had
confided herself, all too truotingly, for relief
and protection Jackson's boodstained coat
and Walling's bloodbespattered pantaloons--
these intensified the horror and innsmcd pub
lie Indignation.
Nor did the fact OF the exceptional high
standing OF the families OF the victim and
of the inventors and perpetrators of the crime
tond to relieve the tension OF public indiena-
tlon They found the strong walls. the
barred doors and the iron cells OF the jal a
welcome shelter from the ominous storm of
human passion gathering around them on
the outside lapse of three weeks since
the preparation of the crime, together with
the undoubted discovery of the participants
as well as the prospect of speedily commit
ting them on the hands OF the law. has had
the effect of allaying the harsh, mpulsve
impatience Of the first public sentiment
During the spast week. in the absence of
new and striking developments. the public
interest in these accused men, Jackson and
Walling, has assumed a new phase That
fascination which mystery has for the masses
has drawn visitors not by the score and
hundreds. to the Jail. but by the thousands.
every day Beginning on Monday of last
week. the flow to the Jail of curious human
ity was continuous from morning till night.
in fair weather and In foul In fact, as
the weather grew colder, the stream OF call
ers grew larger in volume and steadier in
flow. On last Thursday the number had
grown to 1000 on Friday 1t increased to
1, 500, 's-.. ,s..
WORE OUT THE JAILERS.
The jailer and his guards were absolutely
worn out in letting the people In and out.
This became so burdensome that on and after
Saturday all visitors were excluded. In fact
the excitement was telling on the nerves Of
the two leading prisoners, Scott Jackson and
Alcnzo Walling. Not one visitor in a hun
dred cared to see William Wood. limit
was placed upon the time visitors were per-
mitted to stay. At intervals OF a very few
minutes the Jail was cleared and a new in
stallment of sightseers was admitted. In the
corridors Of the Jail the visitors were ar
ranged in two lines facing inward and form
a yh bn fun oh; r;s
oners were led, slowly. one at a time for
public inspection, like horses at an auction
before group Of buyers. Both jackson and
Walling stood this ordeal while it lasted
with steady nerve and firm STEP Weariness
and depression came to both at the close of
the day after this was over.
William Wood the boy who is charged
with aiding and abetting these criminals was
an Interested spectator Of these exhibitions.
From the balcony of his corridor, which is
two stories above Jackson's and Wallng's, he
could command an excellent view Of the
whole performance. Visitors usually simply
looked at the prisoners much after the man
ner Of viewing savage beasts at a menagerie
without speaking word.
As to the character of these visitors, the
singular fact Is that at least two-thirds of
them are women. OF these the greater num-
ber are blooming young girls with rosy
cheeks and bright eyes. Once in while a
group of matronly women CALL but this Is
comparatively rare. or course the most of
the callers have been from Cincinnati and the
neghborhOod A highly respectable minority
are from Indiana and moro distant states
Mothers take their little ones and daughters.
Christian people, who are Sunday habtues of
the Jail, seek to talk to the prisoners ON re-
ligious subjects and meet a hearty recep-
ton. What inspires the desire to see these
prisoners Is problem for the psychologist.
Mystery has its charms Cor men. That Jail
has held many man with dark secret
locked breast in
its gloomy walls two men with blacker or
more CHASTITY secret weighing on their con-
sciences, IL they have any, than that of
Pearl Bryan's murder, the secret of which
one or the other, or both of these men,
have in their guilty keeping. Their dis
tinction as participants in a crime that will
go into the calendar as one of the most sin
guarly atrOcious of the last decade, greatly
enhances public interest In them and in
measure accounts for curiosity to see them.
There is also in the public mind belief that
they are in great danger of dying by the SEN
tence of Judge Lynch's court. which makes
them objects OF peculiar interest. This be-
lief may not be we'll grounded, but 1t ex-
lists.
Interest In the present contents Of that
Jail Is shown j.! every passerby on the
street Groups of men and boys pause and
stare at it. Market women and factory girls
rlvet their eyes upon II as they trudge past.
william Wood, the mere boy entangled in
the beginning of the enormous crime, has
no such public distinction as that of the two
actors in it. An Indiana visitor betrays the
state from which he comes by asking for
Young Wood and by the peculiar Indignation
he shows against that lad for his share in
the outset of the crime. With the great
mass of people Wood is not taken into con-
sideration. The hideous monstrosty Of the
crime Of which the two chief prisoners are
accused gives them a grim and ghastly dis
tinction that oyershadows and obscures the
personality Of all minor actors in 1t.
In the Enquirer today Scott Jackson, the
accused murderer of Pearl Bryan, has a
card addressed to the public, in which he
simply reiterates the story he has often
told Of his connection with the case. He
eNonerates himself as a principal. Just as
he has done before, and gives the leader
ship in guilt to Walling He does not
throw ray of light en- the mystery of
where Pearl Bryan was the Wednesday and
Thursday nights before the murder. No
doubt that much he says is true. but far
more truth is withheld than is stated. He
thinks the press has been unfair to him and
makes this statement over his own sigma
ture to set the public right.
EunernI Of Mrs. Wnfte