The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1897-11-19

lSldLuTe. fOT eighteen ycdio iiiioN
never saw the light of the sun. In
that time he never gazed on a human
face, except by the uncertain glare OF
Pickering lamp. He never heard the
language of the soil, except from the
lips of newcomers as ignorant and
miserable as himself. billiard was
born in Atlanta 33 years ago. His par
ents, industrious colored people, kept
a small grocery store. In 1873 the boy,
then only years old, with some mis-
chievous companions, set fire to
building. Although hardly old enough
to appreciate the gravity of his offense,
he was indicted for arson, found guilty
and sentenced to Imprisonment for
life In Georgia there is no peniten-
tiary. A prisoner convicted in Grim
inal court is sent to what is called the
"chain gang" In other words, he is
farmed out to some contractor by the
state. Hilliard was sent to the coal
mines in Dade county, in the extreme
northwest corner of the state, near
that spur Of the Blue Ridge mountains
which ends abruptly in the precipitous
front of Lookout Mountain, towering
above the great crescent of the Tennes-
see river. Being only boy, he was
unable to perform manual labor and
for six years, according to his state
ment, he was kept around the stock
ade, doing chores and waiting on the
men in charge. Finally he grew to be
a lusty lad, and was put to work in
the mines. He was Is years old, black
and muscular, and his owners, under
the law, saw in him valuable posses
sion. One memorable day in the fall of
1879 he descended with the cage into
one of the mines. Never after that did
he see the light of day until a week
ago, after the lapse of eighteen years.
Governor Atkinson, in looking over
the prison record, noticed the name Of
Hilliard and the age at which he was
convicted, and observed that his rec
ord was remarkably good. Twenty
four years, thought the governor, was
surely sufficient punishment for boy
convicted at the age of nine, and he
investigated at once When he learn
ed the remarkable circumstances at
tending the case, he issued a pardon
forthwith. billiards friends, or, rath-
er those who remembered him, for he
had no friends, were notified,a and a
few days ago they took him to At
lanta. The negro is wreck. 1t is
with the greatest difficulty that he can
express himself in the English Ian
guage or understand it. He speaks an
unintelligible gibberish that sounds
idiotic. A few words he still retains
but most of them are so corrupted as
to be unacceptable. Where he OBJ
tanned the suggestions for the new
ones he has coined is mystery. He
speaks mostly in monosyllables. His
voice is shrilled and cracked. His eye
is dull, and he is densely ignorant.
When he hears word that particular
ly strikes his mind, he pauses and
buries his head in his hands, as if en-
deayoring to recall it. To him it is
like a strain of music which one tries
in vain to place. Hilliard has already
picked up a few words with which he
was once familiar, and it is believed
that after he has had time to famil-
iarize himself with the language and
his surroundings he will again be able
to speak intelligently. Those who re-
member the case say that he was
bright as boy, and they see no reason
why he should not be able to retrieve
the past in part, in spite of the long
years through which body and brain