The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-10-14

upon his desert island. Then curiou:
thing happened. In spite Of the long
years Of cruelty and hardship, in spite
OF all the hope that ne mad INDUCED in
for the future, In spite OF all his long.
ings for the blessedness of liberty, this
poor devil turned his steps back TO the
railroad depot from which he had come
and, with tears in his eyes, implored ev-
cry official. with tears in mis- eyes, 10
send him back to the mines.
II was at this point that some charit-
able people got hold of him and put
him in an institution where he could be
restored, at least partially, 10 mental as
| bodily health. It was in this institu-
! ton that found him today, sitting on
the front porch and looking with wide
eyed wonderment at the trolley cars
(which whizzed by him. He had never
seen trolly car, nor telephone, nor
q fire engine, nor a building over TWO
stories high in all his life before, and
| his establishment at the progress made
/ in the world since his conviction was
| not whit less than it would have been
| II he had been ushered into a veritable
| fairyland.
| EIGHTEEN YEARS UNDER GROUND
In speaking Of his experience in the
| mines he showed not only a perfect will
| ingness to tell all he knew, but talked
with very much intelligence Of the char
acter Of the underground life which he
had lived so long time The interview
with him was very tedious and some
what unsatisfactory one. because OF his
inability to speak the English language
as i It's spoken on top Of the earth. He
could speak that language very we'll
when he was in the mine, but the inhao-
itants of that wretched region have a
gibbersh of their own which in time
took the place Of his mother tongue-a
soft low spoken, uncouth jargon, fitted
to the weird character Of the surround
ings, in which one convict whispers TO
another with the lash Of the whipping
boss poised above him.
His story, so far told-and ii is not yet
entirely completes that from the mo-
ment he was lowered into the Dade
county coal mines until he was pulled
back to earth again, he was kept con-
stantly at work. He cannot tell in hours
how long the labor of a single day last
ed, for night and day, and week day
and Sabbath, are all one in the mine,
but he knows that the individual task
Of a miner in the space Of time that
might reasonably be called day was
the mining Of twelve tons Of coal. Con-
vic.s failing to perform this task fell
into the hands OF the whipping boss
when knocking-cff time arrived. and af-
ter one such experience they were apt
afterwards not to fail behind.
WORKED, ATE AND SLEPT IN THE
MINES.
He thinks the hour for rising ana
breakfasting was four in the morning,
and IS quite sure that il was not later.
The convicts slept in large dormitory
formed by the cutting away of hundreds
OF tons of coal. their beds being blankets
spread out on the hard rock floor. Tai
low candles gave them sufficient light
10 eat by. their meals being served in
tin pans without knives. forks or spoons
They were chained together in batcnes
of from twelve to twenty. and. when
worked singly. were attached to
heavy iron ball on the right leg. Over
them at all times were guards with shot
guns and whipping bosses with a raw
hide lash.
After their morning meal. which con-
sisted like every other meal, Of stewew
meat and potatoes, the convicts were
marched TO the scene OF the days labor.
through the tunnels and ramifications
Of the mines. for a distance of from five
to twenty miles. There they would be
kept at work until were told 20 knock
OF, and none OF them was ever able 10
calculate how many hours were included
in this long duty. They worked by the
fitful gleam Of lanterns, and il is not 10
be wondered at that in such grewsome
surroundings Hilliard had accumulated
an amount of superstiuons that would
give Joe Chandler Harris material for a
better volume Of negro tales than ne has
yet written.
DREAMED FOR YEARS OF LIFE
ABOVE GROUND.
Hillia-d says that at first his impress
sions OF life above ground were clear 10
MIN, and that ne often thought and
dreamed CT the streets in Atlanta, and
Of his father and mother and sisters and
brothers. Gradually. however. these i'm
pressions grew more blurred and indis-
tinct. and, with the knowledge that MS
was life OF conviction, he lost all hope
of ever getting into the open air again,
and the belief hardened in him that the
rest OF his existence was 10 be spent N
Dragging his heavy ball and chain about
with him and digging twelve tons OF
coal per day until death released him
from MS misery.
The convicts in the mines Hillia-d
says. herder together like cattle, became
friends and brothers in a sort OF Free
masonry which he understands better
than he can explain. Il is the go-s:
class OF convicts that are sent 20 the
mines. nearly all OF them being life
prisoners, and these rough characters,
under the influence Of their solitary ana
hopeless confinement, ests olisa a fellow
snip in winch no secrets exist and where
there are no enmitites Or qua-reis. not
only because they are companions in
misery, bl: because IN living death they
have nothing 20 quarrel a5out
NOT ACCUSTOMED TO NEW SUR
ROUNDINGS.
In l-oking over The list % liss con-
victs one day Governor Atkinson noticed
billiards name and the fact ihsi ne had
been sentenced 70 life Imprisonment
when nine years Old. and lad now been
enduring hsr: labor for twenty rEo
years to- a crime that Vas conmi.tei
in q bg-s, % ooylsh t1Ought'eS=neSs and
resulted IN neither loss ., lie H0r any
material less os properly re Inquired
as - Hiiiiari's record as a colVict. and
found ,aa- during as long term - ss--
viz. n 4 s[rr,A nai r.na-- bal has1