The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-09-11

| growing humanitarian side of warfare
to a greater degree than the treatment
given to prisoners of war Cervera and
/ his men were fortunate that they did
not become prisoners on this side of
the Atlantic during the revolutionary
! war. Instead of being treated as hon
| ored guests. and made to feel entirely
at home. the fine old Spanish admiral
would have been taken many miles in
| land. through a forest dark and wild,
! there to be shut W in darkness in a
cavern MANI feet under ground.
/ There is such 2 prison on the western
slope of Talcott mountain, in the town
of CRANKY, Conn. High. jagged rocks
are to the east. beautiful view of the
I Pennington valley to the west. It is
; within an easy wheel trip of Hartford.
I 20 miles to the northwest, and is visit
/ ed by many persons from various parts
| of the land. affording at least an in
structive lesson on prisoners of war.
So startling is the first glimpse of the
prison-called Newgate, after the fa-
NOUS .rison in England-that the eye
refuses to recognize it in keeping with
| the commonplace objects of a New
! England landscape. At first glance the
! place appears to be q large barn, COW
! cred with straw hills. But the deep
woods throw the tumbled and vine-clad
walls into such bold relief that soon it
! is perceived that ruins of a remarkable
and picturesque character are near.
THEY STOOD CLOSE
TO the west side of the read. and just
across the way from an ordinary farm
house. making the ruins more remark
able by contrast. The entrance is gain
ed h. a circular gateway in the. east
wall. to a sort of courtyard surrounded
/ Il ~. Do
/ the former keepers lodge, now used as
| ar Office building. In revolutionary
days the building was block house.
Here was the state prison of Connec-
ticut, between 1890 and 1890 On the
sides oe the Enclosure We're the work.
shops for the conviets. The only re-
manning prison building proper is at
the southwest corner, and was used
for cooking, sleeping and hospital
apartments A small sentry box, from
which the guard appeared to shoot es-
Gaping prisoners. partly remains on the
wall to the left of the entI ance.
But the revolutionary prisoners had
no shelter except the caVerns, formerly
co9Ser mines. which extend beneath
the Enclosure and out into the adioin-
ing fields Just how the entrance was
obtained to this subterranean lookup
is told by two escaped prisoners. in an
interview in the Gazetteer, a Tory pa
per published in New York. Said they:
In approaching this horrid dungeon.
we we're first conducted through the
apartments of the guards, then through
a trae door downstairs into another
ucon the same floor with the kitchen.
which was divided from it by very
strong partition door. In the corner
of this outer room. and near the front
of the stairs. opened another large trap
door covered with
BARS AND BOLTS OF IRON,
Which were hoisted up by two guards
by means of tackle, while the hinges
grated as they turned upon their hooks
and opened the jaws and mouth of
what they called he'll. to which we de-
seconded by means of a ladder. about
six feet more, which led down to a
large iron CRATE or hatchway, locked
down over a shaft of about three feet
diameter, sunk through the solid rock,
and which we were told led to the
bottomless pit.
Finding it not possible to evade this
hard, cruel fate, we babe adieu to the
world and descended the ladder about
3S feet more. when we came to what
is called the landing; then marching
shelf by shelf till, descending 80 or 40
feet more. we came to a platform of
boards laid under foot, with something
put overhead to carry off the water.
which keeps continually dripping.
Here we found the inhabitants of this
wOeful mansion. who were exceedingly
anxious to know what was going on
above. We told them that Lord Corn
wallis had beat the rebel army, and
that their money was gone to the
deuce, with which they seemed salts
fed and reioiced at the news"
The present entrance to the caverns.
so called. is accomplished more easily
and pleasantly. All that is necessary
is application at the Office and pay
ment of a small fee. The guide leads
the visitors to a small shed at the rear
of the office building, and requests each
member of the party to put on a thick
cloth ulster. which is furnished to keep
out the chill and moisture. While the
visitors stand around, clothed like gray
friars, the guide steps to a we'll hole,
through which the top of a ladder pro-
trudes Here was the first trap door
mentioned by the prisoner. He descends
the ladder without hesitation and is
soon hidden in the deep darkness. The
visitors follow, as a matter of course
and many women make the exploit
without fear or nervousness. As the
visitor descends he is cheered by the
guides voice, and reaches 81 landing
about the size of a large closet He
finds the guide busy lighting a tallow I.
dip, with
WHICH EACH VISITOR PROCEEDS. !
Then, with a warning t. stoop low,
the guide leads the way down gallery |
of slippery and steep rock, soon enter |
ing a large, turtle-backed cavern. 1t /
was here the prisoners said they found (
their unfortunate comrades.
The cavern is about 20 feet in di /
ameter. and a tall man cannot stand !
erect in the center. The floor is strewn {
with pieces OF wood, the remains, the I
guide says, of the cots filed with straw
" hich the prisoners occupied The wa I
ter is dripping in frequent drops from .
the roof, and every word spoken finds /
reverberating echoes in the rocky gal
prisoners were kept in |
some instances for years without see
ing the light of day.
The fare of the prison could not have 4
been sumptuous, because prisoner ,
wrote this pathetic letter to the |
keeper:
Mr. viets: If you have any meat
cooked you will much oblige me by
sending { dinner, for l suffer want"
And that George Washington en-
dorsed this treatment of his foes is
shown by 4 letter written by him 10
the committee of safety at Simsbury,
when he sent from Cambridge a de-
tachment of prisoners to be kept there
at the continental expense. But the
father oe his country, as Well as con-
gress. came in Cor a liberal share of
when Rev. Simeon Baxter, a
Tory clergyman and prisoner, preach
ed a very vehement sermon to pros
trate but sympathetic audience. How