The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1898-03-03

ROYAL BAKING POWDER Work.
l threw them off as if they were ba
bies. Then more guards came up
and one Of them hit me over the heat
with club, and fell. And then
Sir"-here the convicts voice fell tt
whisper-'And then he told then
to take me to the dungeon
| The sharp, steady glitter of the con
victs eyes failed. and he hung his
head and looked desparingly at the
floor.
"Go on" said the chairman.
They took me to the dungeon
Sir. Did you ever see the dungeon ?'
Perhaps, but you may tell us
about it,
The cold, steady gleam returned to
the convicts eyes as he fixed them
upon the chairman.
"There are several little rooms in
the dungeon. The one they put me
in was about five by eight. It has
steel walls and ceiling and a granit,
floor. The only light that comes in
passes through slit in the door
The slit is an inch wise and five inch
es long. It doesn't give much light,
because the door is thick. It's about
four inches thick, and is made of oak
and sheet steel, bolted through. The
slit runs horizontal and is four inches
above my eyes when l stand on tip
toe. And can't look out at the fac
tory wall forty feet away unless
hook my fingers in the slit and pull
myself up
He stopped and regarded his hand,
the peculiar appearance of which we
all had observed. The ends of the
fingers were uncommorly thick: they
were red and swollen, and the knuck-
les were curiously marked with deep
white scars.
"Well, Sir, there wasn't any thing at
all in the dungeon, but they gave me
blanket, and they put me on bread
and water. That's all they ever give
you in the dungeon. They bring the
bread and water once day, and that
is at night, because if they come in
the day time it lets in the light.
The next night after they put me
Init was Sunday night-the warden
came with the guard and asked me if
l was all right. 1 said was. He
said, Will you behave yourself and
go TO work tomorrow said, No,
Sir; won't 60 to work till I get what
is due me- He shrugged his shoul-
ders, and said, Very we'll; maybe
you'll change your mind after you
have been in here a week.
"They kept me there a week. The
next Sunday night the warden came
end said, Are you ready to 90 to
work tomorrow and l said, No;
will not go to work till l get what is
due me-
The chairman interrupted. did
| you not reflect" he asked, ''that these
officers would not have stopped to rob
yon, that it was through some mis-
take they withheld your tobacco, and
that In any event you had choice of
two things to lose-one plug of to-
bacco, and the other seven years of
freedom?"
But they angered me and hurt
me, Sir, by calling me a thief, and
threw me in dungeon like beast
Twas standing for my rights.
and my rights were my manhood; and
that is something a man can carry
sound to the grave, whether he's
bound or free, weak or powerful. rich
or poor"
We'll, after you refused to go to
work what did the warden do?"
The convict, although tremendous
excitement must have surged and
boiled within him, slowly, deliberate
ly, and weakly came to his feet. He
placed his right foot on the chair, and
rested his right elbow on the raised
knee. The index finger of his right
hand, pointing to the chairman and
moving slightly to lend emphasis to
his narrative, was tho only thing that
modified the rigid immobility of bis
figure. Without single change in
the pitch or modulation of his voice
never hurrying, but speaking with
the slow and dreary monotony-part
ly by reason of these evidences of his
incredible self-control-made form
idable picture as he proceeded:
"When 1 told him that, Sir, he said
he'd take me to the ladder and see il
he couldn't make me change my mino
|. Yes, sir; he said hec
take me to the ladder" (Here there
was long pause) "And a human
being, with flesh on my bones and tn,
heart of man IN my body Th,
other warden hadn't tried to breal
my spirit on the ladder. He die
break it, though; he broke it clear t.
the bottom of tho man inside of me
but he did it with q human word, ant
not with the dungeon and tae ladder
didn't telieve the warden when b,
said he would take me to the ladder
l couldn't imagine myself alive ant
put through at the ladder, and / coult
not imagine any human being wh'
could find the heart to put me through
If l had believed him would hav
strangled him then and there and 90
my body full of lead while doing it
No, Sir; could not believe it.
And then he told me to come on
I went with him and the guards. H
brought me to the ladder. l ha,
never seen it before. 1t was heav,
wooden ladder. leaned against tn
wall, and the bottom was bolted to tn
} floor and the top to the wall A whi]
: was on the floor" again there wa