The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-12-26
Burst Of Sunshine Behind the
Gloomy Walls.
HOW The DAY WAS SPENT
TURKEY AND CRANBERRY
SAUCE FOR ALL.
Burdens Made Light For the Unfor-
tunate Ones Behind the Steel Bars
of the State and County Bastiles
Wagon Loads Of Presents For
the Jail Birds.

This Christmas amt like last year,
said young Fred George. who has
served the last three years of his life
in the state prison, for assisting Pat
Coughlin to shoot down Deputies Stays
and DAVIS in that memorable running
fight near Evanston nearly five years
ago.
George made this remark yesterday
and in doing so voiced the sentiments
of all the prisoners in the house on
the hill" who have been incarcerated
for the last fourteen months or more
The annual Christmas dinner and
general good cheer was provided by
Warden Dow yesterday for the 16s
male unfortunates, but the attendant
concert and entertainment, which for
years past has been in vogue at Yule-
tide, was missing. There were no Wis
itors admitted yesterday and the little
knot of musical ladies and gentlemen
from the city were conspicuous by their
absence. =
Feast Without Music.
In view of the impending smallpox
epidemic in the state, Warden Dow
has placed the prison under rigid quar-
antine and as a consequence the striped
clothed inmates realize that the lot of
the transgressor is hard They submit
ted to the ordeal of vaccination with III
grace, but when it came to being de-
prived of the sole annual ray Of sun
shine in their monotonous existence.
wherein they could temporarily forget
the errors of the past under the sooth-
ing influence of song and poetry, they
felt they had a grievance.
At 1890 the prisoners assembled in
the commodious dining hall between the
two main buildings within those frown-
ing red rock walls, and shifted the fra
grant air, that irresistably carried the
thoughts of the less hardened cases
back to many happy Christmas bey-
ond recall. At a given signal the Grim
inals took their seats, dispensing with
the formality of grace before meat,
and fell upon the grand turkey dinner
with avidity; roast bird. cranberry
sauce, dressing. mashed potatoes, on
ions stewed in milk, mince pies, coffee,
tea and milk disappeared like boar frost
before a ray of sunshine.
clicked the Platter Clean"
In fifteen minutes, drumsticks and
the parsons nose were polished clean,
and there were net enough crumbs left
to afford a decent meal to a self-re-
speeding flock of sparrows. The gong
was rung, the men filed back to their
corridors. Charles Larsen from Logan
who is doing fifteen years for criminal
assault, and officiates as head cook,
proceeded to clear The decks and Abe
Majors, who is under sentence of
death. was released from his isolated
cell to take exercise in the snow-cov-
cred yard.
The prisoners were not entirely for
gotten, however, as the 500 pounds of
express packages in the warden's Office
testified. One by one the parcels were
opened and inspected and passed in to
the addresses.
Grey-headed Andy Cotton, who took
pot shot at Lorin Farr on Main
street three months ago. fairly laughed
aloud as he Rugged box Of generous
proportions which United States Mar
shall Glen Miller had thoughtfully sent
him.
Golden Brown. Fred George. Charles
Larsen, Jessie Mcmillan and other well
known unfortunates were also recipi-
ents Of boxes containing fruit, candy.
ones, who had a cash balance in the Of
fee. sent down town for delicacies.
No Work at the Pen
There was no work performed yester-
day. The loom. knitting machines and
carpenters benches in the workshops
were idle and the prisoners in grade
No. 2 building hung around in the cor
ridors in little knots, compared vacci-
nation takes and otherwise amused
themselves. Over in grade No. Mat
Warner. the Vernal murderer, was play
ing queen. two rocks and five pawns
against a bespectacled grey haired
prisoner through the bars, who was
lodging his king all over the chess
board. Another prisoner (colored)
wearing immense goggles, was pouring
over one of George Eliot's works in the
library and with his left hand fondling
a tame dove which was at large among
the LOO volumes. on the shelves.
The Pathetic Side.
From the chapel above the strains
of Pull for the Shore Sailor" came
waiting through the half opened iron
door. Investigation discovered E. G..
Mills accompanying himself at the or
gan while old Doc" Kessler, who shot
a colored soldier some years ago on
Fifth East, sat on bench feebly nod
ding time with his head, in solitary
There was a suspicion Of a tear in
his voice as he said to The Herald
ITO think that 1 should be here in my
old age spending Christmas behind
prison bars, without friend on Gods
earth, forgotten by my old associates
and fellow college graduates, many of
whom today are gathered around their
own board and enjoying the fruits of
a successful and honored career" Then
as he tottered away in the direction
of the spotless and vacant hospital adj
jacent to the chapel, he muttered
to the effect that women
cause lots of trouble in this world.
WERE CROWDS OF VISITORS.