Evening star., 1902-01-18
Over Three Hundred District Prisoners
in Moundsville Penitentiary.
FIFTEEN ADDED WEDNESDAY LAST
They Relate Tales of Woe and
Promise Reformation.
THE GRIMES COMMITTED

More than 800 prisoners sentenced by the
! judges of the District courts are serving
| terms in the West Virginia penitentiary at
] Moundsv1le. Fifteen of them left here
| Tuesday night and were turned over to the
| warden Wednesday morning The number
| of prisoners serving time who were sem
| fenced from this city does not fairly rep
| resent the facts, however, as many of them
really belong in other cities, but come here
| for various reasons. They violated the law,
were convicted and therefore helped to
! swell the District quota in the penitentiary.
| The trip from this city to Moundsvile
with the prisoners, fifteen in number, Tues
| day night was by no means pleasant one,
| for during the entire journey the unfortu-
I nate ones took turns relating their tales of
woe and making promises of reformation.
| -Four white prisoners were in the party.
Before leaving the District the fifteen We're
| securely shackled, making escape practical
I iy an impessibility. 4 long heavy iron
| chain was used and the men were fastened
] to this by the use of handouts. each man
being left with one hand free Their legs
| were then chained, the right leg of one
! being fastened TO the left leg of another,
and in this way they left the Jail in two
| with one man bringing up the rear. Being
| fastened in this manner IL was not an
| easy matter for them to enter the prison
| van to be driven to the depot. The wife of
| one and relatives of others called at
| the District prison during the afternoon to
! say farewell, and several of them were at
| the Baltimore and Ohio depot to see them
| off.
| As soon as the prisoners We're seated in
| the car the curtains were drawn to protect
| them from the gaze of the curious crowd
until the train pulled out, which was about
| 500 o'clock
Not a minute of sleep was enjoy
| ed during the entire night by the
four white men. Occasionally the colored
contingent would become tired of singing
and talking and would obtain a short nap,
only to be awakened when one of them
would awake and start up hymn or song.
II was with some difficulty that all the
prisoners We're able to make the best of
their troubles. Some were anxious TO dis
cuss their cases; others preferred TO talk
of current events.
At The Head of the List.
Thomas Doyle, under sentence of eighteen
months for false pretenses, and Samuel F.
Murphy, alias Matthews, occupied the front
seat at the head of the chain, and had 1t
not been for Doyle his comrade in the tolls
would undoubtedly have collapsed long be-
fore the conductor entered the car in the.
morning and called, The next stop is
MCundsville."
While Murphy had Travelled in every state
in the Union and had been through Eu-
rope and in some parts of South America.
his conduct was that of a man who had
but a brief experience in the criminal line.
lie ndQ obtained money on d WOTtnlSSS
check and his arrest, he declared, was
brought about by his making an effort to
see that his victim was reimbursed. At
times Murphy has been an evangelist. He
preached religion it is said. to the prospec
tors in the Klondike region.
"Quite contrast between here and klon-
dixie" he remarked.
mo such hot times up there chimed In
Doyle.
Now, see here. Murphy said Doyle
you want to brace up and be man. m
not exactly glad I'm here but really it's
nice resting spell, and Just think of the
good time you'll have when you get out
But I've got a whole year, protested
Murphy, with two months off,
Now, Murphy, you must look the
bright side of life" insisted Doyle. During
the winter you can see the snow-covered
mountains, and little later see the flowers
that bloom In the spring You are sure of
more than many a poor fellow can say
Il don't know what I would do If it were
not for YOU admitted Murphy, and Doyle
congra tulated himself that he was some
good, after all.
Takes Philosophical View.
AS for himself, Doyle said he always
makes the best of everything. and he GER
prison life.
II never fe.t better or had less in my
Iife." he said, but there'lI come a time
some day
Doyle told of how easy it was for him to
get money from victims, and his frankness
was more than his prisoner companion
could understand. Doyle is an old railroad
man, who has Travelled extensively, and is
able to tell something interesting about al
most every city and hundreds of public
men. When somebody remarked that the
prisoners sometimes get hot biscuit, Doyle
turned to Murphy and said: Murphy, did
you hear that? I'm afraid you'll wish you
had been given five years before you are
there long
for y1a ha f,,t,,r
G.s not trouble him. unless it was that
some other jurisdiction wanted him. Muir
pky was afraid his typewriters and sta
tionery would not be saved for him. He
Ala, after he went from here, and he will
return there, he says, when he is released
I'm going to show my friends he de-
clared, that I'm man."
His friends would not have known him if
they had seen him after his visit to the
prison barber. Neither would Murphy have
been recognized by his most intimate as
sociates.
On the second of the eight seats occupied
by the fifteen prisoners sat Richard Hamil-
ton and Harry Leslie. The former had
been in prison before and had been married
three times. His third wife had spent the
afternoon with him at the jail prior to his
leaving Washington, and he seemed very
much worried about her. He had been
given five years for false pretenses, and his
frequent reference to his wife caused Doyle
to saE:
THAT makes me tired"
More than once during the trip Hamilton
became suspicious of Doyle and accused
the latter of talking to a Star reporter
about him. Doyle gave him to understand
he had no time to waste in discussion of
trifies.
Evidently Well Connected.
Harry Leslie was on his way to serve ten
years in prison for burglary. His age was
given as twenty-four years, and there was
an air of refinement about him which indi-
Gated that he was well connected. 1t was
certain he had not given his right name,
and he had remarked to a friend that he
would serve twice his sentence rather than
admit hts identity.
James Barbour and James Hill, leaders
of the colored prisoners, were under SEN
tence of two years each for petit larceny,
second offense. William Jennings and Jo-
seph Jennings, his brother, each under a
three years sentence for robbing freight
cars, were also members Of the party.
George Hayes and Amos Dorsey had also
| been given three years. They were con-
| victed of housebreaking. Henry Edley was
under a four years sentence for a similar