The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-03-14
PRATT GREETED
BY STRANGERS
Prisoners in Pen Fifteen Years
Ago Are All Gone.
TWO OLD GUARDS ARE LEFT
WRIGHT AND JANNEY WELL
COME HIM BACK.
TWO OLD GUARDS ARE LEFT


are the only ones j recognize
Arthur Pratt, the newly appointed war
den of the Utah state penitentiaory was
The speaker. His remarks were addressed
10 Deputy Warden T. c. Wright and
Guard Ed Janney. The trio were in the
guard house opposite the main entrance
10 the penal institution.
You two boys are the only ones left
from the guard which served under me
1n 1888 and 1SS9" continued the new war
den. as ne TODD another puff at his cigar
and permitted his gaze to wander over
the reservation Warden Pratt had Wis
llcd the prison yesterday afternoon 10
take look around and familiarize him
self with old scenes before he engaged
IN his new duties.
Many changes have taken place since
then continued the warden. I'm some
respects it does not seem like the old
place.
Pratt Recalls Old Times.
THE black and white stripes worn by
the men bring back the old times just as
though II were the other DAY. But when
i look out upon the brick and stone walls
and recall the wooden block houses ana
Sagoe walls. ~ seems as though an age
Aad passed since | was out here.
Just at that moment Foxy" the coy
ote-loooking dos the pet of the guards
wandered into the guard house and
shifting at the heels OF Guard Janney
sneaked under one of the benches and
lay down to take a nap.
lWarden Wright
s'she reminds me of Patsy replied the
warden You remember the old bull
dog. don't you2" asked the warden
Both mon nodded an assent.
Dog Helped Guard Convicts.
He was a vicious fellow" continued
re warden. lie was full-blooded dog.
lie was not afraid OF anything The pris-
oners were all afraid OF him. When he
Ieit IN the humor he would pick fight
with a chair. and would not give up until
no mad torn the chair TO pieces At night
] used 10 put him on the inside The
AusOners were so afraid of him that not
one OF them would dare venture outside
the block house He would kill q man
.hSe ne made up his mind TO attack, and
the convicts knew IL.
In those days. fifteen years ago. there
was only the north cell house, the kitchen
anu the dining room. They were inside
block houses. The houses were built by
mailing siX-inch boards. flat side down
one on top of the other The walls were.
adobe They have given way to brick
walls and stone enclosure for the
whole.
Bunk Houses Were Ovsrcrowded.
The year left here we had 255 prison.
cIS- Never before or since nave there
btth as many inmates. Today there are
only Ia. Then we had but three buildings
IN which TO confine the prisoners at night.
j nelr hunks We're built around the sides
or the rooms, some being over the doors.
We had 50 many prisoners that b. was
impossible for them all 70 find standing
room in the bunk houses at the same
lline. Whcn u came time to 20 to bed
the first to enter the bunk houses were
compelled TO crawl into their hunks AT
once. which were three deep. to permit
those 10 follow 10 find room TO come into
the building.
And j, was the same in the morning.
when il came time to get up. The first
% awaken and get out Of the hunks were
the first To come outside They had 10
give the other fellows chance to got
clothes.
81 had some mighty prominent men out
here then. continued the new warden
That was i'm territorial days when the
government was getting after the Nor
mons Tor having more than one wife
When ] was here then 1 had such men
. BIiSham n. Roberts. r. NJ Lyman
and George @. Cannon. and others who
were sentenced for polygamy aud unlaw-
1ul cOhabitatiOu.
MormOns Made Good Prisoners.
Those men made mighty good prison
the prisoners into two classes-'co
rs We called them. and the 'tOughs' The
-cOhabs' were MormOns. and the 'tOughs
the regular type of convicts. The CO.
habs were TRUSTEES. We never had TO
watch them. I'm the morning we would
send a crowd OF them out with only
their foreman TO watch them We knew
that they would not attempt to get away
We knew that when IL came time TO re-
turn home every one of them would an-
swer the roll call. With the 'toughs IL
was different. We had to watch them
Nnen JUST inc same as YOU nave To- watch
r the average tough character today.
And we had some pretty tough Gus
toners then, didn't We, Wright asked
Yes we did," was the response. THE
best of them all was John Smith. the
railroad hold-up. / suppo-e YOU romem-
Smith Wanted to Kill Dow.
Wei. 1 guess 1 do" replied the war
den with a laugh. He vas the fellow
who, single-haHded. held up train and
Ept a good. stiff sentence. He Is now
dead; committed suicide some years
AFTER he got ont. interpoIated Depu-
- Warden Wright, The came out here
one night 10 kill Warden Dow but he die
not carry out his intention.
II remember him Well continued the
warden, for he was the fellow who had
peen IN SOLITARY confinement for three
years When i came out here Z released
him from his cell"
lie was always grateful TO YOU for
that said Wright He had ooen in
there almost three years. After his re-
lease he came out to kill Dow for putting
lime that he sent the bombs 70 Dow and
TO Jsdge o. w. Powers. smith had IL IN
for judge Powers for getting him a heavy
sentence. and had "a erudge against Dow
ment cell.
1T was not so very long after that that
Smith killed himself. He was a daring
fellow. who took many chances. But he
could not bear the thought of coming
tfd'h mere again. Mlen ne got INTO lrOu-
BILE a second time; so he ended every
thing by taking his life"
Prisoners Are New to Him.
There is not a prisoner here TODAY that
was pm the pen when I was here before.
continued the warden. ''fnat only shows
what the good conduct rule of "A prison
VIII do for a long timer In those davs
We had such men Tom Williams ana
Little Charlie both serving a life sem
teucc. Williams is now out on parole.
and Charlie was pardoneo. Then there
was Murdoch. who was hardened: They
are all gone now. You have a different
sang. and 1 presume just as tough IN
not tougher than when / was out here
Some of the men who are IN here now
were little fellows then; school boys Per-
hips some OF them We're in knickerbock-
eFs. But In the interim they have grown
up INTO manhood have gotten into trouble
ahd are here II only goco TO show how
the world goes on.
When I got up this morning and start
90 out 10 the pen my wife asked me
Where was going. When 1 told her she
asked me 20 wait a moment She went
upstairs. and when she came back she
Drought with her the gold-headed cane
the guards gave me fifteen years ago.
Both of Won boys contributed TO the
fund. laughingly remarked the warden
Brought Old Cane With Him.
This is the first day have carried il
tor years u was presented 10 me by the
guards IN 1882 Some day in June when
left have kept il ever since nv
vie thought u was good time TO carry
u again, so ] brought 10 out with me. -
inc uend or conversation then driffcd