The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1905-09-07
CONNECTS EAT RATS
RATHER THAN STARvE
Gross Prison Cruelty Charged
by Released Convict Who
Alleges Much Brutality.
INMATES ARE TORTURED
Claims Those Adjudssd Insane Are
Fiosssd with Leather Straps and
That Many Other lniquities
Are Praeticed.

Kalamazoo. Mich. Sept. s.-AllegIng
among other things hat the brutal
logging Of prisoners I'm Marquette pri-
son has led tn several attempts at sui
eide. some OF them successful: that pri-
soners have been confined and fed on
bread and water longer than h law
allows. until I'm some cases they have
caught rats and eaten them. Daniel
Eugene Hampton. who has just COM
pleted a sentence FOR burglary. In on his
way 20 see Governor Warner TO make n
statement and To present an affidavit.
Hampton charges hat Emil waiz.
sent from Detroit for murder. took his
life to escape nogging. having been
subjected previously to ~unbearable
severity. He charges that T.. A. Pew
erctt, known rs Whitley Black" and
sent from Kalamazoo for participation
In the Richland bank robbery. TO escape
a logging. attempted I'm the presence OF
prison guards To take his life by sever
ing his hand with a knife. and that he
actually inflicted such a wound that
surgeons had to ~anputate the hand.
Hampton says the n~oggings were ad-
ministered by "A man weighing zoo
pounds. the prisoners being extended
over n barrel and Mt lime beaten until
he blood m down their legs.
He has "A list OF thirty witnesses. who.
he says. will swear TO the facts. and
utClkTeN tnAl men WHO LOflEGfl1 were
connected with the prison management
are ready TO swear to the mismanage-
ment and brutalities which he alleges
have been in vogue under the admins
tration OF Warden James Russell.
Tells Of Rat Eating.
Hampton I'm his nffidavit says:
Il was put In the punishment cells
on the 18th day OF April. 1905. After
the eficera went out I asked Pcvcrett
how long he had been I'm there eating
bread and water. and he said about
fifteen or eighteen days. I was In there
nearly n week with him. and on April
Il he killed n rat In his cell with the lid
OF his bucket and skinned Il with a
pocket knife which he had smuggled In
with him. On tho morning OF April
Il Charles Devonshire. h~allmnster. un-
locked his door and handed I'm his bread
and cup OF water. Peverett stood up
I'm front OF his cell door with the
dressed rat. After receiving the bread
Pevcrett proceeded TO eat the meal or
bread and rat. taking n bite OF each
alternately until he finished the rat and
bread. He did the same thing on the
morning OF April %. and the Esd and
the Gath.
'Peverett told me that n consumptivc
prisoner BY the name OF Spidell. who
went out OF the punishment cell Just
before they put me In. had also eaten
eight rats. ON April 81 j heard the
hallmnster tell Peverett that he never
heard OF a white man eating rats but
he heard OF Cinnamon doing so. Tn
hallmaster went out into the hall and
he brought Peverett n rat trap. Power
EFT took same. put IL In his cell. and
caught rats which he ate during the
succeeding three days.
Insane Persons Flo9sed.
The following prisoners. who were
formally adjudgcd insane n had been
transferred to the criminal insane
asylum at Ionin and were afterwards
returned to the Marquette prison. have
been logged:
Frank Temple was logged on April
IL, 1905: A. +. Peverett, logged March
1, 1904: George Mccoy. logged June ..
1909; ID. T.. Hampton. logged May IL.
Is and lG.