The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-08-10

Ercackt in ana served to the prisoners
VII had seated Themselves in tha
aisFsa as hey entered The ward. Pc
fcre doing 30 each man took from hi7
back I litt,r !~CWn anvas knapsack.
containing all thu individual fu1nitu~a
he has for bis prison life. This con-
sists cf q folding camn stool four
inches high. six inches wide aud twelve
inches long: 4 pair Of wooden chon-
sticks and two porcelain bowls. each
of which holds half a pint. AT \
given signal the men p"lled the stools
from their knapsacks and set them
down On tho floor. and at q second
signal they arranged themselves On
the stools in two long aisles facing
each other. Now q gang Of conyiCts
who acted as walters brought in great
Water-tight baskets filled With steam
ed sorghum seed and vegetable SOUP
The millet was served first. 1t was
shoveled out into bowls much like
wash basins. and one Of these was
placed on the floor in each group OF
-four men. There was a spoon in the
basin and each convict flied his por-
celain bowl. At the same time a bowl
of the soup was handed around. each
man helping himself. using his OFT. r
bowl for the In eating, the
men picked some of the vegetables odt
of the soup with their chopstichs.
and, mixing them with the sorghum.
raised the bowl to their mouths ana
scraped the food in with the chop
sticks. They seemed to enjoy thu
meal. and I was told that it was bet
ter than they had been accustomed 10
before they were caught. Sorghum
seed thus cooked is the chief food Of
Manchuria. holding the same pace
that bread and meat have with us.
A Look at the. Cells.
After this I took a walk through
the wards and examined the cells.
They are about twelve feet square aud
we'll arranged as to ventilation and
light. They are heated BY the hangs
upon which the men sleep. The fire
is put into a hole at the lower front
Of each kang, and an armfu of straw
sufficeS to keep one room warm the
whole night. Five prisoners are kept
in each room.
I asked as to punishments, and was
told that the barbarCuS CUSTOMS had
been done away with, although tho
convicts are still bamDooed or their
bare skins. For serious onenses dark
cells are used. but the director says
that it is not allowed tc keep "a mln
in one of these for more than five
days at a time. At my request he
showed me a dark cell and shut NJ
inside. The cell was Of triangular
shape with a base jus. large enough
for the door, and the tive long sides
meeting in an acute angie at the on
posite end. There is room for II man
to lie down upon the ioor, but he
could hardly turn over without tuucr-
ing the walls. The roon had neither
bed nor chairs. and It was unheatad.
The food was thru5. in through a l}t-
tie hole in the do n. SO arranged with
a double lid that il could be Gone
without admitting the light After lie
door was closed upon me the dar!:-
ness was such tina il could be felt.
Their was not a ray Of light anywhere
and was decidedly relieved on beinS
let out.
In the Workshops.
Leaving the cells. the director took
us through tie workshops. Until nov
no labor Of any kind has been done
in the prisons He1e every man learns
a trade and all sorts of things are
made to be sOiu in the stores. IL
hrSt shop we entered was devoted to
saddiery and shoeirak'ng. This is
about one hundred feet square, AMI
scores Of these gray-sowned, pig
tailed Manchus were laboring in it.
Some sat on low stools before shoe
makers benches, pessins and sewing:
others were cuttinr out the fat boots
used " the army, and Il third group
was orking on sewing machines,
Joining pieces Of leather together. [
w"'EtG over to thsIG and examined
t.. lca:hines. tt1cv were a | ,..arkcd
singer" and had been imported from
An.trtca. In another factory vas a
-, & Of carpenters an.l cabinet max
crs, and in a third about two dozen
c,rViCts were spinning and weaving.
The spinners sat on the floor, turning
their wheels with the hand, and the
weavers were using looms worked by
the feet.
In another place they were weaving
carpets and rugs, some OF the latter
being twenty feet square. Such rugs
are made on a great framework
which stands upright inside the room.
The weaving begins at the bottom, and
as the rug progresses the men have
tc use scaffofds upon which they 81.
while they draw the threads in and
out. All the work is lone by hand,
and hat in designs Of oriental pat
terms composed of many-cOlored
woods. One Of the rugs now OF the
frames is to ha fourteen feet wide