The Mena weekly star. (Mena, Ark.) 1904-1977, 1911-05-18

lquently he has abused me and
threatened to whip me because I
was unable TO do the work he or
dered me TO do.
Since | have been here have
seen Mr.. Harden whip the couyiets
numerically. He lays them down
on the ground with their faces down
ana clothes off and whips them On
the naked flesh. Only this morn
ing | saw him whip four negroes
Inc negro was doing nothing that
| could tell. Hardin asked him II
ne was right. The negro said Yes.
am right Harden said. Talk 10
me Ike you always talk to me-
me negro did not speak to him in
as loud a tone as is customary for
them to speak to him, so he said:
Get down her on your belly He
mad the negro pull his pants down
and raise his shirt up, then he had
tnree large negroes get on him and
mold him. Mr.. Harden then struck
the negro ten lieks with the strap.
right on his naked body. The beat
ing was severe and unmerciful.
He whipped four men in that
manner this morning. He whips on
an average of five or six convicts
every day
One morning | saw Mr.. Harden
throw a negro woman down on the
lloof IN the dining room. have two
men hold her down, and with her
clothes pulled up he whipped her
seven or eight ticks with the
leather strap. This same negro
woman was worked up on the hill
with the balance of the men and
she was dressed in mems clothes.
| was told that she worked up there
three months dressed in mems
|elothes.
Made TO Battle i'm Pond.
1.-THE only bath given the con-
victs is on Sunday, when they are
all marched down to a pool of wa
ter and are made to strip naked and
battle in the pond, without regard to
how cold the weather is. After a
bath of that sort is taken the con-
victs are taken back to the stock
ade and one negro named Rich plays
"a guitar and another one plays a
French harp. The warden requires
the negro who can pick the guitar
and play the harp to play music and
he picks out negroes in the crowd
and requires them to dance for his
amusement. If a negro selected by
him to dance cannot dance, or re-
fuses to do so, that negro is thrown
down and beaten severely by the
warden. | have heard some of the
negroes says: "Mr. Harden, do not
feel like dancing" He would say,
'Then get down on your belly" |
have seen him whip them several
times for not dancing.
"The negroes and whites are all
kept in the same stockades. Just a
separate bed. The beds are full of
bedbugs and convict cannot sleep.
THE whites and blacks all eat in
the same dining room, only have
separate tables. We are furnished
with a pair of overalls and shirt.
Occasionally a person has two pairs
of overalls to wear at the same time.
These clothes are put on us OF a
Sunday. We are required to sleep
in them through the week. The
cover is not sufficient TO keep us
warm.
THE warden puts heavy iron
called a spur, on the ankle of some
of the convicts. They are required
to wear this spur in order to pre-
vent their escape, he claims. 1t is
frequently the case that the spur
wears into the flesh of the ankle Of
the person wearing it. | have seen
negroes wrap rags around their an
kles after they were already worn,
but it makes no difference howmuch
il is worn into the flesh; they have
10 wear the spur just the same.
When a person gets sick he is gwen
what medicine he gets of a night.
"The convicts are required to do
dangerous work. A short time ago
a negro called Jesse, while working
on a dangerous place. fell and broke
his arm. He was treated by the
doctor; his arm was splinted and he
was Immediately put back to work,
to lifting rock such as he could with
one hand, and was kept at work all
the time as if he had not been hurt.
"Will Jordan, a negro boy who
was there a long time under $500
fine and six months sentence, had
his right hand frostbitten from
working in the cold. He was kept
AZ work lust as if nothing was
wrong with him. The negros
finger nails came off.
Says Wiegel Whips Negroes.
81 have seen Mr.. Wiegel, the old
man who owns the crusher, come
out there and whips negroes, taking
the blood out of them. He beats
Them very severely. Everybody Is
afraid for him to come out there
lin fact, they are scared at all times
hut more so when Mr.. Wiegel comes
out there.
II have seen young Mr.. Wiegel
we call him Captain Ed, whip meI
as numerically as any OF them.
lam a cripple, my right arm IS dc.
formed and | have no right hand.
worked about the rock crusher put
ling rocks in it for some time. Whii'
working there | wore a canvas Owe
Imy face and nose so as TO keep IN
small particles that drop and II.