The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1912-10-23
CAST INTO
MEXICAN
DUNGEON
Former ChiCkaSha Man
Tells Story that Reads
Like Fiction


Reduced from i70 pounds Of yigor-
Gus manhood to a mere shadow Of his
former SELF BY long confinement in a
Mexican dungeon, G. w. Macatee, once
a resident of Chickasha, arrived here
yesterday ana is now under the care
Of the city phj sician
STOPPED, thin and sallow, almost be
yond recognition It was hard for men
who knew him TO believe that the
wasted figure is the same man Of
sturdy physique who left here some
years ago. Maeatee says Ne went from
here to Wichita, Kan, where he joined
Mexican colony, went to Mexico and
purchised 40 acrGs Of land from the
Mexican government, receiving from
that government a deed. Having stock
ed his holdings with The necessary
horses. cattle and mules he began
preparation ol the soil Tor future crops
and had five acres in shape for pine
apples and seven acres ready for ba.
mamma culture When the recent Aexi-
can revolution broke out. His place
was near Chihuahua which city the
insurrectos captured early ia the rebel
lion and made II The rebel capital
The following Is Macatees own
story "a had about $3.50 in money
and several hundred dollars worth 81
horses, cattle and mules. When the
rebels captured chihuahua. they seiz-
cd an the American colonlsts and de-
manded that they turn over all they
possessed 10 the rebel leaders, be-
cause We belonged TO the American
and not the Mexican government They
destroyed an we had, took our live
stock aud money and marched us in
hollow square Of soldiers 70 prison.
In Chihuahua there are two prisons,
one called The Outside prison and tho
other the Inside prison.
10 company with "a other Ameri.
cans was placed in the Outside prison
where ior about sixteen months did
not Bee fay oi sunshine nor gel a
breath OF fresh air. except what iil.
tered into ihe cell bg means oi elre-
ular pipe thal reached through the
roof We were thrown into prison on
April i5 1911, and were liberated April
IS. 1912, when Madefos army recap
tured Chihuahua.
eThe cell which I shared with 81
others prisoners was possibly 20 feet
square and during all the time we were
there the cell door was unlocked but
three times, twice to clean the cell
and once tc remove the bodies Of four
Of our comrades. which removal oe.
CURED two weeks after their death
The hell holes Of the Mexican prisons
are lndesorlbable. The cell was with
out bedding Of any kind and we were
forced 70 sleep as best we could on the
cold stone floor. in the fllth and
germs.
"Our food consisted of four tarteria,
one pint OF black, half cooked beans
aud a pint Of water They gave us
this whenever they happened TO think
Of ms and our next meal might come
within the next day or the next tour
or five days The guard would come
through the corridor bearing a small
lighted torch ana would push our
seanty food through a hole in the solid
steel door and go away perhaps not
to return for three or four days.
we Jared decidedly worse than a
drove Of hogs and death came to my
four companions absolutely from star
vation. We could not get a particle OF
exercise and eventually put in most Of
our time sleeping
aOur cell was II feet underground
and We did not even hear the cannon
aiding Of the two armies In the sis
hour battle when chihuahua fen again
into the hands Of Madero and the fed
eral government
'sWe did nos hear The federals wheI
they battered down the front door o
the prison and The first knowledge VI
bad that something unusual vas tax
ing place was when they battered dow