The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1913-08-28
AN OCEAN HE'LL"
IN new YORK

Built in 1870, and Which Recently
Sailed Into New York Hdrhor, Has
Been Visited By Thousands.
After an existence stretching over
one hundred and twenty three
years, during which she left her
record in history as the most out
rageous embodiment of the mechan-
les of torture, the prison ship Sue
cess, notorious English vessel, is
now being taken to various ports in
the United States where all her
devilish devices for the practice Of
inhuman cruelty may be seen and
impressively understood by the peo-
pie of this day. Adorned in the
arrow-marked livery of British deg
radiation. she recently sailed into
New York Harbor, where she has
been visited by thousands
The Success was built in 1870 at
Moulmain, British India. She is,
today, the Oldest boat afioat. and the
only remaining example of the pris-
on ships that were so commonly
known as ocean hells'' only as far
back as 1868.
She is massively built of teak,
and was originally intended as an
armed East India merchantmen.
Her tonnage is $50, AMI she is 1876
feet long with a beam of 20 feet.
Her sides are 2 feet inches
thick.
Broken only by an occasional
conflict with a pirate craft, the Sue
cess was considered a worthy ves-
sci until 1902, when she was chart
cred by the British government to
transport the overflow of English
jails to Australia. These prisoners
were taken to New South Wales,
Australia, then known as a penal
settlement, and were often SEN
fenced to a term of seven years or
even life-imprisonment for offenses
that now are considered petty and
are punished no more severly than
by fine.
At that period there were 145 often
ses for which the penalty was death!
The laws of England, at that time,
respecting crime were disgracefully
cruel.
OF the men confined to the black
holes, at least ninty-five per cent.
went crazy or died of neglect. Men
who attempted to look over the
tops of their cells or speak to pris-
oners on the opposite row were
taken to the lower deck and placed
in the necklers.''
These were heavy iron rings that
fitted about their heads like yokes.
Their feet were clamped in similar
but smaller rings. After few
hours in the necklers the men were
sometimes fogged.
The human cargos OF the Sue
cess died like animals. On her
maiden trip she carried 939 pris-
oners, 251 of whom died disgusting
deaths induced by inhuman treat
ment and diseases resulting from
filth and neglect.
Many of the men were so shack
led that it was impossible for them
to lie down in their narrow, dark
cells, the only means Of ventilating
which were small openings between
the iron bars over the heavy wood
en- doors.
Cells were constructed on the
middle and lower decks. The low
err cells were occupied by men who
were considered, at the instance of
the warders, to be especially dan
gerous. Men classed as the least
undesirable were confined to the
upper cells.
Prisoners adjudged refractory"
were thrown into the black holes.
There are two of these at the stern
of the lower deck. They are scarce
ly more than foot wide, and the
occupants were ch9ined to the wall
in such manner that they could
move only with difficulty, and could
not lie down.
For f1ogging thefmen, one OF the
prisoners received sixpence day.
The punishment was very severe