s
 
 THE TWIN HELLS 
 
 A THRILLING NARRATIVE OF LIFE IN 
 THE KANSAS AND MISSOURI 
 
 PENITENTIARIES 
 
 JOHN N. REYNOLDS 
 
 ATGHISON, KANSAS. 
 
 THOMPSON & THOMAS, 
 
 267 WABASH AVE. 
 CHICAGO.
 
 TO MY DEAR OLD MOTHER 
 
 AND 
 TO THB MEMORY OF MY SAINTED WIFB 
 
 THIS BOOK 
 
 IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED BY 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 2033188
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Pre&ce, 9 
 
 A KANSAS HELL. 
 
 CMAFTEK. 
 
 I. My Initiation and Crime, 13 
 
 II. The Coal Mines, 44 
 
 III. The Coal Mines, Continued, .... 59 
 IV. The Punishments of the Prison, - - 90 
 
 V. Sunday in the Prison, 98 
 
 VI. Scenes in the Hospital, 106 
 
 VII. Escapes from Prison, "5 
 
 VIII. The Prisoners, 126 
 
 IX. Forty-eight Hours in Hell, ' -197 
 
 X. -Stolen Horses, 2*9 
 
 XI. Candidate for the State Senate, - - - -215 
 
 XII. A Dark Hour, 2*3 
 
 XIII.-Freedom, 231 
 
 A MISSOURI HELL. 
 
 XIV. The Convict's Home, 37 
 
 XV. The Work of the Convict, 253 
 
 XVI. The Missouri Prisoners, - - - - . 262 
 XVII. The Misiouri Prisoners, Continued, - - - 277 
 
 XVIII. Prison DiscipHme, 289 
 
 XIX. Noted Convicts, 3P 
 
 XX. The Ex-Convict, 3" 
 
 The Twin Hells 7
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 THE following pages treat of hell A Kan- 
 44S hell and a Missouri hell. Those who de- 
 sire to peruse works that tell about Heaven 
 only, are urged to drop this book and run. I 
 was an inmate of the Kansas penitentiary for 
 sixteen months, and make mention of what 
 came under my own observation in connection 
 with what I experienced. While an inmate of 
 this prison I occupied cells at various times 
 with convicts who had served terms in the 
 Missouri prison. From these persons I 
 gathered much useful material for my book. 
 After my release I visited the Missouri peni- 
 tentiary, and verified the statements of those 
 criminals, and gathered additional material 
 from the prison records and the officials. I 
 have written chiefly for the youth of the 
 country, but all ages will be deeply inter- 
 ested in the following pages. A large major- 
 ity of the convicts are young men from six- 
 teen to twenty-five years of age. They had 
 no idea of the terrible sufferings of a convict 
 
 9
 
 10 PREFACE. 
 
 life, or they surely would have resisted tempta- 
 tion and kept out of crime. The following 
 pages will impart to the reader some idea of 
 what he may expect to endure in case he be- 
 comes entangled in the meshes of the law, and 
 is compelled to do service for the State with- 
 out any remuneration. Every penitentiary is 
 a veritable hell. Deprive a person of his 
 liberty, punish and maltreat him, and you fill 
 his life with misery akin to those who wander 
 in the darkness of " eternal night." I think, 
 when the reader has perused the following 
 pages, he will agree with me, that the book 
 has the proper title. That this volume may. 
 prove an " eye-opener " to the boys who may 
 read it, and prove interesting and instructive 
 to those of mature years, is the earnest wis^ of 
 the author.
 
 A KANSAS HELL.
 
 A KANSAS HELL 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 MY INITIATION AND CRIME. 
 
 GUILTY! This word, so replete with sadness 
 ar.d sorrow, fell on my ear on that blackest of 
 all black Fridays, October 14, 1887. 
 
 Penitentiary lightning struck me in the city 
 of Leavenworth, Kansas. I was tried in the 
 United States District Court; hence, a United 
 States prisoner. 
 
 The offense for which I was tried and con- 
 victed was that of using the mails for fraudu- 
 lent purposes. My sentence was eighteen 
 months in the penitentiary, and a fine of two 
 hundred dollars. I served sixteen months, at 
 the end of which time I was given my liberty. 
 During the period I was in prison I dug coal 
 six months in the penitentiary coal mines, and 
 was one of the clerks of the institution the 
 remainder of the term. Getting permission 
 to kave writing material in my cell, I first
 
 14 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 maste*d short-hand writing, or phonography, 
 attd thn wrote my book: " A Kansas Hell; 
 or, Life in the Kansas Penitentiary. " My 
 manuscript being in short-hand, none of the 
 prison officials were able to read it, and did 
 not know what I was doing until I obtained 
 my liberty and had my book published. 
 
 This, no doubt, will be the proper place to 
 give some of my antecedents, as well as a 
 few of the details of the crime for which I was 
 sent to the penitentiary. I spent my youth 
 and early manhood at Indianola, Iowa, from 
 which place I removed to Nebraska. After 
 residing for some time in Columbus, of that 
 State, I was appointed by the governor to 
 assist in organizing the Pawnee Indian Reser- 
 vation into a county. When organized it was 
 called Nance County, being named for Hon. 
 Albinus Nance, then governor of the State. 
 I held the position of county clerk of that 
 county for four consecutive years. During 
 this time I organized the Citizens' Bank. I 
 was its cashier at first, and, later on, its presi- 
 dent. I had a lucrative business and was doing 
 well. My wife's health failed her; she became 
 consumptive. My family physician advised a 
 removal to the South. I closed out my busi-
 
 MY INITIATION AND CRIME. 1 5 
 
 ness at a great sacrifice, and came to Atchison, 
 Kansas. Here I located, and made it my fut- 
 ure home. Soon after my arrival I commenced 
 the publication of a daily newspaper, known 
 as the Times. In the county in which I lo- 
 cated I found one of the worst and most cor- 
 rupt political rings on the face of the earth. 
 This combination had controlled the politics of 
 the county for almost a quarter of a century. 
 Soon I became involved in a terrific news- 
 paper war with the members of this political 
 organization. An election of county and State 
 officials was soon to take place. In order to 
 test the strength of the contending elements, 
 in my newspaper, I presented the name of 
 Hon. W. D. Gilbert as a candidate for district 
 judge in opposition to the ring candidate. A 
 sharp fight ensued. Mr. Gilbert was elected 
 by an overwhelming majority. This was the 
 first time for twenty-five years that this ring 
 had been defeated. The members of it were 
 very sore. Looking upon me as the principal 
 spirit, I was the object toward which they di- 
 rected all their shafts of spite. 
 
 Some time before this an insurance company 
 had been organized in the city of Atchison. 
 I was invited to become its president. I
 
 16 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 examined the books of the corporation, and 
 found it to be organized according to the laws 
 of Kansas ; that the company had a charter 
 from the State, and also certified authority to 
 issue policies of insurance, granted by the 
 State insurance commissioner. I accepted the 
 presidency on condition that the company was 
 simply to have the use of my name, and that 
 I was not expected to give any of my time to 
 the company, as I was otherwise engaged. I 
 was editor of a daily newspaper, and could not 
 attend to anything else. While this company 
 was doing business a printed circular was used, 
 stating that the corporation had one hundred 
 thousand dollars PAID UP capital. This cir- 
 cular was sent out through the mails over the 
 State advertising the business. It was charged 
 this circular was fraudulent ; that the company 
 did not have that amount of capital paid in. 
 My name was attached to this printed circular. 
 For this, I was indicted in the United States 
 District Court, on the charge of using the mails 
 for fraudulent purposes. The advertised cap- 
 ital of this corporation was subscribed, but not 
 all paid in, as it was not needed in the busi- 
 ness of the company. After indictment I 
 was arrested, and gave bonds for my appear-
 
 MY INITIATION AND CRIME. I/ 
 
 anec at the next term of court, which was held 
 soon after. 
 
 Not being able to secure the attendance of 
 all my witnesses, my attorney wrote the prose- 
 cuting attorney asking his consent that my 
 case be continued. The request was granted. 
 When the case was called, my attorney 
 appeared and introduced a motion to continue 
 the case, filing affidavits necessary in such 
 cases. The prosecuting attorney having given 
 his consent, there was no doubt in the minds 
 of those interested as to the continuance of the 
 case. For some cause best known to himself, 
 the judge would not grant the continuance, 
 and forced me to trial without having a single 
 witness. It was my intention to have some 
 fifty witnesses subpoenaed, to prove that the 
 insurance company of which I was president 
 was not a fraud. Not being allowed to have 
 my witnesses, I was, under the instructions of 
 the court, which were, indeed, exceedingly 
 pointed, found guilty, and sentenced to 
 eighteen months' imprisonment and to pay a 
 fine of two hundred dollars. The political 
 ring now triumphed for a brief period. In 
 ardor to prove conclusively to the reader that 
 fait vra apiece of spite work, I have only to
 
 1 8 THE TWIN HEU- 
 
 state that I was the oniy one Ox all the officers 
 of that company thn'~ :vas ever tried for run- 
 ning a bogus insurance company. Why was 
 it that I was the only one sent to the peniten- 
 tiary when there was the secretary, treasurer, 
 and six directors equally as guilty as myself? 
 To prove more conclusively that it was po- 
 litical spite work that sent me to prison, let 
 me inform the readers that about the time the 
 insurance company at Atchison was organized, 
 a similar one was organized in Topeka. They 
 were similar in EVERY RESPECT. I was presi- 
 dent of the one at Atchison, while a distinguished 
 gentleman by the name of Gen. J. C. Cald- 
 vvell was president of the one at Topeka. Both 
 of these companies failed. The president of 
 the Atchison company was sent to the peni- 
 tentiary, while the president of the Topeka 
 company was appointed by the governor of 
 the State to the responsible position of chair- 
 man of the State Board of Pardons. Many 
 persons have asked why this difference in the 
 treatment of the presidents of these two com- 
 panies. The only answer that can be given is 
 that General Caldwell stood in with the Kansas 
 political ring, while I did not. Every sensible 
 man must admit that if it was just for me to
 
 MY INITIATION AND CRIME. 19 
 
 serve a term in prison for the offense charged 
 against me, General Caldwell should have 
 been prescribed for in the same manner. I 
 have no fight to make upon Mr. Caldwell. He 
 is an excellent gentlemen. He was in luck. 
 The fates were against me. Had I been a 
 State instead of a United States prisoner, no 
 doubt Mr. Caldwell, as chairman of the Board 
 of Pardons, would have used his influence to 
 secure for me my liberty. That I was sent to 
 prison is wholly due to politico. It is unneces- 
 sary, therefore, for me to inform the reader 
 that I am now " out of politics." Having 
 served out my term I returned to my home in 
 Atchison. As to the rig that sent me to 
 prison, some of them are dead, others have 
 left Atchtson to make their homes in other 
 places, others have failed financially, and still 
 others hare fallen so low that they have 
 scarcely friends enough to bury them should 
 they happen to die. 
 
 The big wfeeel of life keeps on revolving. 
 Those who are up to-day may be down to- 
 morrow, and vice versa. But to continue my 
 narrative . Immediately after my conviction 
 and sentence I was taken to the Leavenworth 
 County Jail. Here I remained until the follow-
 
 20 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 ing Tuesday in the company of a dozen or 
 more prisoners who were awaiting trial. On 
 Sunday, while in this jail, my wife, who died 
 during my imprisonment of a broken heart, 
 and an account of which is given in a subse- 
 quent chapter, came to see me. I can never 
 forget this visit. She remained with me during 
 the entire day. During the conversation of 
 the day I said to her that, it seemed that the 
 future appeared very gloomy. That it would 
 be a miracle if I ever was able to survive the 
 disgrace that had been so cruelly placed upon 
 me. That all ambition and hope as to the 
 future had fled, and that I could not blame her 
 if she should now free herself by means of 
 divorce, as my conviction of crime was a legal 
 ground for divorce in Kansas. In reply to 
 this, the noble little woman, her face aglow 
 with the radiance of womanly devotion, said, 
 that for twenty years of married life our home 
 had been one of sunshine ; that I had been 
 kind to her and made her life one of happiness, 
 and that now, when misfortune came, it was not 
 only a duty, but the highestpleasure, to prove 
 her fidelity. She kept her word. She was 
 true to the last. When dying, her last words 
 were a petition for the blessings of God upon
 
 MY INITIATION AND CRIME. 21 
 
 her husband who was far away behind frowning 
 prison walls. On Tuesday morning a deputy 
 United States marshal came to the jail and 
 gave me notice that in a few moments we 
 would leave for the penitentiary. This officer 
 was a gentleman, and did not seek to further 
 humiliate me by placing irons on my person. 
 I have often thought of this act of kindness on 
 the part of this humane official. We took 
 the train at Leavenworth, and in a very few 
 moments were at my future place of residence. 
 Lansing, the small village where the peniten- 
 tiary is located, is about five miles from the 
 city of Leavenworth. The entrance to the 
 prison is from the west. Under the watchful 
 care of the officer who had me in charge, I 
 passed under a stone archway, to the left of 
 which was a small office, where a guard was on 
 duty during the day time. We were halted by 
 this officer, who inquired if we had any fire- 
 arms. No one visiting the penitentiary is 
 allowed to carry fire-arms within the enclosure. 
 The marshal who had me in custody handed 
 over a large navy revolver. Between this arch- 
 way and the western wall of the prison is a 
 beautiful lawn. The walks are liaad with fra- 
 grant flowers; beautiful fountains send aloft
 
 22 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 their silvery sprays. Passing up the roadway 
 leading to the entrance door, and looking about 
 me upon the rich carpet of green, the flowers 
 and fountains, I came to the conclusion that 
 the penitentiary was not so bad a place as I had 
 imagined. I changed my mind, however, as 
 soon as I had seen inside the walls. 
 
 The prison enclosure contains about ten 
 acres of ground. This is surrounded by a 
 stone wall some fifteen feet high, and six feet 
 thick at the base. It is not more than four 
 feet at the top. At each of the four corners 
 may be found a tower rising some ten feet 
 above the wall. A guard is on duty in each 
 of these towers during the day. He carries a 
 double-barreled shotgun loaded with buck- 
 shot. In case a prisoner tries to escape he is 
 liable to get a dose of lead, provided the 
 officer on duty is a good marksman. The 
 western wall is almost entirely made of a large 
 stone building with its two long wings. The 
 main building is four stories. The wings 
 stretching to the north and south, each two 
 hundred and fifty feet, contain the cells. On 
 the first floor of the main building are the 
 offices of the warden, clerk, deputy warden
 
 MY INITIATION AND CRIME. 2$ 
 
 and turnkey. The upper rooms are used by 
 the warden's family. 
 
 I was first conducted into the clerk's office 
 and introduced to Mr. Jones, the clerk. He 
 is a very pleasant gentleman, and spoke kindly 
 to me, which I can assure all was very accept- 
 able, for just about that time I was feeling very 
 badly. His remark was: " I am very glad to 
 meet you, Mr. Reynolds, but sorry to meet 
 you under these sad circumstances." On his 
 invitation I took a chair and sat down to await 
 the next part of the progamme. As I sat 
 there and thought of the kind words spoken to 
 me by the clerk, I quickly reached the con- 
 clusion that if all the officers of that institution 
 were as kind as Mr. Jones, it would not be 
 as bad a place as I had anticipated. I had no 
 experience then that would justify any other 
 conclusion. Soon a side door of the office 
 opened and in came the deputy warden, Mr. 
 John Higgins. Mr. H. is the sourest appear- 
 ing man I ever met in my life. At least, it 
 seemed so to me on that day. He can get 
 more vinegar on the outside of his face than 
 any other person in the State of Kansas. 
 He did not wait to be introduced to me. He 
 never craves an introduction to a criminal.
 
 24 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 As soon as he came into the room he got a 
 pole with which to measure me. Then, look- 
 ing at me, in a harsh, gruff voice he called 
 out: " Stand up here." At first I did not 
 arise. At the second invitation, however, I 
 stood up and was measured. My description 
 was taken by the clerk. In this office there 
 is to be found a description of all the crim- 
 inals that ever entered the Kansas peni- 
 tentiary. I was asked if I was a married man, 
 how many children I had, and how much 
 property I possessed. These questions were 
 easily answered. After the deputy warden 
 had discharged his duty he retired. I soon dis- 
 covered that it was according to the rules of 
 the prison for the officers to talk in a harsh and 
 abrupt manner to the prisoners. This ac- 
 counted for the way in which I was greeted by 
 the deputy warden, who is the disciplinarian of 
 the prison. I may say, in passing, that all the 
 harsh manners of Mr. Higgins are simply bor- 
 rowed for the occasion. Away from the pres- 
 ence of prisoners, over whom he is to exert his 
 influence, there is not to be found a more pleas 
 ant and agreeable gentleman. In came a sec- 
 ond official, and, in the same gruff manner, said 
 to me, " Come along." I followed him out to
 
 MY INITIATION AND CRIME. 2$ 
 
 the wash-house, where I took a bath. A pris^ 
 oner took my measure for a suit of clothes. 
 After he had passed the tape-line around me 
 several times, he informed the officer that I was 
 the same size of John Robinson, who had been 
 released from the penitentiary the day before. 
 " Shall I give him John Robinson's clothes? " 
 asked the convict. In the same gruff manner 
 the officer said, " Yes, bring on Robinson's old 
 clothes." So I was furnished with a second- 
 hand suit! The shoes were second-hand. I 
 am positive about this last statement, judging 
 by the aroma. After I had been in the peni- 
 tentiary some four months, I learned that John 
 Robinson, whose clothes I had secured, was a 
 colored man. Being arrayed in this suit of 
 stripes I was certainly " a thing of beauty." 
 The coat was a short blouse and striped ; the 
 stripes, white and black, alternated with each 
 other, and passed around the body in a horizon- 
 tal way. The pantaloons were striped ; the 
 shirt was striped ; the cap was striped. In 
 fine, it seemed that everything about that pen- 
 itentiary was striped even to the cats ! Being 
 dressed, I was next handed an article that 
 proved, on examination, to be intended for a 
 handkerchief. It was covered with large blue
 
 26 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 letters-.- ' Leavenworth Mills. XXX Flour," 
 etc. It was a quarter section of a flour sack! 
 Nine hundred prisoners very soon empty a 
 great many flour sacks. After the flour has 
 been consumed the sack is cut up into quarter 
 sections, washed, hemmed and used for hand- 
 kerchiefs. No better handkerchief can be 
 . invented. They are stout, stiff and durable ! 
 They will bear all manner of nasal assaults ! 
 There is no danger of blowing them into atoms, 
 and the officials are not afraid to give them out 
 to convicts sent there charged with the use of 
 dynamite! One of them has been known to 
 last a prisoner for five years. 
 
 After I had donned my suit and taken pos- 
 session of my handkerchief, I was ordered to 
 fold my arms. Prisoners marching in ranks, 
 or going to and fro about the prison enclosure, 
 are required to have their arms in this posi- 
 tion. The object is to prevent them from pass- 
 ing articles. I was marched to the building 
 known as the south wing of the cell house. In 
 this building, which is two hundred and fifty 
 feet long, there are cells for the accommodation 
 of five hundred convicts. The prisoners who 
 occupy this wing work in the shops located 
 above ground, and within the prison enclosure.
 
 MY INITIATION AND CRIME. 2? 
 
 The officer in charge conducted me to cell num- 
 ber one. Click went the lock. The door was 
 pulled open, and in his usual style, he said, " Get 
 in. " I stepped in. Slam went the door. Click 
 went the lock, and I was in a felon's cell ! These 
 rooms are about four feet wide, seven feet long, 
 and seven feet high. In many of the cells two 
 men are confined. These rooms are entirely too 
 small for the accommodation of two prisoners. 
 A new cell house is being built, which, when 
 completed, will afford sufficient additional 
 room so that each prisoner can have a cell. 
 In these small rooms there are two bunks or 
 beds when two convicts occupy the same cell. 
 The bed-rack is made of iron or wood slats, 
 and the bed-tick is filled with corn-husks; 
 the pillow is also filled with the latter ma- 
 terial, and when packed down becomes as 
 hard as a board. When the beds are not 
 in use they are fastened to the side of the 
 wall with a small chain. When down and in 
 use they take up nearly the entire space of the 
 cell, so that it is impossible for the two occu- 
 pants to pass each other in walking to and fro. 
 The other furniture consists of a small tin 
 bucket, holding about two quarts of water, and 
 a wash-basin. A short-handled broom is also
 
 28 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 found in one corner of the cell, with which the 
 convict brushes it out every morning. The 
 walls are of stone, decorated with a small look- 
 ing-glass and a towel. Each cell contains one 
 chair and a Holy Bible. There is no rich 
 Brussels carpet on the floor, although prison- 
 ers are allowed one if they furnish it themselves. 
 No costly upholstered furniture adorns these 
 safe retreats ! Nothing in that line is to be dis- 
 covered except one cane-bottomed chair for the 
 accommodation of two prisoners, so that when 
 one sits on the chair the other stands, or occu- 
 pies a seat on the stocte floor. There is not 
 room for two chairs, or the State would furnish 
 another chair. These roojns are built of stone. 
 The door is of one-half inch iron bars, crossing 
 each other at right angles, leaving small spaces 
 about two by six inches; through these spaces 
 come the air, light and heat for the health and 
 comfort of the inmates. When I entered my 
 cell on that eventful morning I found it occu- 
 pied by a prisoner. He was also a new arrival ; 
 he had preceded me about an hour. When I 
 entered he arose and gave me his chair, tak- 
 ing a seat on the floor in the opposite corner. 
 After I had been locked in, before going away 
 t*e officer said, " Now I don't want you fellows
 
 MY INITIATION AND CRIME. 29 
 
 to get to talking, for that is not permitted in 
 this institution. " We sat in silence, surveying 
 each other; in a few moments my companion, 
 seeing something in my personal appearance 
 that caused him to lose his self control, laughed. 
 That he might give full vent to his laughing 
 propensities, and not make too much noise, he 
 drew from his pocket his quarter section of a 
 flour bag and put it into his mouth. He soon 
 became as red in the face as a lobster. I was 
 curious, of course, to know what it was that 
 pleased him so much. Rising from my chair, 
 going to the door and looking through the 
 openings I could see no officer near, so I asked 
 my companion, in a whisper, what it was that 
 pleased him so. It was with difficulty and 
 after several trials before he could succeed in 
 telling me what it was that caused him to be so 
 convulsed. I told him to take his time, cool off 
 gradually, as I had eighteen months, and could 
 wait patiently. At last, being able to control 
 his feelings sufficiently to tell me, in the midst 
 of his outbursts of laughter, he said, " You 
 look just like one of them zebras in Barnum's 
 Circus! " When my attention was called to the 
 matter, sure enough, I did look rather striped, 
 and I, amused at his suggestion, laughed also.
 
 30 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 Soon an officer came gliding around in front of 
 the cell, when our laughing ceased. My com- 
 panion was a young fellow from Doniphan 
 County. He got drunk and tried to rob an 
 associate, still drunker, of a twenty dollar gold 
 piece. He was arrested, tried and convicted 
 of robbery, receiving a sentence of one year. 
 Directly an officer came, took him out of my 
 cell and conducted him to another department. 
 All alone, I sat in my little parlor for nearly an 
 hour, thinking over the past. My reverie was 
 at length broken by the turning of my door 
 lock. A fresh arrival was told to " git in." 
 This prisoner had the appearance of just having 
 been lassoed on the wild western prairies. 
 He resembled a cow-boy. His whiskers were 
 long and sandy. His hair, of the same color, 
 fell upon his shoulders. As soon as the officer 
 had gone away and everything had become 
 quiet, I asked this fellow his name. " Horse- 
 rider," was his reply, from which I inferred 
 that he was a horse-thief. " How long a term 
 have you? " was my next question. " Seven 
 years," was his reply. I comforted him by 
 saying it would be some time before he rode 
 another horse. 
 
 next part of the programme consisted
 
 MY INITIATION AND CRIME. 31 
 
 in a little darkey coming in front of our cell 
 with a rudely constructed barber's chair. The 
 cell door opened, and an officer said to me, as 
 if he would hit me with a club the next moment, 
 " Git out of there." I went out. Pointing to 
 the barber's chair, he said, " Squat yourself in 
 that chair." I sat down. " Throw back your 
 head." I laid it back. It was not long be- 
 fore my raven mustache was off, and my hair 
 cut rather uncomfortably short for fly time. 
 After this tonsorial artist had finished his work 
 then came the command once more, " Git in." 
 I got in. It now came Mr. Horserider's turn 
 to bid a long farewell to his auburn locks. He 
 took his place in the chair, and the little darkey, 
 possibly for his own amusement, cut off the 
 hair on one side of the head and left the other 
 untouched. He then shaved one side of his face 
 without disturbing the other. At this moment 
 the bell for dinner rang, and the little col- 
 ored fellow broke away and ran to his division, 
 to fall in ranks, so that he would not miss his 
 noon meal. Once more Mr. Horserider en- 
 tered his cell and we were locked in. A more 
 comical object I never beheld; he did not even 
 possess the beauty of a baboon; he might cer- 
 tainly have passed for the eighth wonder of the
 
 32 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 world. When he came in I handed him the 
 small looking-glass and asked him how he 
 Kked his hair-cut. Remember, one side of his 
 head and face was shaved close, and the other 
 covered with long sandy hair and beard. Look- 
 ing into the glass, he exclaimed: " Holy Moses! 
 and who am I, anyway? " I answered his ques- 
 tion by stating that he favored Mr. What-Is-It. 
 He was very uneasy for a time, thinking that 
 he was going to be left in that condition. He 
 wanted to know of me if all horse-thieves of the 
 penitentiary wore their hair and whiskers in 
 this style. I comforted him all I could by im- 
 parting the information that they did. He was 
 much relieved when the darkey returned after 
 dinner and finished the shaving. 
 
 I was next taken out of my cell to pass a 
 medical examination. Dr. Mooney, the gen- 
 tlemanly officer in charge of the hospital, put 
 in an appearance with a large book under his 
 arm and sat down by a table. I was ushered 
 into his presence. He began asking me ques- 
 tions, and wrote down my answers in his book, 
 which proved to be the physician's register. 
 
 " Have you any decayed teeth?" was his 
 first question. 
 
 "No, sir," was my reply.
 
 MY INITIATION AND CRIME. 33 
 
 " Have you ever lost any teeth? " 
 
 " No, sir." 
 
 " Have you ever had the measles? " 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 " Have you ever had the mumps? " 
 
 11 Yes, sir." 
 
 " Have you ever had the chicken-pox? " 
 
 " Yes, sir. " 
 
 " Have you ever had the thresh? " 
 
 Well, I didn't know what was meant by the 
 thresh. I knew that I had been "thrashed" 
 a great many times, and inferred from that 
 fact that I must have had the disease at some 
 time or other in my youth, so I answered, 
 " Yes, sir." 
 
 " Have you ever had the itch?" 
 
 "What kind?" said I. "The old fash- 
 ioned seven year kind ? Y-e-s, sir, I have 
 had it." 
 
 He then continued asking me questions, and 
 wanted to know if I ever had a great many 
 diseases, the names of which I had never 
 heard before. Since I catch almost every- 
 thing that comes along, I supposed, of course, 
 that at some period during my childhood, 
 youth or early manhood I had suffered from 
 all those physical ills, so I always answered, 
 
 The Twin Hells 3
 
 34 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 "Yes, sir." He wound up by inquiring ifl 
 ever had a stroke of the horse glanders. I 
 knew what was meant by that disease, and re- 
 plied in the negative. 
 
 He then looked at me over the top of his 
 spectacles, and, in a rather doubting maaner, 
 said, " and you really have had all these dis- 
 eases ? By the way," he continued, "are 
 you alive at the present moment after all 
 that you have suffered ? " Mr. Mooney is 
 an Irishman. He was having a little cold- 
 blooded sport at my expense. Whenever you 
 meet an Irishman you will always strike a 
 budget of fun. 
 
 His next question was, " Are you a sound 
 man ? " 
 
 My reply was to the effect that I was, 
 physically, mentally and morally. So he wrote 
 down in his book opposite my name " physi- 
 cally and mentally a sound man." He said he 
 would take my word for being sound morally, 
 but that he would not put that down on the 
 books for the present, for fear there might be 
 a mistake somewhere. Before discharging 
 mo, he calmly stated that I would make a good 
 coal minir. All the priftonrt andergo this 
 medical cross-examination.
 
 MY INITIATION AND CRIME. 35 
 
 After I had run the doctor's gauntlet, I was 
 conducted from the south wing of the cell- 
 house to the north wing. Here I met for the 
 first time Mr. Elliott, who has charge of this 
 building during the daytime. It is a part of 
 this highly efficient officer's duty to cross-exam- 
 ine the prisoners as to where they have lived 
 and what they have been doing. His examina- 
 tions are very rigid. He is a bright man, a 
 good judge of human nature, and can tell a 
 criminal at sight. He would make an able 
 criminal lawyer. He is the prison detective. 
 By means of these examinations he often ob- 
 tains clues that lead to the detection of the per- 
 petrators of crime. I have been told by good 
 authority that on account of information ob- 
 tained by this official, two murderers were dis- 
 covered in the Kansas penitentiary, and, after 
 their terms had expired, they were immediately 
 arrested, and, on requisition, taken back to the 
 Eastern States, where the crimes had been 
 committed, and there tried, convicted and pun- 
 ished according to the laws of those States. 
 After I had been asked all manner of questions 
 by tins official, he very kindly informed me that 
 I came to the penitentiary with a bad record. 
 He further stated that I was looked upon as
 
 3$ THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 one of the worst criminals in the State of Kan- 
 sas. This information was rather a set-back to 
 me, as I had no idea that I was in possession 
 of any such record as that. I begged of him to 
 wait a little while before he made up his mind 
 conclusively as to my character, for there might 
 be such a thing as his being mistaken. There 
 is no man that is rendering more effective serv- 
 ice to the State of Kansas in the way of bring- 
 ing criminals to justice than Mr. Elliott. He 
 has been an officer of the prison for nearly nine 
 years. As an honest officer he is above re- 
 proach. As a disciplinarian he has no superior 
 in the West. 
 
 After this examination I was shown to my 
 cell. It was now about two o'clock in the 
 afternoon of my first day in prison. I 
 remained in the cell alone during the entire 
 afternoon. Of all the dark hours of my event- 
 ful history, none have been filled with more 
 gloom and sadness than those of my first day 
 in prison. Note my antecedents a college 
 graduate, a county clerk, the president of a 
 bank, and an editor of a daily newspaper. All 
 my life I had moved in the highest circles of 
 society, surrounded by the best and purest of 
 both sexes, and now, here I was, in the
 
 MY INITIATION AND CRIME. 37 
 
 deplorable condition of having been hurled 
 from that high social position, down to the 
 low degraded plane of a convict. As I sat 
 there in that desolate abode of the disgraced, 
 I tried to look out down the future. All was 
 dark. For a time it seemed as if that sweet 
 angel we call hope had spread her wings and 
 taken her departure from me forever. The 
 black cloud of despair seemed settling down 
 upon me. But very few persons possess the 
 ability to make any thing of themselves aftef 
 having served a term in the penitentiary. 
 Having once fallen to so low a plane it is 
 almost impossible to rise again. Young man, 
 as you peruse this book, think of these things. 
 Once down as a felon it is a miracle if one 
 ever regains what he has lost. I sat brood- 
 ing over these things for an hour or more, 
 when my manhood asserted itself. Hope 
 returned. I reasoned thus : I am a young 
 man. I enjoy good health. There will be 
 only a few months of imprisonment and then 
 I will be free. I thought of my loving wife, 
 my little children, my aged mother, my kind 
 friends, and for their sake I would not yield 
 to dsspair. Soliciting the aid of a kind 
 Heavenly Father, I resolved to do the best I
 
 38 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 could toward regaining what I had lost. My 
 father was a minister of the gospel for fifty 
 years prior to his death. He was not blessed 
 with much of this world's goods. For this 
 reason I began in very early life to aid myself. 
 I spent seven years in college preparing for 
 the struggles that awaited me. I earned every 
 dollar of the money which paid my expenses 
 while securing my education. I carried the 
 hod to assist in building the college in which I 
 afterward graduated. Few men can truthfully 
 make this statement of themselves. While 
 working my way through the institution 
 where I received my education, I learned one 
 useful lesson self reliance. I learned to 
 depend upon my own efforts for success. 
 Every one must learn this useful lesson before 
 he can become anything in life. After I had 
 met with misfortune and found myself in a 
 prison cell, I was glad that I had learned to 
 rely upon my own efforts. 
 
 The question: " What shall I do in the fut- 
 ure? " now came to me. That afternoon I laid 
 my plans which I would carry out out in the 
 years to come. 1 was financially ruined in the 
 great battle I carried on with the Atchison 
 ring. I was aw are of the fact that, when I got out
 
 MY INITIATION AND CRIME. 39 
 
 of the penitentiary, all the money that I would 
 have with which to make another start in life 
 would be five dollars. The United States pre- 
 sents her prisoners, when discharged, with a 
 suit of citizen's clothes and five dollars. This 
 was my capital. What could I do with five 
 dollars, in the way of assisting me in getting 
 another financial foot-hold in life? After my 
 release it was necessary for me to do some- 
 thing at once to get money. It never entered 
 my mind to borrow. It will be interesting to 
 the reader to know what I did, after my prison 
 days were past, to make a "quick raise." Six- 
 teen months of imprisonment slipped away. 
 I regained my liberty on Monday. I received 
 my five dollars and immediately started for my 
 home, in Atchison. On my arrival, Monday 
 night, I had four dollars and ten cents. On 
 Tuesday morning I went to the proprietor of 
 the Opera House, in Atchison, and inquired 
 how much money was necessary to secure the 
 use of the building for the next evening. 
 " Fifty dollars," was his reply. I gave him all 
 the money I had, and persuaded him to trust 
 me for the rest I informed him that I was 
 going to deliver a lecture on my prison life. 
 He asked if I thought anybody would come to
 
 40 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 a convict talk. In answer, I told htm 
 that was the most important question that was 
 agitating my mind at the present moment, and 
 if he would let me have the use of the Opera 
 House we would soon settle that question. I 
 further told him that if the receipts of the 
 evening were not enough to pay him for the 
 use of the house, that I would pay him as soon 
 as possible. He let me have the use of the 
 house. I advertised in the daily papers of the 
 city that I would lecture in the Opera House 
 the following evening on my prison life, 
 admission fifty cents. I thought if the good 
 people wanted to come at all they would come 
 even if they had to pay well for it. I 
 was very restless from the morning that I 
 engaged the Opera House until the next 
 evening, at which time I was to speak. I 
 did not know whether I would have any 
 audience. If not, I was fifty dollars deepen- 
 in debt. The evening for the lecture came, I 
 went to the Opera House prepared to interest 
 anyone that might put in an appearance; I en- 
 tered the building in the rear, and took my po- 
 sition on the platform. The signal was given 
 and up went the curtain. I was highly pleased 
 when I saw my audience. The building was
 
 MY INITIATION AND CRIME. 41 
 
 j^acked. The lecture was a financial suc- 
 cess. In this manner I secured a nice 
 " stake " for furture use. I delivered that lect- 
 ure for several weeks in Kansas, and made a 
 thousand dollars above expenses. To return 
 to my first afternoon in the cell. I thought of 
 another scheme. I conceived the idea that a 
 book about a penitentiary, giving its history, 
 and also the history of many of the leading 
 criminals, modes of punishment, escapes, etc., 
 would be very interesting, and would sell. I 
 decided to write such a book while in prison. 
 In order to write a book it became necessary 
 to have writing material. How was I to se- 
 cure this? It was against the prison regula- 
 tions for a prisoner to have a lead-pencil or 
 scrap of paper. The officials were very strict 
 on this point. It was essential they should be. 
 If the prisoners could pass notes, it would not 
 be long before a prison insurrection would be 
 the result. The plan that I adopted to secure 
 writing material was rather unique, and per- 
 haps the reader will like to know how I man- 
 aged this difficult matter. It is wonderful what 
 a man can accomplish, with adverse surround- 
 ings, if he wills it. As I have stated before, I 
 had much to do in securing the election of
 
 42 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 Hon. W. D. Gilbert to the district judgeship. 
 This made him feel very kind toward me. He 
 came often to visit me at the prison. One 
 day while visiting me, I asked him to use his 
 influence with the warden to secure for me the 
 privilege of having writing material in my cell. 
 " What do you want with writing material," 
 said he. The answer I gave was, that I might 
 pass away my leisure hours in learning to write 
 short-hand. He called on Warden Smith, and 
 got his consent. He told the warden that if I 
 would master this useful art while in prison, on 
 my release, he would appoint me his district 
 court reporter, at a salary of $2,500 a 
 year. The scheme was a success. I sent 
 and got my short-hand books and writing 
 material. I mastered short-hand, and can 
 now write as fast as one would care to dictate. 
 It was not long before I began writing my 
 book in short-hand. The officials, as was their 
 custom, would examine my cell daily to see if 
 anything had crept in that did not belong 
 there. They could not read short-hand. They 
 did not know what so many little straight 
 marks and curves indicated. I persevered, and 
 one month before my time expired I had my 
 book completed, and sent it out by a friend
 
 MY INITIATION AND CRIME. 43 
 
 who visited the prison, who kept it for me 
 until I secured my liberty. As before stated, 
 I lectured until I got money sufficient, and then. 
 I published my first book on prisons, giving it 
 the impressive title of" A Kansas Hell." This 
 book sold rapidly, and soon the first edition 
 was disposed of. I made enough money out 
 of this book to place me on my feet, finan- 
 cially. But, to return to my cell the first after- 
 noon. I remained alone until time for the pris- 
 oners to come in from their work, when I found 
 that I was to have a " life man " for my cell- 
 mate, whose name was Woodward R. Lope- 
 man. I have given his history in a subsequent 
 chapter. I remained in my cell during the 
 evening, until the prison bell rang for retiring. 
 Strange to say, after going to bed, I soon fell 
 asleep, and did not awake until the prison bell 
 rang on the following morning. When I did 
 awake, it was to find myself, not in my own 
 pleasant little home in the city of Atchison, 
 Kansas, but in afelon'scell. I arose and dressed, 
 and then waited and wondered what would be 
 the next thing on the programme.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE COAL MINES. 
 
 I WAS next taken to the coal mines. These 
 mines are located just outside of the prison 
 enclosure, and are surrounded by high stone 
 walls and stone buildings, which, by their loca- 
 tion, take the place of walls. The coal yards 
 are separated from the prison campus by a 
 partition wall, which constitutes the south wall 
 of the coal department and the north wall of 
 the prison. 
 
 Passing from one of these departments to 
 the other, through a large gateway, the gate 
 being kept by a convict, an old man who 
 murdered his son, and who has a life sentence. 
 Reader, how would you like to spend your en- 
 tire life, day after day, week after week, month 
 after month, year after year, in the monotonous 
 employment of opening and closing a large 
 gate? When my escort and myself reached 
 the mines, I was placed in charge of Mr. 
 Dodds, the official in control of the mines at 
 the surface. Mr. Dodds is a very competent 
 officer, and has been on duty at that plac more
 
 THE COAL MINES. 45 
 
 thwn twenty years. From this officer I received 
 a mining cap. This piece of head-wear was 
 turban-shaped, striped, of course, with a leather 
 frontlet, on which was fastened the mining 
 lamp. This lamp, in shape, resembled an ordi- 
 nary tea-pot, only it was much smaller. In 
 place of the handle was a hook, which fastened 
 to the leather frontlet. The bowl of the lamp 
 contained the oil ; a wick passes up through 
 the spout, at the end of which is the light. The 
 miner carrying his lamp in this position has it 
 out of his way. With the cap on my head and 
 lamp lighted, I stood on the verge of a ten by 
 twelve hole in the earth, that was almost eight 
 hundred feet deep. We think that a well one 
 hundred feet deep is quite a distance down into 
 the ground, but here was a hole eight times 
 deeper. In the mining vernacular this hole is 
 termed a shaft the term that will be employed 
 in speaking of it hereafter. There are two of 
 these shafts, about one hundred yards apart. 
 Each shaft is divided by a wooden partition 
 which descends from the top to the bottom. 
 Two elevators, or cages, as they are called, 
 ascend and descend along the shaft. While 
 one cage is coming up the other is going 
 down. They derive their motor ^oower from
 
 46 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 two large engines, one for each shaft. The 
 officer in charge inquired, before making my 
 descent into the mines, if I ever fainted. 
 " Never," was my reply. Persons sometimes 
 faint in going down this shaft. " Step into the 
 cage," was the order given. I obeyed, and, 
 reaching up, took hold of some iron bars that 
 went across the top. The signal was given, 
 down I started. After I had descended a few 
 feet a current of air coming up from below put 
 out my light, which left me in the darkness of 
 an Egyptian night. Down, down, down I 
 went. There are a great many things in life 
 that I have forgotten. There are a great many 
 more that I expect to forget, but that first ride 
 down the coal shaft I never can forget. Thug! 
 I had struck bottom. It is said that when one 
 starts down hill in this world he keeps on going 
 until he strikes bottom. My readers will cer- 
 tainly agree with me that reaching a resting 
 place eight hundred feet under the surface I 
 had found the lowest round of the ladder. 
 Whatever I may be in the future, to whatever 
 heights I may ascend, I shall not forget that 
 my starting point was nearly a thousand feet 
 under the Kansas penitentiary. Water seeks 
 its level. You may force one below the sur-
 
 THE COAL MINES. 47 
 
 fkce, and to whatever depth you please, to the 
 extent of your power, but if he does not belong 
 there, you cannot keep him down : in the 
 course of time he will rise. 
 
 It was six long, dreary months before I was 
 able to reach the first round in the ladder. 
 Through that period I lay in the penitentiary 
 mines, or at the bottom of" The Kansas Hell. " 
 It is said the old fashioned Hell has fire and 
 brimstone; while the " Kansas Hell" has no 
 fire, one thing is certain, it has plenty of mate- 
 rial out of which to make it, and an abundant 
 supply of sulphur. 
 
 At the end of my descent I found an officer 
 there on duty. He told me to step off and 
 occupy a seat on a small bench near by. He 
 desired to impart some information. He ad- 
 vised me that while I was there, a convict, it 
 would not be proper to assume the warden's 
 privileges or endeavor to discharge his duties. 
 In other words, the best thing to do was to 
 keep my place, revolve about in my own orbit, 
 carefully regarding all laws, both centripetal 
 and centrifugal; otherwise, I might burst by 
 the natural pr*sture of too highly confined in- 
 terior forces! I confeii that, though not sub- 
 ject to such infliction, I very nearly fainted over
 
 4 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 these ponderous polysyllables! He also in- 
 formed me that the beautifully paved highway 
 to popularity in the coal mines was to excavate 
 large quantities of the carboniferous substance 
 contained in the subterranean passages of the 
 mine; the more coal I got outthe more popular 
 would I be! 
 
 After his lecture was over the officer gave a 
 low whistle, and out from a dark recess there 
 emerged a convict in his stripes. His face and 
 hands were covered with coal dust. He came 
 out grinning, showing his white teeth. As I 
 caught sight of him I thought, surely, this is a 
 fiend from the lower regions. Take one of 
 those prisoners with his striped clothes, a light 
 burning on his head, his face black and shining 
 like ebony, behold him in the weird darkness 
 of the mines, and if he does not call to your 
 mind the picture of one of the imps of Eternal 
 Night there is nothing in this world that will 
 This prisoner was the runner or messenger for 
 this officer at the foot of the shaft. Hack offi 
 cer in the penitentiary who has charge of a 
 division of men has a messenger to ran errands 
 for him. When this messenger Game up to the 
 officer he made his obeisanc*. Convicts are 
 taught to observe good mannersinthepressttC*
 
 THE COAL MINES. , 
 
 of the officials. He was told to take i to 
 another officer in a distant part of the ns/hes, 
 a Mi. Johns, who would give me work. 
 From the foot of the shaft there go out in 
 almost all directions, roadways or "entries." 
 These underground roadways arc about six 
 feet in width and height. I could walk erect 
 in most of them. Along these entries was a 
 car track, over which the small coal cars pass to 
 and from the rooms where the coal is taken 
 out, to the shaft, and hoisted to the top with 
 their load of coal. Some of these entries ex- 
 tend more than a mile out into the earth from 
 the base of the shaft. As my fellow-prisoner 
 and I were passing along one of these roadways 
 to the place whej-e I was to work, he asked me 
 my name and the nature of my offense. At 
 this place let me inform the reader that the 
 prisoners ari given permission to converse with 
 each other in the mines. Their instructions are 
 to the effect that they are not to talk about any- 
 thing but their work, but in the penitentiary the 
 same rule holds good as on the outside: " Give 
 a man an inch and he will take a yard." So, 
 when permission is given to the convict to talk 
 about his work, he talks about everything else. 
 In answer to my escort's question as to the 
 
 The Twin Hells 4
 
 50 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 length of my sentence, I informed him that I 
 had eighteen months. He dryly remarked that 
 was nothing, and if the judge who sent me up 
 could not give me a longer term than that, he 
 should have sent me home to my family. He 
 also remarked that he was afraid I would get 
 into trouble in the mines on account of my 
 short sentence. There were a great many long- 
 term fellows down there, who were envious of 
 short-term men, and were likely to put up jobs 
 on them by reporting their mistakes and viola- 
 tions of regulations to the officer in charge, and 
 thus get them punished. I informed my guide 
 that I thought I would get along some way 
 with the prisoners, and keep out of trouble. I 
 then inquired of him as to the length of his 
 sentence. 
 
 " Twenty-five stretches," was his reply. I 
 did not know what he meant by the term 
 " stretches," and asked for information. " That 
 is the prison term for years, a stretch mean- 
 ing a year," was his reply. I learned th?t 
 my companion, having twenty-five stretches, 
 was carrying about with him a twenty-five 
 years' sentence. A quarter of a century in 
 prison! This was a young man. He had 
 been in the prison for three years. When
 
 THE COAL MINES. 51 
 
 he entered this living tomb he had the bloom 
 of youth upon his cheek. When he goes out, 
 at the end of his term, if he lives so long, he 
 will be an old, broken down man. He will 
 not be likely to live that long. The average 
 life of a convict is but fourteen years under 
 the most favorable surroundings, but in the 
 coal mines it cannot exceed five years at 
 most. 
 
 Let me tell you of this man's crime, and 
 then you can determine for yourself how easy 
 it is to get in the penitentiary. This young 
 fellow is the son of one of the most respectable 
 farmers in the State. He attended a dance 
 one night in company with some of the neigh- 
 bor boys at a village near by. While there, 
 he got under the influence of strong drink, 
 became involved in a quarrel over one of the 
 numbers with the floor managers, and in the 
 fight that ensued he drew his knife and dis- 
 emboweled the man with whom he was fight- 
 ing. In a few moments the wounded man 
 died. The young fellow was tried, convicted 
 of murder, and sent to the penitentiary for 
 twenty-five years at hard labor. It is awful 
 to contemplate. Young man, as you read 
 this, had you not better make up your mind
 
 52 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 to go rather slow in pouring whisky down 
 your throat in future? 
 
 As we passed along through the mines I 
 thought about that word " stretch," and as I 
 did not like the idea of having jobs put up on 
 me, came to the conclusion that I would render 
 myself popular by telling the prisoners in the 
 mines who might ask me as to my sentence, 
 that I had eighteen " stretches." I did not 
 think that calling a month a " stretch " would 
 be " stretching " my conscience to such a 
 degree as to cause me any particular distress, 
 for I knew that by the time I had served out a 
 month it would seem equivalent to a year on 
 the outside. 
 
 After following along the entry for some 
 distance, almost a mile, we came to that por- 
 tion of the mines where I was to work. Com- 
 ing up to the place where the officer was 
 seated, the headquarters of this division, my 
 guide made a low bow, and informed the offi- 
 cer in charge that he had brought him a man. 
 Then bowing himself out, he returned to his. 
 place at the foot of the shaft. 
 
 The officer in whose division I was to work 
 now signaled his messenger, and there came
 
 THE COAL MINES. 53 
 
 out of the darkness another convict, stripes, 
 cap, lamp and all. 
 
 " Get Reynolds a set of mining tools," said 
 the officer. 
 
 These were soon brought, and consisted of 
 a pick, a short-handled shovel, two iron wedges 
 and a sledge hammer. 
 
 " Take him," said the officer, " to room 
 number three, and tell George Mullen, who is 
 working in that room, to teach him how to 
 mine." 
 
 I got my arms around those implements of 
 coal warfare, and following my escort, passed 
 along the entry for some distance, possibly two 
 hundred yards, when the roadway in which we 
 were walking suddenly terminated, and instead, 
 there was a small hole that went further on 
 into the earth. When we came to this place 
 my guide dropped down on his hands and 
 knees and passed into the room. I halted. I 
 had never been in such a place before. I did 
 not know what there was in that dark hole. 
 Soon my escort called out, " Come along, 
 there is nothing in here to hurt you. " Sol 
 dropped down on my hands and knees and 
 into the dark hole I went. 
 
 These rooms where the miners work are
 
 54 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 about twenty-eight inches in height, twenty- 
 four inches wide, and about fifty feet long. 
 Think of working in such a place as that! Oh, 
 how often have I sighed for room enough to 
 spread myself! Haw I would have made that 
 coal fly had the vein been on top where I could 
 have stood on my feet and mined. George 
 Mullen, the convict who was to teach me to 
 mine, was at the farther end of the room at 
 work when we entered. We crawled on our 
 hands and knees to him, and when my guide 
 had delivered his message he withdrew and 
 hastened back to his headquarters near the 
 stand where his officer sat. 
 
 After he had gone and my room-mate and 
 myself were left alone, about the first question 
 that George asked me was, " How long have 
 you got? " 
 
 " Eighteen stretches," was my quick reply. 
 
 George loved me dearly from that moment. 
 I very soon discovered that I was very popular 
 with him on account of my long sentence. 
 
 " How long are you in for? " said I to him. 
 
 "Always," was his answer. 
 
 He was a life prisoner. At one time he was 
 marshal of a Kansas town, and while acting in 
 that capacity he killed his man. He was try-
 
 THE COAL MINES. 53 
 
 ing to arrest him, so he informed me, and the 
 fellow showed fight, when he took out his gun 
 and shot him. It was claimed by the author- 
 ities that the shooting was unprovoked, and 
 that the man could have been arrested without 
 killing him. Aside from the fact that he had 
 killed his man, I must say that I never met a 
 man for whom I had a higher regard. He was 
 very kind to me, very patient, and made my 
 work as easy for me as he possibly could. I 
 remained with him for nearly a month, when, 
 having learned the business, I was taken to 
 another part of the mines and given a task. 
 
 " Have you ever mined any ? " inquired my 
 instructor. 
 
 " No ; I never was in a coal mine before 
 coming here." 
 
 He then gave me my first lesson in mining. 
 I lay on my right side in obedience to his orders, 
 stretched out at full length. The short-handled 
 shovel was inverted and placed under my right 
 shoulder. This lifted my shoulder up from the 
 ground a little distance and I was thus enabled 
 to strike with my pick. The vein of coal is 
 about twenty-two inches in thickness. We 
 would mine out the dirt, or fire clay as it was 
 called, from under the coal to the distance of
 
 50 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 two feet, or the length of a pick-handle, and to 
 the depth of some six inches. We would then 
 set our iron wedges in al>ove the vein of coal, 
 and with the sledge hammer would drive them 
 in until the coal would drop down. Imagine 
 my forlorn condition as Hay there in that small 
 room. It was as dark down there as night but 
 for the feeble light given out by the mining 
 lamp; the room was only twenty-eight inches 
 from the floor to the ceiling, and then above 
 the ceiling there were eight hundred feet of 
 mother earth. Two feet from the face of the 
 coal, and just back of where I lay when mining, 
 was a row of props that held up the roof and 
 kept it from falling in upon me. The loose 
 dirt which we picked out from under the coal 
 vein was shoveled back behind the props. This 
 pile of dirt, in mining language, is called the 
 "gob." I began operations at once. I worked 
 away with all my might for an hour or more, 
 picking out the dirt from under the coal. Then 
 I was tired completely out. I rolled over on 
 my back, and, with ray face looking up to the 
 pile of dirt, eight hundred feet thick, that shut 
 out from me the light of day, I rested for 
 awhile. I had done no physical work for 
 ten years. I was physically soft. To put
 
 THE COAL MINES. 57 
 
 me down in the mines and set me to dijging 
 coal was wicked. It was murder. Down in 
 that dark pit how I suffered! There was no 
 escape from it. There was the medicine. I 
 had to take it. I do not know, but it seems ta 
 me that when a man is sent to that prison who 
 has not been in the habit of performing physi 
 cal labor, he should not be put to work in tht 
 mines until he becomes accustomed to manual 
 labor. It would seem that it would be nothing 
 more than right to give him an easier task at 
 first and let him gradually become hardened 
 to his work at coal digging. Nothing of this 
 kind is done. The young, the old, the middle- 
 aged are indiscriminately and unceremoniously 
 thrust into the mine. Down there are nearly 
 five hundred prisoners. Among them are 
 boys from seventeen to twenty years of age, 
 many of whom are in delicate health. Here 
 are to be found old men, in some cases sixty 
 years of age. I do not wish to be understood 
 as casting any reflections upon the officers of 
 this institution. They cannot help these 
 things. If Warden Smith could avoid it there 
 would not be a single man sent down to that 
 region of death. The mines are there and 
 must be worked. Let this blame fall where it
 
 58 THE TWIN HELLS 
 
 belongs. I must say injustice to our common 
 humanity, that to work these two classes, the 
 boys and old men, in those coal mines is a 
 burning shame and outrage. It is bad enough, 
 as the sequel will show, to put able-bodied, 
 middle-aged men to work in that pit. The 
 great State of Kansas has opened those mines. 
 Her Legislature has decided to have them 
 worked. It becomes the duty, therefore, of 
 the prison directors to work them as long as 
 they are instructed to do so, even if scores of> 
 human beings are maimed for life or mur- 
 dered outright each year. The blame cannot 
 rest on the prison officials, but upon our law- 
 makers.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE COAL MIXES (Continued}. 
 
 AFTER we had mined some twenty-five 
 ieet we took down the coal. To do this the 
 wedges are set and driven in at the top of the 
 vein of coal, with the sledge hammer. After my 
 companion had struck the coal several times it 
 began to pop and crack as if it would fall at any 
 moment. I became alarmed. I was never in 
 such a place before, and I said: " George, had I 
 not better get out of this place? I don't want 
 the coal to fall on me the first clay. " His reply 
 was, that if I wanted to learn how to mine I 
 must remain near the coal and take my chances 
 of being killed. This was indeed comforting! 
 Then he informed me that he was going to 
 knock on the coal and wanted me to catch the 
 sound that was produced. He thumped a\\ ay, 
 and I got the sound a dull, heavy thud. Now, 
 says he," when coal sounds in that manner it is 
 not ready to drop. " So he continued to pound 
 away at it. The more he pounded the more 
 the coal cracked and the more alarmed I be- 
 came, I was afraid it would drop at any mo-
 
 60 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 ment and crush me. I begged of him t, / 
 pounding until I got into the entry out of the 
 way of danger. He tried to make me believe 
 there was no danger. I was hard to convince 
 of that fact. There I lay stretched out on my 
 side next to the coal, he driving in the wedges, 
 and the coal seeming to me to be ready to drop 
 at each stroke of the hammer. " Now listen, H 
 said he, " while I knock on the coal once more. 
 I listened. The sound was altogether different 
 from the first. " Now," said he, " the coal is 
 about ready to fall." It is necessary for the 
 miner to know this part of his business. It is 
 by the sound that he determines when.it is 
 ready to fall. If he is ignorant of this part of 
 his work, he would be in great danger of get- 
 ting killed from the coal falling unexpectedly. 
 " Well," said I, " if this coal is about ready to 
 drop, had I not better get out of here into the 
 entry, so that I may be out of danger? " " No, " 
 was his reply; " just crawl up behind that row 
 of props and remain in the ' gob ' until after the 
 coal falls." In obedience to his command I 
 cheerfully got up behind the props and em- 
 braced that pile of dirt. He struck the wedges 
 a few more blows and then darted behind the 
 props out of danger. No sooner had he got
 
 THE COAL MINES. 6 1 
 
 out of the way than the coal came thundering 
 down. " Now," said my'room-mate " go out 
 into the entry and bring in the buggy." " All 
 right." And out I went on my hands and 
 knees. I soon found my way into the entry, 
 but found no buggy; so back I crawled into 
 the room and reported. At this my instructor 
 crawled out to see what had become of that 
 singular vehicle known as a mining buggy. I 
 followed after. I did not want to remain be- 
 hind in that coal mine. I did not know what 
 might happen should I be left there in that dark 
 hole alone. After we had reached the entry 
 where we could stand erect my teacher pointed 
 to an object which lay close to our feet, and 
 said to me, " Man, where are your eyes? " 
 " In my head," I calmly replied. " Do you 
 see that thing there? " " Of course I see that 
 thing." "Well, that is the buggy." "In- 
 deed! " I exclaimed. " I am certainly glad to 
 know it, for I never would have taken that for 
 a buggy. " It had a pair of runners which 
 were held in their places by a board being 
 nailed across them. On this was a small box; 
 at one end there was a short iron handle. On 
 our knees we pushed the buggy into the room, 
 took up the hammer, broke up th$ goal into
 
 62 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 lumps we could handle, filled up the small 
 box, dragged it out into the entry and emp- 
 tied it into a heap. This is called " buggying '' 
 coal. It is the most laborious part of mining. 
 Whenever a new man would be placed with 
 the convicts for instructions in mining he 
 would have to buggy coal just as long as it 
 was possible to get him to do so. After a 
 time, however, he would want to take turn 
 about with his teacher. 
 
 After we had finished getting out what we 
 had down the noon hour had arrived. At cer- 
 tain places in the entries or roadways there are 
 large wooden doors which, when shut, close up 
 the entire passage. These doors are for the 
 regulations of the currents of air which pass 
 through the mines. The loud noise produced 
 by pounding on one of these doors was the sig- 
 nal for dinner. It was now noon. Bang, bang, 
 bang, bang, went the door. I had now put in 
 one-half day of my sentence in the mines. Oh! 
 the many long, dreary, monotonous days I 
 passed after that! At the call for dinner the 
 convict, always hungry, suddenly drops his 
 tools and makes his way at a rapid pace along 
 the entry until he comes to the place where the 
 division officer has his headquarters. Arriving
 
 THE COAL MINES. 63 
 
 at this place each convict takes his position in 
 aline with his fellow-convicts. All talking now 
 ceases. They sit on the ground while eating, 
 with their lower limbs crossed. There are no 
 soft cushioned chairs on which the tired prisoner 
 may rest his weary limbs. When seated, a 
 small piece of pine board, about a foot square, 
 is placed across his knees: This is the table. 
 No table cloth, no napkins, no table linen of any 
 kind. Such articles as these would paralyze a 
 convict! Thus seated in two rows along the 
 sides of the entry, with their mining lamps 
 lighted and hanging in their caps, they present 
 a weird and interesting sight. The dinner had 
 been brought down from the top about an hour 
 before on coal cars. Three of the prisoners 
 are now detailed to act as waiters. One passes 
 down between the two rows of convicts, carry- 
 ing in his hand a wooden pail filled with knives 
 and forks. These culinary instruments have 
 iron handles. Were they made of wood or 
 horn, the convicts would soon break off the 
 handles and make trinkets out of them. This 
 waiter, passing along, drops a knife and fork on 
 each table. He is followed by another who 
 drops down a piece of corn bread; then anothei 
 with a piece of meat for each man, which hi
 
 64 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 places on the pine board. There is no " Please 
 pass the meat," or " Hand over the bread." 
 Not a word is spoken. After the knives and 
 forks have been passed around this waiter 
 returns and gives each man a quart of water. 
 This is dinner. The bill of fare is regular, and 
 consists of cold water, corn bread and meat. 
 Occasionally we have dessert of cold cabbage, 
 or turnips or cracked corn. When we have 
 these luxuries they are given to us in rotation, 
 and a day always intervenes between cabbage 
 and turnips. In the coal mines the prisoner 
 never washes himself before eating. Although 
 he gets his hands and face as black as the coal 
 he has been digging, yet he does not take time 
 to wash himself before eating. Reader, how 
 would you like to dine in this condition ? The 
 old saying is, we must all eat our " peck of dirt. " 
 I think I have consumed at least two bushels 
 and a half! I can never forget my first meal 
 in the mines. I was hungry, it was true, but I 
 couldn't manage to eat under the circumstances. 
 I sat there on the ground, and in silence watched 
 the other prisoners eat. I thought, " You 
 hogs ! I can never get so hungry as to eat as 
 you are now eating." In this I was mistaken. 
 Before ten days had gone by I could eat along
 
 THE COAL MINES. 65 
 
 with any of them. The first day I thought I 
 would do without my dinner, and when supper 
 time came go to the top and enjoy a fine meal. 
 I imagined that after digging coal all day they 
 would surely give us a good meal in the even- 
 ing. My mouth " watered " for some quail on. 
 toast, or a nice piece of tenderloin, with a cup 
 of tea. Think of my surprise, when hoisted 
 to the top at the close of day, after marching 
 into the dining-room and taking our places at 
 the cable, when I saw all that was put before 
 the prisoners was a piece of bread, a cup of 
 tea without sugar or milk, and two tablespoon- 
 fuls of sorghum molasses. It did not require 
 a long time forme to dispose of the molasses, 
 as I was very hungry, and handed up my cup 
 for an additional supply; this was refused. It 
 is considered in the penitentiary an excess of 
 two tablespoonfuls of sorghum is unhealthy! 
 There is danger of its burning out the stomach! 
 So at each supper after that I had to get along 
 with two spoonfuls. As far as the tea was con- 
 cerned, it was made of some unknown material 
 whose aroma was unfamiliar to my olfactory; 
 the taste was likewise unfamiliar, and in conse- 
 quence of these peculiarities of the prison tea 
 I never imbibed of it but the one time, that 
 
 The Twin Hall* $
 
 66 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 being amply sufficient to last through the entire 
 period of my confinement. From that day on 
 I took cold water, which, after all, is God's 
 best beverage for the human race. The pen- 
 itentiary, so far as I know, is the only place in 
 the State of Kansas where prohibition actually 
 works prohibition as contemplated by the laws 
 of the State! There are no " joints" in the Pen. 
 No assistant attorney generals are necessary 
 to enforce prohibition there. I never saw a 
 drunken man in the prison. " The Striped 
 Temperance Society of Kansas " is a success. 
 For breakfast in the prison we have hash, 
 bread, and a tin cup of coffee, without sugar or 
 milk; no butter, no meat. The hash is made 
 of the pieces of bread and meat left over from 
 the preceding day. We had it every day in 
 the year for breakfast. During my entire 
 time in the prison I had nothing for breakfast 
 but hash. One day I was talking to an old 
 murderer who had been there for eighteen 
 years, and he told me he had eaten hash for 
 his breakfast during his entire term six thou- 
 sand five hundred and seventy days. I looked 
 at the old man and wondered to myself whether 
 he was a human being or a pile of hash, hal/ 
 concluding that he was the latter!
 
 THE OAL MINES. 67 
 
 In conversation with the chaplain of the 
 prison I received the following anecdote, which 
 I will relate for the benefit of my readers. It 
 is customary in the prison, after the Sunday 
 exercises, for such as desire to remain and 
 hold a sort of class meeting, or, as some call 
 it, experience meeting. In one of these, an 
 old colored man arose, and said: " Breddren, 
 ebber since Ize been in dis prison Ize been 
 tryin' to git de blessin'; Ize prayed God night 
 and day. Ize rascelled wid de Almighty 'till 
 my hips was sore, but Ize nebbergot it. Some 
 sez its la'k ob faith. Some itsla'kof strength, 
 but I bVeves de reason am on 'count ob de 
 quality ob dis hash we hab ebbery day!" 
 
 Accidents are occurring almost daily. 
 Scarcely a day passes but what some man 
 receives injuries. Often very severe accidents 
 happen, and occasionally those which prove 
 fatal. Many men are killed outright. These 
 accidents are caused by the roof of the little 
 room in which the miner works falling in upon 
 him, and the unexpected drop of coal. Of 
 course there are many things that contribute to 
 accidents, such as bad machinery, shafts, dirt 
 rolling down, landslides, etc. 
 
 One day there was a fellow-prisoner working
 
 68 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 in the room adjoining me; he complained to 
 the mining boss that he did not want to go into 
 that room to work because he thought it was 
 dangerous. The officer in charge thought 
 differently, and told him to go in there and go 
 to work or he would report him. The prisoner 
 hadn't been in the place more than a half hour 
 before the roof fell and buried him. It took 
 some little time to get him out. When the dirt 
 was removed, to all appearances he was dead. 
 He was carried to the hospital on a stretcher, 
 and the prison physician, Doctor Neeally, 
 examined him, and found that both arms were 
 broken in two places, his legs both broken, 
 and his ribs crushed. The doctor, who is a 
 very eminent and successful surgeon, resusci- 
 tated him, set his broken bones, and in a few 
 weeks what was thought to be a dead man, 
 was able to move about the prison enclosure, 
 although one of his limbs was shorter than the 
 other, and he was rendered a cripple for life. 
 
 On another occasion a convict was stand- 
 ing at the base of the shaft. The plumb-bob, 
 a piece of lead about the size of a goose egg, 
 accidentally fell from the top of the shaft, a 
 distance of eight hundred feet, and, striking
 
 THE COAL MINES. 69 
 
 this colored man on the head, it mashed his 
 skull, and bespattered the walls with his brains. 
 
 I had three narrow escapes from death. One 
 day I lay in my little room resting, and after 
 spending some time stretched out upon the 
 ground, I started off to another part of my 
 room to go to work, when all of a sudden the 
 roof fell in, and dropped down just where I had 
 been lying. Had I remained a minute longer 
 in that place, I would have been killed. As it 
 happened, the falling dtbris just struck my shoe 
 as I was crawling out from the place where the 
 material fell. 
 
 At another time I had my room mined out 
 and was preparing to take down the coal. I 
 set my v/edges in a certain place above the 
 vein of coal and began to strike with my sledge 
 hammer, when I received a presentiment to re- 
 move my wedges from that place to another. 
 Now I would not have the reader believe that 
 I was in any manner superstitious, but I was so 
 influenced by that presentiment that I withdrew 
 my wedges and set them in another place; 
 then I proceeded to strike them a second time 
 with the sledge hammer, when, unexpectedly, 
 the vain broke and the coal fell just opposite 
 to where my head was resting, and came within
 
 7O THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 an inch of striking it. Had I remained in the 
 place where I first set my wedges, the coal 
 would have fallen upon me; it had been held 
 in its place by a piece of sulphur, and when it 
 broke, it came down without giving me any 
 warning. 
 
 On still another occasion, my mining boss 
 came to my room and directed me to go around 
 to another part of the mine and assist two 
 prisoners who were behind with their work. I 
 obeyed. I hadn't been out of my room more 
 than about half an hour when there occured a 
 land-slide in it, which filled the room entirely 
 full of rock, slate and coal. It required several 
 men some two weeks to remove the amount of 
 debris that had fallen on that occasion. Had 
 I been in there, death would have been cer- 
 tain at that time. 
 
 Gentle reader, let me assure you, that al- 
 though some persons misunderstanding me, 
 assert that I am without belief in anything, yet 
 I desire to say, when reflecting upon these 
 providential deliverances, that I believe in the 
 Eternal Will that guides, directs, controls and 
 protects the children of men. While many of 
 my fellow-prisoners were maimed for life and 
 some killed outright, I walked through that
 
 THE COAL MINES. 7 1 
 
 valley and shadow of death without even a hair 
 of my head being injured. Why was this? My 
 answer is the following: Over in the State of 
 Iowa, among the verdant hills of that beautiful 
 commonwealth, watching the shadows as they 
 longer grow, hair whitened with the frosts of 
 many seasons, heart as pure as an angel's, re- 
 sides my dear old mother. I received a letter 
 from her one day, and among other things was 
 the following: 
 
 " I love you now in your hour of humilia- 
 tion and disgrace as I did when you were a 
 prattling babe upon my knee. * * * 
 " I would also have you remember that every 
 night before I retire to rest, kneeling at my 
 bedside, I ask God to take care of and watch 
 over my boy." 
 
 Of the nine hundred convicts in the peni- 
 tentiary not one of their mothers ever forgot or 
 deserted them. A mother's prayers always fol- 
 low her prodigal children. Go, gather the 
 brightest and purest flowers that bend and 
 wave in the winds of heaven, the roses and 
 lilies, the green vine and immortelles, wreathe 
 them in a garland, and with this crown the brow 
 of the truest of all earthly friends Mother! 
 Another reason I. give for my safe keeping in
 
 72 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 that hour of darkness and despair : In the city 
 of Atchison, on a bed of pain and anguish, Wy 
 my true, devoted and dying wife. Every Sun- 
 day morning regularly would I receive a letter 
 dictated by her. Oh! the tender, loving words! 
 " Every day," said she, " I pray that God will 
 preserve your life while working in the jaws of 
 death. " The true and noble wife, the helpmeet 
 of man, clings to him in the hour of misfortune 
 and calamity as the vine clings to the tree when 
 prostrate on the ground. No disgrace can 
 come so shameful that it will cause the true 
 wife to forsake. She will no more forsake 
 than the true soldier will desert on the battle- 
 field. For those imps in human form that en- 
 deavor to detract from the honor belonging to 
 the wives of the country there ought to be no 
 commisseration whatever. Let us honor the 
 wifehood of our native land. It is the foun- 
 tain of all truth and righteousness, and if the 
 fountainshouldbecomeimpure, allislost. One 
 more reason: Before I was sent to the prison I 
 was an evangelist, and was instrumental in the 
 hands of God of persuading hundreds of peo- 
 ple to abandon a wicked life and seek the good. 
 During my imprisonment I received many let- 
 ters from these men and women who had been
 
 THE COAI MINES. J y 
 
 fc /nefited on account of what I had said to 
 them, and they informed me that they still re- 
 tained confidence in me and were praying God 
 for my deliverence. 
 
 Now, I believe, in answer to a mother's 
 pi dyers, in answer to the prayers of my sainted 
 wife, in answer to the prayers of good men 
 and women, who were converts to " the faith 
 once delivered to the saints " under my earnest 
 endeavors in answer to all these prayers, 
 God lent a listening ear and preserved me from 
 all harm and danger. 
 
 PATHETIC OCCURRENCES IN THE MINES. 
 
 It is a great consolation for prisoners tc 
 receive letters from their friends. One day a 
 convict working in the next room to me inquired 
 if I would like to see a letter. I replied I would. 
 He had just received one from his wife, This 
 prisoner was working out a sentence of five 
 years. He had been in the mines some two 
 years. At home, he had a wife and five chil- 
 dren. They were in destitute circumstances. 
 In this letter his wi fe informed him that she had 
 been taking in washing for the support of her- 
 self and children, and that at times they had to 
 retire early because they had no fuel to keep
 
 74 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 them warm. Also, that, on several occasions, 
 she had been compelled to put the children to 
 bed without supper. But this noble woman 
 stated to her husband that their lot was not so 
 bad as his. She encouraged him to bear up 
 under his burdens, and that the time would 
 soon come when his sentence would expire and 
 he would be permitted to return home again, 
 and that the future would be bright once more 
 as it had been before the unfortunate circum- 
 stances that led to his imprisonment. It was 
 a good letter, written by a noble woman. A 
 couple of days after this, as I was mining, I 
 heard a voice in the adjoining room. I listened. 
 At first I thought it was the mining boss, but 
 I soon discovered I was mistaken. Listening 
 again I came to the conclusion that the con- 
 vict who was working in the next room was 
 becoming insane, a frequent occurrence in the 
 mines. Many of the poor convicts being un- 
 able to stand the strain of years and the phys 
 ical toil, languish and die in the insane ward. 
 To satisfy my curiosity, I took my mining 
 lamp from my cap, placed it on the ground, 
 covered it up as best I could with some pieces 
 of slate, and then crawled up in the darkness 
 near where he was. I never saw such a sight
 
 THE COAL MINES. 75 
 
 as was now presented to me. This broad- 
 shouldered convict on his knees, with his frame 
 bent over, his face almost touching the floor 
 of the room, was praying for his wife and chil- 
 dren. Such a prayer I never heard before, 
 nor do I expect to hear again. His petition 
 was something like the following: 
 
 " Oh, Heavenly Father, I am myself a 
 wicked, desperate man. I do not deserve 
 any love or protection for my own sake. I 
 do not expect it, but for the sake of Jesus do 
 have mercy on my poor wife and helpless chil- 
 dren." 
 
 I have been able, many times in my life, to 
 spend an hour or more in the prayer circle, 
 and, unmoved, could listen to the prayers of 
 the children of God. But I could not remain 
 there in the darkness and listen to such a 
 prayer as that going forth from the lips of 
 that poor convict; so I glided back through 
 the darkness into my own room, and left him 
 there alone, pleading with his Creator for his 
 lone and helpless ones at home. 
 
 Reader, did God listen to the wails of that 
 poor heart-ataicken prisoner? Yes! yes! yes! 
 For though a prodigal, sinful child, yet he is 
 still a child of the universal Father. Who of
 
 76 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 us dare excommunicate him? What frail mor- 
 tal of passing time would dare lift up his hand 
 and say, this poor wanderer is forgotten of his 
 God? 
 
 What a glorious privilege is communion 
 with God. What a sweet consolation to know 
 God hears, though we may be far removed 
 from the dear ones we love. And who can tell 
 the glorious things that have been wrought by 
 th* wonderful Father of the race by that strong 
 lever of prayer. How often has the rough 
 ways of life been made smooth. How often 
 do we fail to credit the same to the kind inter- 
 cession of friends with the Father of us all. 
 
 But to continue, it often happens that in the 
 coal mines, persons, no longer able to sustain 
 the heavy load that is placed upon them of re- 
 maining in prison for a long time, give way, and 
 they become raving maniacs. One day a pris- 
 oner left his room, and crawling out on his 
 hands and knees into the entry, sat down on a 
 pile of coal and commenced to sing. He had 
 a melodious voice, and these were the words, 
 the first stanza of that beautiful hymn: 
 
 " Jesus, lover of my soul, 
 Let roe to Thy bosam fly." 
 
 After he had completed the first stanza two of
 
 THE COAL MINES. // 
 
 the officer* came to him and directed him to go 
 back into the room to work. He replied that 
 he did not have to work; that he had religion, 
 and that when a man had religion he did not 
 have to work. Said he, " We are now going 
 to have a prayer meeting, and " addressing one 
 of the officers, " you you will please lead us in 
 prayer." The officer replied, " I don't pray in 
 coal mines; I pray above the surface so that 
 God can hear." At this the insane convict 
 picked up a large piece of Coal and was going 
 to hurl it after him, and threatened that if he 
 did not get on his knees and go to praying he 
 would compel him to do so. While he was 
 thus addressing one officer the other slipped 
 around in his rear and striking his arm knocked 
 the piece of coal out of his hand. Then the 
 officers seized him, one on each side, and forced 
 him to go with them down the road ways to the 
 shaft, from whence he was taken to the top 
 and placed in the insane ward, where he remains 
 at this writing. As he was passing down the 
 entries, away in the distance we heard him 
 singing 
 
 " Other refuge have I none, 
 Haagf my helpless soul on Thee. 
 
 Leave, oh leave me not alone, 
 Still support and comfort me."
 
 78 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 I ean never forget the impression made 
 upon me as those words rang down through 
 the dark passages, coming from the lips of that 
 insane convict as they led him away from the 
 confinement of the mines to the confinement 
 of insanity. How true those beautiful words 
 were in his case! 
 
 THE COAL MINES A COLLEGE OF INFAMY. 
 
 The mines of this penal institution are a 
 college for the education and graduation of 
 hardened criminals, and for illustration, and the 
 instruction of those not familiar with the sub- 
 ject matter referred to, I will relate what came 
 under my personal observation, and some things 
 that I heard while in there. One day, in com- 
 pany with me while engaged in mining, were 
 two other convicts. One of these was a hard- 
 ened old crook. He was serving out a term on 
 the charge of making and passing counterfeit 
 money. The other fellow-convict was a young 
 man seventeen years of age a mere boy. 
 Tired of mining, we laid off awhile, resting. 
 During this time the old convict gave us in- 
 structions in the manner of making counterfeit 
 money. He told us how he would construct 
 his counterfeit molds out of plaster paris,
 
 THE COAL MINES. 79 
 
 which he would use in the same manner that 
 bullet molds are used. He would purchase 
 some britannica metal. On some dark night he 
 would go into the forest, build up a fire, melt 
 the metal, pour the melted liquor into the 
 molds, and in this manner make silver dollars. 
 He informed us that it didn't take very long to 
 make a hatful of money. A few days there- 
 after this young man, who was with us in the 
 room at the time, informed me that when he 
 went out again into the world, if he was unable 
 to secure work, he would try his hand at mak- 
 ingcounterfeit money. I advised him not to do 
 this, as it was almost a certainty that he would 
 be detected. He thought differently. About 
 a month thereafter he was released from the 
 prison. He went out into the world, and, un- 
 able to obtain work, did try his hand at making 
 counterfeit money. Shortly before my time 
 expired here came this young man to prison 
 again, with a sentence of three years at hard 
 labor for making and passing counterfeit 
 money. He had received his criminal instrud 
 tion in the penitentiary mines, the result of 
 which will be that he will spend the greater 
 portion of his life a convict. 
 
 There are a great many instances where
 
 80 THB TWIN HELLS. 
 
 these young convicts, having received their 
 education in the coal mines, go into the world 
 to become hardened criminals. Down in this 
 school of crime, in the midst of the darkness, 
 they learn how to make burglary tools, to 
 crack safes, and to become expert as pick- 
 pockets; they take lessons in confidence games, 
 and when their time expires they are prepared 
 for a successful career of crime. It is utterly 
 impossible for the officers of the coal mines 
 to prevent these men from conversing with 
 each other. If these mines were sold, and 
 the money obtained from the sale of them 
 was used in building workhouses on the sur- 
 face, and these men placed at work there 
 under the watchful care of the official, they 
 would then be unable to communicate with 
 each other, and would be saved from the de- 
 basing contamination of the hardened crimi- 
 nals. They would be saved from all this that 
 degrades and makes heartless wretches. 
 
 A scene occurred in the mines one day that 
 illustrates the fact that judges sometimes, in 
 their anxiety to enforce the laws, overstep the 
 bounds ofjustice, and inflict excessive punish- 
 ment and place burdens upon human beings 
 which they are unable to bear. One afternoon
 
 THE COAL MINES. S I 
 
 in the city of Emporia ten tramps \vere ar- 
 rested and thrown into the county jail. During 
 the succeeding night one of these persons 
 thrust a poker into the stove, and heating it red 
 hot, made an effort to push the hot iron through 
 the door, thus burning a large hole in the door- 
 casing. The next morning the sheriff, entering 
 the jail, perceiving what this vagrant had done, 
 was displeased, and tried to ascertain which one 
 of the ten was guilty of the offense. The 
 comrades of the guilty party refused to disclose 
 the perpetrator of the act. Court was then in 
 session. The sheriff had these ten fellows 
 brought into court, hoping that when placed 
 upon the witness stand, under oath, they would 
 tell which had committed the offense. Even in 
 court they were true to each other, and would 
 not reveal the perpetrator. They were then all 
 convicted, and the judge passed a sentence of 
 ten years upon each of these vagrants for that 
 trivial offense. They came to the penitentiary. 
 The day after their arrival they were all sent 
 to the coal mines. For two years they worked 
 day after day down in the Kansas bastile. 
 One morning, after they had been in the mines 
 for two years, one of the number, at the break- 
 fast table in the dintng*ret>m, unpereeiwd se-
 
 82 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 creted a knife in his clothing and carried it with 
 him down to his place of work. He wentinto 
 his little room and began the labors of the day. 
 After toiling for a few hours he took a stone 
 and sharpened his knife the best he possibly 
 could, then stepped out into the entry where 
 he could stand erect, and with his head thrown 
 back drew that knife across his throat, cutting 
 it from ear to ear, thus terminating his life, 
 preferring death to longer remaining in the 
 mines of the Kansas Hell! Who is there that 
 is not convinced of the fact that the blood of 
 this suicide stains the garments of the judge 
 who placed this unbearable burden often years 
 upon this young man, and who, I subsequently 
 learned, was innocent of the offense. I would 
 advisethe good people of Lyons County, and of 
 Emporia particularly, after they have perused 
 this book, if they come to the conclusion that 
 they have no better material out of which to 
 construct a district judge, to go out on the 
 frontier and lassoo a wild Comanche Indian 
 and bring him to Emporia and place him upon 
 the ermincd bench. I do not even know the 
 name of this judge, but I believe, if I am cor- 
 rectly informed in this case, that his judgment 
 is deficient somewhere. But I must say in this
 
 THE COAL MINES. 83 
 
 connection, when the good people of Lyons 
 County heard of this suicide, they immediately 
 thereafter petitioned the Board of Pardons for 
 the release of these prisoners, and the board 
 at onoe reported favorably upon their cases t 
 and Governor Martin promptly granted their 
 pardons and they were released from the 
 prison. If the pardon had not been granted, 
 others of them had resolved upon taking their 
 lives as did their comrade. One of these 
 prisoners was for a time a companion of mine 
 in one of my mining rooms, and told me if he 
 was required to remain in the coal mines 
 ^gg m g coa l another three months he had 
 made up his mind to follow the example of his 
 comrade, preferring death to the horrors of 
 the mines. 
 
 For the further information of the reader, 
 as to the dread of the prisoners of work in the 
 mines, I cite the following which I call to recol- 
 lection. The gentlemanly physician of the in- 
 stitution, Dr. Neeally, told me that at four dif- 
 ferent times men had feigned death in the mines 
 and had been carried on stretchers to the hos- 
 pital; the particulars in one case is as follows: 
 One of these men feigned death and was carried 
 to the hospital, and was reported by his com-
 
 84 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 rades to be dead. He had suppressed his 
 breathing. The physician felt his pulse, and 
 finding it regular, of course knew he was 
 simply endeavoring to deceive. In order to ex- 
 periment, the physician coincided with the 
 statements of the attending convicts who had 
 carried him from the mines, and announced 
 that he would try electricity, and if he failed to 
 restore him to life he would then have to bury 
 him in the regular way. The doctor retired 
 for the purpose of getting his electrical appa- 
 ratus. In a few moments he returned, bringing 
 it with him, and placing the magnetic cups, one 
 in each hand, commenced generating the. elec- 
 tricity by turning the generator attached to the 
 machine. After a few turns of the crank the 
 prisoner opened his eyes; one or two more and 
 he sat up; a few more and he stood on his 
 feet; another turn or two and he commenced 
 dancing around, and exclaimed, " For God's 
 sake, doctor, do quit, for I ain't dead, but I can't 
 let loose! " Reader, what do you suppose was 
 the object this convict had in view in thus 
 feigning death? What did he hope to gain 
 thereby? Being well acquainted with this 
 prisoner, a few days after the doctor had told 
 me of the circumstances I met him, and asked
 
 THE COAL MINES. 85 
 
 him what object he had in feigning death the 
 time that he was taken from the mines to the 
 hospital? His reply was that he hadn't the 
 nerve to take his own life, as he believed in a 
 future state of punishment, and that he did not 
 desire to step from the Kansas Hell to the 
 hell of the future, and that by feigning death 
 he hoped to be taken to the hospital, placed 
 in a coffin, then taken out to the prison grave- 
 yard, and buried alive, so that he would suffo- 
 cate in his grave! 
 
 There is not a man in those mines but 
 would leave them quickly for a place on the 
 surface. 
 
 I now call to mind one instance where a 
 heart-broken father came to the prison and 
 offered one of the leading prison officials one 
 thousand dollars if he would take his son out 
 of the coal mines and give him a place on the 
 surface during the remainder of his term. A 
 man who labors in these mines simply spends 
 his time, not knowing but the next hour will 
 be his last. 
 
 As I have stated heretofore the prisoners 
 are allowed to converse in the mines, and as a 
 result of this almost n&cessary rule, every con- 
 vict has an opportunity to listen to the vilest
 
 86 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 obscenity that ever falls upon human ears. 
 At times, when some of these convicts, who 
 seem veritable encyclopedias of wickedness, are 
 crowded together, the ribald jokes, obscenity 
 and blasphemy are too horrible for description. 
 It is a pandemonium a miniature hell! But 
 worse than this horrible flow of language are 
 the horrible and revolting practices of the 
 mines. Men, degraded to a plane lower than 
 the brutes, are guilty of the unmentionable 
 crimes referred to by the Apostle Paul in his 
 letter to the Romans, chapter I, verse 27, which 
 is as follows: " And likewise also the men, 
 leaving the natural use of the woman, burned 
 in their lusts one toward another, men with men, 
 working that which is unseemly, and receiving 
 in themselves that recompense of their error 
 which was meet." Every opportunity is here 
 offered for this vile practice. They are far 
 removed from the light and even from the influ- 
 ences of their officers, and in the darkness and 
 silence old and hardened criminals debase and 
 mistreat themselves and sometimes the younger 
 ones that are associated with them in their 
 work. These cases of self-abuse and sodomy 
 are of daily occurrence, and, although the offi- 
 cials of the prison take every precaution to pre-
 
 THE COAL MINES. 8/ 
 
 vent such evil practices, yet, as a matter of fact, 
 so long as prisoners are permitted to work in 
 the mines it will be impossible to break up these 
 terribly degrading and debasing practices. 
 Oh, Kansan! you that boast of the freedom 
 and liberty, the strength of your laws, and the 
 institutions in your grand young State, what 
 do you think of this disclosure of wickedness, 
 equalling if not excelling the most horrible 
 things ever pictured by the divine teachers of 
 humanity, the apostles and their followers? 
 A hint is only here given, but to the wise it will 
 be sufficient, and but a slight exercise of the 
 imaginative powers will be necessary to unfold 
 to you the full meaning of this terrible state 
 of affairs. 
 
 It is believed by the writer that if the peo- 
 ple of the State of Kansas knew under what 
 circumstances men in the prison were com- 
 pelled to work, there would be a general indig- 
 nation, which would soon be expressed through 
 the proper channels, and which might lead to a 
 proper solution of the difficulty. 
 
 In many of the rooms of the mines there are 
 large pools of water which accumulate there 
 from dripping down from the crevices above ; 
 this, taken in connection with the natural
 
 88 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 damps of the mines, which increases the water, 
 makes very large pools, and in these mud- 
 holes convicts are compelled to work and wal- 
 low about all day long while getting out their 
 coal, more like swine than anything else. How 
 can this be in the line of reformation, which, 
 we are taught to believe outside of the prison 
 walls, is the principal effort of all discipline 
 within the prison. The result of work under 
 such unfavorable circumstances is that many 
 of the convicts contract rheumatism, neuralgia, 
 pneumonia and other lung troubles, and, ol 
 course, malaria. Many persons that enter 
 these mines in good health come out physical 
 wrecks, often to find homes in the poor-houses 
 of the land when their prison days are over, 
 or die before their terms expire. In the judg- 
 ment of the writer the coal mines should be 
 told ; until that is done, prisoners who con- 
 tract diseases there that will carry them to un- 
 timely graves should be pensioned by the 
 State, and thus kept from spending the rest of 
 their natural lives in some of the country poor- 
 houses. 
 
 Each person in the mines is assigned a task; 
 he is required to get out a certain amount of 
 coal each week. In case the convict fails to
 
 THE COAL MINES. 89 
 
 mine the task that has been assigned him he 
 must endure punishment, a description o* 
 which will be given later on. It is the opinion 
 of the author that something should be done 
 to remedy this. The young men from seven- 
 teen to twenty, together with the old men 
 from fifty to sixty, and those suffering from 
 diseases, are often required to dig as much 
 coal as middle-aged and able-bodied men. I 
 have seen old men marching to their cells after 
 a hard day's work scarcely able to walk, and 
 many times have I laid in the mines along 
 with these young boys who would spend hours 
 crying like whipped children for fear they 
 would be unable to get out their regular task 
 of coal, and would therefore have to spend 
 the Sabbath in the dungeon, suffering unspeak. 
 able anguish. 
 
 Because of the dangers to which the inmate 
 is exposed; because of the debasing influences 
 by which lie is surrounded, it is wrong, it is 
 wicked to work our criminals in such a place 
 as those mines of the Kansas penitentiary.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 fHE PUNISHMENTS OF THE PRISON. 
 
 TrfE discipline of this institution is of the 
 very highest character, and is unequaled in 
 any similar institution of the United States. 
 The officers are very watchful and strict. The 
 inmates who work on the surface are not per- 
 mitted to converse with each other only within 
 the hearing of an officer, and then only with re- 
 gard to matters that pertain to work. The con- 
 vict attends to his duties, observing the strictest 
 silence. When visitors pass about the prison 
 the inmate is not permitted to lift uphis head to 
 gaze at them. Not even is he permitted to take 
 a drink of water or to leave his place of work 
 for anything without the permission of the offi- 
 cer in charge. As soon as a criminal enters the 
 prison and is clothed in stripes, a copy of the 
 rules and regulations is placed in his hands for 
 perusal. If he cannot read, an officer reads 
 them to him. On the first day of his admission 
 the prisoner receives certain tickets, which are 
 permits for privileges granted to him. One of 
 these tickets allows him to have tobacco if he
 
 PUNISHMENTS OF THE PRISON. 91 
 
 used the same before coming to the penitentiary; 
 one allows him to receive visits from his friends; 
 another to write a letter, monthly, to his rela- 
 tives; and still another gives him the privilege 
 to draw a book from the library, weekly. 
 These privileges are highly appreciated by the 
 prisoners. For the first offense in violation of 
 any of the rules and regulations the refractory 
 prisoner is deprived of his ticket ; and in 
 extreme cases these tickets have been kept 
 from the prisoner for six months. To deprive 
 the convict of his tobacco for a month or two, 
 if he uses it, and many do, is a severe punish- 
 ment. This kind of punishment is usually 
 effectual in securing good discipline. There 
 are extreme cases, however, that require 
 severer punishment. To meet this contin- 
 gency, dungeons are provided. As their 
 name implies, they are dark. They resemble 
 an ordinary cell with the exception of the 
 door, which, in the common cell, contains 
 open spaces for the admission of light ; but the 
 dark cell admits neither light nor a sufficient 
 quantity of air. There is no furniture in this 
 dark cell. While undergoing punishment, if a 
 prisoner desires to rest, he can do so by reclin- 
 ing on the stone floor. No refractory prisoned
 
 92 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 evar grows corpulent while confined in these 
 dark cells, as he only receives one meal of 
 breao. and water in twenty-four hours ! The 
 prisoner is often kept in these cells from eight 
 to ten days. Sleep is almost impossible. 
 When a prisoner enters the dungeon he is 
 required to leave behind him his coat, cap and 
 shoes. During the winter months it is often 
 very cold in these cells, requiring the prisoner 
 to walk up and down the dungeon in his stock- 
 ing feet to prevent his freezing, and this for a 
 period of ten days, in nearly every instance 
 compels submission. After the dark cells thaw 
 out, during the summer months, they are ex- 
 cessively hot. Sometimes in winter the tem- 
 perature is below zero, and in summer it often 
 rises to one hundred degrees. They are then 
 veritable furnaces. Generally, after the pris- 
 oner undergoes the freezing or baking process 
 for eight or ten days, he is willing to behave 
 himself in the future. They are sometimes so 
 reduced and weak when brought out of the dark 
 cell that they can scarcely walk without aid. I 
 have seen them reel to and fro like drunken 
 men. They are often as pale as death. That 
 in many cases the prisoner contracts cold whieh 
 later on terminates fatally, is one of the princi-
 
 PUNISHMENTS OF THE PRISON. 93 
 
 pal objections to this mode of punishment. 
 There is no doubt that the dark cells of the 
 Kansas Hell have hastened the death of many 
 a poor, friendless convict. If a person in the 
 mines does not get out his regular weekly task 
 of coal, on Saturday night he is reported to 
 the deputy warden by the officer in charge, and 
 is sent to the blind cell before supper, and is 
 kept there until the following Monday morn- 
 ing, when he is taken out and sent to his work 
 in the mines. While in there he gets only 
 bread and water once in twenty-four hours. 
 This is a great inducement to work ; it cer- 
 tainly prevents criminals from shirking their 
 labor, and soon converts a lazy tramp into a 
 rustling coal miner. There is one thing, how- 
 ever, that is connected with this system of 
 punishment that I will criticise. The officer 
 under whose immediate control the prisoner is 
 placed fixes the period of his confinement 
 in the dungeon. It gives the officer a good 
 opportunity to abuse a prisoner he may dis- 
 like. These subordinate officers are not all 
 angels. Some of them are lacking in sym- 
 pathy. They have become hardened, and fre- 
 quently treat their men like beasts. These 
 persons should not possess such a dangerous
 
 94 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 power. The warden or deputy warden should 
 decide the character as well as the period of 
 punishment. 
 
 If in this dark cell ten days and nights is in- 
 sufficient to subdue the rebellious spirit of the 
 convict, he is taken out and placed in the soli- 
 tary cell. This is similar to the ordinary cell, 
 with the exception that it contains no furni- 
 ture. Here the convict remains on bread and 
 water until he is starved almost to death, or 
 until he is willing to submit and do his work 
 as ordered. 
 
 Another mode of punishment resorted to 
 in a few cases, is even more brutal than the 
 dark cell. The obdurate prisoner is stripped 
 naked and tied to a post. The hose which is 
 connected with the water-works is turned 
 upon his naked body. The water pressure is 
 sixty pounds to the square inch. As the water 
 strikes the nude body the suffering is intense. 
 This mode of punishment is but rarely resorted 
 to. It is exceedingly wicked and barbarous. 
 It is a shame to treat a human being in such a 
 manner. There are many hardened criminals 
 and desperate characters in the penitentiary, 
 and it may sometimes be necessary to resort 
 to extreme measures, but there have been
 
 PUNISHMENTS OF THE PRISON. 95 
 
 many instances when, as it seemed to me, 
 these excessive punishments might have been 
 avoided and still the good discipline of the 
 prison maintained. " Blessed are the merci- 
 ful, for they shall obtain mercy." But 
 the author would have you recollect that 
 the punishments of the Kansas peniten- 
 tiary are not as severe as the discipline in 
 her sister institutions. Many of the inmates of 
 this prison who have formerly served terms in 
 others of like character, have shown him the 
 scars and marks of brutal punishment. One of 
 these poor unfortunates showed me his back, 
 which is covered with great furrows in the 
 flesh caused by the cat-o'-nine-tails in the hands 
 of a merciless official of the Missouri peniten- 
 tiary. Another prisoner carries thumbs out 
 of joint and|stiffened by the inhuman practice of 
 hanging up by the thumbs in vogue in a former 
 place of imprisonment, and still another carries 
 about with him ugly wounds inflicted by blood- 
 hounds which overtook him when trying to 
 escape from a Southern prison. 
 
 The foregoing is a view of the punishments 
 inflicted from a prisoner's standpoint. That 
 the reader may arrive at just conclusions, I 
 quote the statements on the same subject made
 
 96 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 by the warden, Captain Smith, in his able bien- 
 nial report of last year. In doing so, I beg 
 leave to state that the convict who had ever 
 been the object of the prison discipline, or who 
 had spent his ten days and nights in one of 
 those dismal dungeons, subsisting on bread and 
 water, would readily say that the warden had 
 treated the subject in a manner " very mild." 
 " The discipline has been carefully looked 
 after, and as a general thing prisoners yield to 
 strict discipline quicker than most people think. 
 They seem to see and realize the necessity of 
 rules, and veryseldom complain, if they violate 
 them, at the punishment that is sure to follow. 
 Our punishments are of such a character that 
 they do not degrade. Kansas, when she estab- 
 lished her penitentiary, prohibited corporal 
 punishment. She is one of the few States that 
 by law prohibits the use of the whip and strap; 
 taking the position that it is better to use kind- 
 ness than to resort to brutal measures. I have 
 often been told, and that, too, by oldprisonmen, 
 that it was impossible to run a prison and have 
 first-class discipline without the whip. Such is 
 not my experience. W hav* had within our 
 walls perhaps as dtftpcratt men as ever re- 
 ceived a sentence. We have controlled them,
 
 PUNISHMENTS OF THE PRISON. 9y 
 
 andhave maintained a discipline second to non& 
 in the country. How did we accomplish this? 
 Our answer is, bybeingkind but firm; treating 
 a man, although he may be a prisoner, as a 
 man. If he violates rules, lock him up. Give 
 him an opportunity to commune with himself 
 and his Maker; also give him to understand 
 that he is the executioner of his own sentence, 
 and when he concludes that he can do right, 
 release him. It matters not how vicious, how 
 stubborn, or what kind of a temper he may 
 have, when left with no one to talk to, and an 
 opportunity to cool down, and with a knowl- 
 edge that when he comes to the conclusion that 
 he will do better he can be released, he leaves 
 the cell feeling much different than the prisoner 
 who leaves the whipping-post, after having 
 received any number of lashes that a brutal 
 officer may desire to inflict. One goes to his 
 work cheerful, and determined to behave him- 
 self; the other dogged, revengeful, completely 
 humiliated, and only lives in hope that he may 
 at some time take his revenge upon the per- 
 son that ordered or inflicted the punishment, 
 and upon the State or country that would, 
 by its laws, tolerate such a brutal or slavish 
 practice. " 
 
 Tha Twin Hell. 7
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 SUNDAY IN THE PRISON. 
 
 A PRISONER is always thankful for the Sab- 
 bath. He has been working hard all week, 
 and Sunday affords the opportunity of resting. 
 On the Sabbath morning, the bell for rising 
 rings at eight o'clock. At its ringing each 
 person must rise and dress; he is not permitted 
 to do so before it rings. If he gets tired of 
 remaining in his bunk so late as eight o'clock, 
 and should wish to get up and dress, it would 
 do him no good; it would be a violation of 
 rules and result in punishment. After the pris- 
 oner is up and dressed, he washes and marches 
 out in ranks to breakfast. It is hash, hash, 
 hash, for Sunday breakfast, the same as any 
 other day, except once a month it is codfish 
 hash instead of beef hash. After breakfast, 
 instead of going from the dining-room to work, 
 the prisoners are marched back into their 
 cells where they remain until time for chapel 
 exercises. 
 
 There is a dining-room for the prisoners and 
 another for the officers. The room where the
 
 SUNDAY IN THE PRISON. 99 
 
 prisoners dine is a large hall capable of seat- 
 ing fully twelve hundred men. Each table is 
 long enough to accommodate twenty men, and 
 resembles an ordinary school-desk. There are 
 no table-cloths or napkins; nothing but a plain, 
 clean board. The table furniture consists of a 
 tin quart cup, a small pan of the same precious 
 metal, which holds the hash, an iron knife, 
 fork and spoon. No beautiful silverware 
 adorns this table; on the contrary, all the din- 
 ing service is very plain and cheap. The con- 
 victs are marched into the dining-room in 
 divisions, and seated at the table. Here they 
 remain in perfect silence, with their heads 
 bowed. 
 
 No talking or gazing about the dining-room 
 is permitted. After all the divisions are in and 
 seated, the deputy warden taps a small bell, 
 and the convicts begin the work of " conceal- 
 ing the hash." Before the men enter the din- 
 ing-room the coffee, bread and hash are placed 
 on the table for each man. The prisoners are 
 given all the food they can eat. It is not the 
 quantity, but the quality, that is objectionable. 
 
 If more bread is wanted, instead of calling 
 out " Please pass the bread," the convict holds 
 up his hand, and the waiter comes along and
 
 IOO THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 puts a piece of bread in it. He gets but a 
 pint of coffee, and if he wishes a second sup- 
 ply he holds up his cup and it is refilled but 
 with water instead of coffee. If he wishes 
 more hash he holds aloft his meat dish, and an 
 officer hands him a large pan of hash, out of 
 which he fills his dish. Not a word is spoken 
 during the meal. Ample time is given the 
 convicts to get all the food they desire; then 
 the deputy warden, who occupies a raised seat 
 ait the end of the dining-room, taps a small bell, 
 atnd the men march out in divisions, back to 
 their cells on Sunday mornings, and to their 
 work on week days. 
 
 Breakfast over, and the men in their cells, 
 the choir, which leads the singing and furnishes 
 the instrumental music for the occasion, is taken 
 out, and, under the watchful care of an officer, is 
 conducted to the chapel where they practice 
 until time for the regular services. The choir 
 was composed of convicts who could sing, 
 regardless of the crimes for which they were 
 sent to prison. I recollect atone time we had 
 two horse-thieves, two rapists one with a 
 sentence of forty years three murderers, two 
 hog-thieves, and several others of equally vil- 
 lainous records, and, last of all, the author. 1
 
 SUNDAY IN THE PRISON IOI 
 
 But this choir will compare favorably with 
 some of the high-toned church choirs outside! 
 To return, think of such a choir singing: 
 
 " Oh, how happy are they, 
 
 Who their Saviour obey, 
 
 And have laid up their treasures above ! " 
 
 At eleven o'clock, the prison bell rings, and 
 the men are marched in ranks to the chapel. 
 When the first division or company reaches 
 the room where the services are to be held, 
 the string band commences to play, and as the 
 divisions march in one after another they are 
 greeted with music. The instruments used are 
 a piano, organ, violin, cornet and bass viol. 
 Very fine music is rendered by the prison 
 band. All being seated, the chaplain, the Rev. 
 Dr. Crawford, a genuine Christian and God- 
 fearing man, rises, and in his happy style reads 
 some beautiful hymn which is familiar to the 
 congregation. The choir leads and the entire 
 congregation sings. Such singing! The con- 
 victs have only one opportunity a week to try 
 their voices in a musical way, and when that 
 opportunity comes around it is improved. 
 Nearly one thousand voices unite in singing those 
 beautiful gospel hymns! A prayer is offered; 
 moresinging; then the chaplain, or some visiting
 
 102 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 minister who may be present, preaches a short 
 discourse. There is a large field for usefulness, 
 and for doing good, in the penitentiary. The 
 harvest is truly great. Chaplain Crawford 
 comprehends the situation, and is putting forth 
 strenuous efforts to save these men who have 
 drifted thus far down the currents of sin. His 
 labors are abundantly blessed of God. Many 
 men go out of that institution a great deal bet- 
 ter than when they first entered. Were it not 
 for the cruel treatment the prisoners suffer in 
 the coal mines of that institution many more of 
 them would be reformed. This treatment tends 
 to harden the criminal. The chaplain has 
 many evils to counteract, yet he contends nobly 
 for the right, and some of these men are being 
 redeemed from a sinful life. After the sermon, 
 the choir and the string band furnish more 
 soul-stirring music, which enlivens the spirits of 
 the prisoners, and then the chapel exercises are 
 over. The prisoners are now returned to their 
 cells. Occasionally the convicts are permitted 
 to remain after the chapel eercises proper are 
 over and have a social meeting. The chaplain 
 renaains with them. These men sing, pray and 
 give in their religious eKperienee. It is nevel
 
 SUNDAY IN THE PRISON. 1 03 
 
 to haar thae Christian criminals telling how 
 they love Jesus. 
 
 Immediately after the religious services are 
 over the prison school begins. Nearly one 
 hundred of the convicts attend this school 
 The common branches, reading, writing, spell- 
 ing, arithmetic, etc., are taught. This school 
 is graded, and under the management of the 
 chaplain, who is an excellent instructor, is a 
 great blessing to the prisoners. Numbers have 
 fitted themselves here so that when they went 
 out they were able to pass examination and 
 obtain certificates as teachers. 
 
 On entering the institution many of the 
 prisoners who are unable to read and write 
 soon acquire these useful arts if they have any 
 ambition for self-improvement. If there was 
 room, and this school could be conducted in 
 the evening, as well as on Sunday afternoons, 
 much more good could be accomplished. I 
 would suggest that it would be a good act on 
 the part of the State to employ an officer who 
 should devote all his time to teaching and im- 
 parting instruction in the common branches, 
 and let a room be fitted up for evening school, 
 so that all prisoners who might desire to im- 
 prove themselves could attend this place of
 
 104 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 instruction after the work of the day was over. 
 Nothing could be done that would be more 
 advantageous to the convict. The teachers 
 for the prison school are selected from among 
 the prisoners, some of them being very fine 
 scholars. 
 
 After school is over the Sunday dinner is 
 served. The prisoners once more march into 
 the dining-room and take their places at the 
 table. The Sunday dinner is the " crack " 
 meal of the institution. At this meal the 
 prisoners have as a luxury, beans, a small piece 
 of cheese and some beet pickles, in addition to 
 their regular diet. This meal is served at 
 2:30. 
 
 The prisoners are then returned to their 
 cells, where they remain until the following 
 morning. They spend their time in the cells 
 which is not taken up by sleeping, in reading. 
 The prison has a fine library of five thousand 
 volumes. The State Legislature annually 
 appropriates five hundred dollars to be ex- 
 pended in purchasing books. This collection 
 consists of histories, scientific works and books 
 of fiction. The greater part of the criminals 
 prefer the works of fiction. Were it not for 
 this privilege of reading, the Sunday after-
 
 SUNDAY IN THE PRISON. 10$ 
 
 noons and winter evenings would seem very 
 long and dreary. 
 
 Several officers are on duty during the time 
 the men are locked in their cells on Sunday, 
 and the cell houses are very quiet and orderly, 
 there is no talking, as officers are constantly 
 walking backward and forward in front of the 
 cells. 
 
 This is the manner and style of spending the 
 Sabbath in prison. 'The convicts who do the 
 cooking for the officers and convicts, are com- 
 pelled to work on Sundays as any other day 
 of the week. It would be nothing more than 
 right to give these men credit for this extra 
 work, and in this manner reduce their sentences. 
 The law does not contemplate that criminals 
 in the penitentiary should work seven days in 
 the week and fifteen hours each day. There 
 are more than fifty men who are forced to put 
 in this extra time in hard labor.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 SCENES IN THE HOSPITAL. 
 
 WHEN a prisoner gets sick he reports to the 
 prison physician in the morning, before work- 
 ing hours. As the men march out of their 
 cells to go to their breakfast, those who are 
 sick and desire to see the doctor fall out of the 
 ranks and occupy seats in the cell house. Soon 
 the prison physician, Dr. Nealley, calls and 
 examines them. Many try to deceive the phy- 
 sician and thus get into the hospital, simply to 
 avoid work. But the shirkers are pretty well 
 known, and have to be very sick and give un- 
 mistakable symptoms of their illness before 
 they can get excused. It is very difficult to 
 deceive Dr. Nealley. He has been with the 
 prisoners so long, nearly six years, that he 
 knows them and can tell without much effort 
 when one of them is sick or is not in condition 
 to work. At these morning examinations, 
 sometimes there are nearly one hundred who 
 report as being sick. Most of them, instead of 
 being excused, get a dose of medicine and are 
 sent to work. When a prisoner takes sick dur- 
 
 106
 
 SCBNES IN THE HOSPITAL. IO/ 
 
 ing the day while at work, he is excused by 
 his officer, and permitted to go to the hospital 
 to see the physician. Fully nine-tenths of the 
 sickness of the prison is contracted in the coal 
 mines. The principal physical disabilities are 
 prison fever, colds, pneumonia, lung diseases 
 and rheumatism. Very few contagious diseases 
 ever find their way into the prison, and those 
 that do are quickly discovered and checked by 
 the prison physician. When a convict is 
 unable to work he is sent to the hospital. This 
 department contains two wards, in the first of 
 which those remain who are not sick enough to 
 be confined to their beds, while the very sick 
 are kept in the second ward. Convicts, de- 
 tailed for that purpose, are the hospital nurses. 
 It is gratifying to know that these convict nurses 
 have a sympathy for their sick comrades truly 
 admirable. 
 
 Many of these sick men die. It is sad to 
 die in the State's Prison! I recollect one case 
 that came under my own observation which 
 was indeed pathetic. A man had been sen- 
 tenced for five years, and had served out his 
 time save one week, when, taken suddenly ill, 
 he was sent to the hospital and died the day 
 before his term would have expired. This poor
 
 IO8 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 fellow piteously begged of the doctor to try and 
 extend his life so that he could die a freeman; 
 but all in vain! On the day which would have 
 brought liberty he was borne through the large 
 gate and buried in the prison graveyard. It is 
 heartrending to hear those men dying in the 
 hospital, call for their mothers, wives or sis- 
 ters! The convict nurses are as kind and 
 sympathetic as possible, but in sickness and 
 death there is no one that can take the place 
 of mother, wife or sister. 
 
 There was one man who died a few days 
 before my term expired, for whom I felt the 
 greatest sympathy. His name was Frank 
 Rhodes. He was sent from Holton. While in 
 jail and awaiting trial at that place he was con- 
 verted. Several Christian ladieshad visited the 
 jail and left with the inmates a few Bibles and 
 other religious literature. At his trial Frank 
 was convicted of crime and sentenced to the 
 penitentiary for five years. When he came to 
 the State's prison he brought his religion with 
 him. For two years this man performed his 
 duties faithfully. He soon gained the good will 
 of the officers. He was a true Christian man; 
 he showed it in his life while in prison. After 
 awhile his religion got the better of him; he
 
 SCENES IN THE HOSF1TAL. 199 
 
 could not control his emotions. Often during 
 the chapel services, when the convicts were 
 singing their Christian songs, overcome by his 
 feelings, Frank would weep like a child. Time 
 passed. It was a bright Sabbath morning. 
 The prisoners were marching out of the cell 
 houses to the chapel, to attend divine service. 
 All nature seemed to be rejoicing. Frank could 
 not longer restrain himself. The glowing sun- 
 shine has much to do with causing a man's re- 
 ligion to boil over. All of a sudden, clapping 
 his hands, Frank shouted at the top of his voice, 
 " Glory to God in the highest ! peace on earth, 
 good will to men ! " This was too much for the 
 discipline of the prison. Convicts are expected 
 to keep quiet. A couple of officers seized him 
 and led him back into the cell house, where he 
 was placed in a cell of the insane ward and was 
 called a religious crank. He remained in this 
 cell for the following eighteen months. He 
 told me afterward these were the happiest 
 months of his life. He 1 would read his Bible, 
 sing, pray, and exhort the officers to be relig- 
 ious. The deputy warden would often tell 
 him that when he could control his religion 
 enough to keep quiet he should be taken out of 
 the insane ward and sent to work again. When
 
 110 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 eighteen months had passed he concluded he 
 could keep quiet, and so informed the deputy 
 warden. He was immediately released from 
 his place of confinement and went to work. 
 While at work he was honest and quiet. His 
 only trouble was, too much religion! Months 
 went by. His wife came to see him frequently. 
 These visits were enjoyable affairs to them. 
 On a certain Friday his wife was to visit him . I 
 met him the day before, and he was overjoyed 
 at the prospect of seeing his wife the next day. 
 She came. They had a joyful time. Little 
 did either think they should see each other in 
 this life no more. When the hour of heir de- 
 parture came they separated not to meet again 
 until in the world of perpetual sunshine. The 
 next day this poor convict was taken with the 
 prison fever, and in one short week he was a 
 corpse. He died trusting in his Saviour. The 
 chaplain, speaking of this man's death, said if 
 officers or convicts at death go from the Kan- 
 sas penitentiary to heaven, then Frank Rhodes 
 was among the saved; he was a true Christian 
 man. After death his body wa sent to his 
 former home, Holton, where it was buried. 
 
 The following is my experience with a poor 
 friendless colored boy who had a six years'
 
 SCENES IN THE HOSPITAL. Ill 
 
 sentence for burglary, I took the prison fever 
 and was sent to the hospital. This colored 
 convict was detailed as my nurse. He had 
 been sick, but was then convalescent. He was 
 very kind to me; because of this kindness and 
 good care I began to like him. He seemed 
 anxious to make me comfortable. " Be kind 
 to the sick and you will win their friendship." 
 I was quite sick for two weeks, but began to 
 recover slowly. About this time my nurse suf- 
 fered a relapse. He grew worse and worse. 
 The doctor gave him up. " Bob must die," he 
 said to the head nurse one day in my hearing. 
 A day or two after this, Bob, for that was the 
 sick prisoner's name, sent for me to come to his 
 couch. I sat down on the edge of his bed and 
 asked him what he wanted. He said: " I am 
 going to die, and want a friend. In all this 
 wide world," continued he, " there is not a sin- 
 gle human being that I can look upon as my 
 friend." He then told me how he had lost his 
 father and mother when a mere child, had drifted 
 out into the world an orphan boy, got into bad 
 company, into crime and into prison. As I sat 
 there looking into the face of that little darkey, 
 I thought how sad his lot must be, and my 
 sympathies were aroused. I said, " Bob, is
 
 112 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 there anything I can do for you? I am your 
 friend, and will do all I can to aid you." I 
 spoke words of encouragement, and tried 
 to cheer him up by saying that I thought 
 he would not die. In this I used a 
 little deceit, but it was to assuage his 
 grief. I really thought he would die very soon. 
 Then he told me what he wanted. He said," I 
 am going to die ; my angel mother came to my 
 bedside last night; I saw her as plainly as I see 
 you now. She said she was coming soon to 
 take me out of prison and out of this world of 
 sorrow. Yes, I am going to die, but I am 
 afraid to cross the dark river. When I am 
 dying I want you to sit by my bedside, take hold 
 of my hand and go with me down the vale of 
 death as far as possible. It will do me so much 
 good. Will you do this for me ? It is the only 
 favor I ask." I told him I would only be too 
 glad to do so if it would aid him in the moment 
 when life shrinks from the shadow of death, 
 but told him I thought he would not die an- 
 other little fib on my part. However, that did 
 no harm, for I failed to convince him he would 
 live. About I o'clock A. M. a couple of nights 
 after this, one of the watchers came to my cot 
 and said Bob wanted to see me immediately. I
 
 SCENES IN THE HOSPITAL. 113 
 
 felt his time had come. Hastily dressing, I went 
 to his bedside. I found him dying. I sat down 
 by his side and took his hand in mine. I was 
 going with him to the dark river. He pressed 
 my hand and a smile of satisfaction passed over 
 his countenance. He said, " You are so kind. " 
 I spoke words of hope and encouragement 
 suitable to the time and occasion. I sat thus for 
 some little time; his limbs grew cold; his eyes 
 became glassy; the death dew was dampening 
 his brow. It was evident he would soon breathe 
 hislast. Poor, helpless, friendless negro! What 
 was your life's mission? Many similar pious 
 thoughts flitted through my mind. Without a 
 friend! Among all the millions of earth he 
 could not call one by the endearing name of 
 friend! Sad, sad thought! After I had re- 
 mained there some time, expecting every 
 breath to be his last, what was my astonishment 
 to discover his hands and limbs growing 
 warmer. The crisis of his disease was passed. 
 No dark river this time! Soon his " glassy" 
 eyes were closed, and in a few moments he 
 began to snore! Disappointed, I dropped that 
 black " paw," and went back to my cot. That 
 little darkey is still alive. He often asked me 
 
 The Twin Hells 8
 
 114 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 after that if I wanted to take another trip down 
 to " de da'k ribbah! " 
 
 The prisoners who die in the penitentiary 
 are buried in the graveyard of the institution, 
 unless they have friends who will pay for the 
 removal of the body. Just outside the prison 
 walls is the cemetery. Its location is a walnut 
 grove in a deep ravine. The first graves were 
 dug near the eastern side of the cemetery and 
 as near to each other as possible. As fast as 
 this space is filled with graves it is covered 
 over many feet deep with the slate and dirt 
 taken from the coal mines, a few yards distant. 
 Beneath this rubbish will the prisoners sleep 
 until the trump shall sound and the dead arise. 
 Prisoners dying are dressed in a neat suit of 
 black clothes, if the body is to be forwarded 
 to the friends; otherwise, the burial suit con- 
 sists of a cotton shirt and a pair of drawers of 
 the same material. The coffin is very plain, 
 and ie made in one of the prison shops.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 ESCAPES FROM PRISON. 
 
 OCCASIONALLY there is a man shrewd 
 enough to make his escape from prison. 
 When a convict has almost served out his time 
 he is generally selected to perform the duties 
 of a " trusty," and allowed to go outside the 
 prison enclosure. By good conduct other 
 prisoners gain the confidence of the officials, 
 and there are instances where these men, 
 though they may have several months to serve, 
 are permitted to go beyond the walls, doing 
 duty for the prison. But they are rare. Gen- 
 erally a convict, if he has long to serve, is 
 not trusted to any great extent. At times 
 these " trusties," although they may have but 
 a few weeks to remain, cannot successfully 
 resist the temptation to escape. Ordinarily the 
 escaped convict is overtaken and brought 
 back. 
 
 I recollect an instance where two young 
 fellows were thus trusted. One of them had 
 two months to serve, and the other but twenty- 
 seven days. They were given employment at
 
 Il6 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 the reservoir, over a mile from the prison. No 
 officer was guarding them. They made an at- 
 tempt to get away. After being absent a few 
 hours they were missed from their post of duty. 
 The alarm was given, and officers started in pur- 
 suit. They were overtaken and caught about 
 five miles distant, hid in the brush. They had 
 concealed themselves in this place, intending 
 to make their escape in the darkness of the com- 
 ing night. The officers in search accidentally 
 came upon them in this brush patch. They 
 were taken back to prison. They were com- 
 pelled to work for thirty days with a ball and 
 chain attached to each of their limbs, after 
 which they were taken to Leavenworth, to the 
 District Court, where they plead guilty to the 
 charge of attempting to escape from the prison. 
 Each of them received a sentence of one year 
 at hard labor in the penitentiary for this foolish- 
 ness. After their present sentence has expired, 
 they will have to enter immediately upon the 
 other for trying to escape. At this writing, 
 both of these convicts are digging coal in the 
 mines. They are not trusted now. 
 
 Another prisoner, a much older man than 
 these two whom I have described, tried to es- 
 cape; he got as far as Ohio before the officers
 
 ESCAPES FROM PRISON. 1 1/ 
 
 secured him. During the late rebellion this 
 man was a captain in the army. He became 
 involved in a quarrel with some of his relatives 
 and was sent to the penitentiary for forgery. 
 On account of his previous good character, on 
 coming to the penitentiary he was immediately 
 set to work as a " trusty." Some few months 
 after he was sent to the Missouri River, over a 
 mile from the prison, to do some work. No 
 officer was with him. Going down to the 
 banks of the river he discovered a boat tied to 
 the shore. In a subsequent conversation, he 
 told me when he saw that boat it suggested the 
 thought of escaping. His wife and children 
 were in the State of Ohio. They had removed 
 there since his conviction. " The boat," said 
 he, " seemed to say, ' get in and cross the river.' 
 I thought of my family. Oh, how I longed to 
 be with them! I could not resist the tempta- 
 tion. I had some old overalls, and I drew these 
 on over the stripes. I got into the boat, 
 rowed across, and hid in the woods on the 
 Missouri side until night. During the night- 
 time I walked, and during the daytime would 
 lay by in the woods, occasionally going out to 
 a house begging something to eat. At last I 
 reached my home in Ohio. I was footsore
 
 Il8 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 and almost starved when I arrived." Con- 
 tinuing his narrative, he informed me that he 
 had no peace of mind. He was in constant 
 dread of pursuing officers. Every man he saw 
 he took to be a detective in search of him. 
 At last, so great was his alarm and uneasiness, 
 that he telegraphed the prison officials where 
 he was. The warden went and brought him 
 back, For punishment he remained in the 
 dungeon several days and nights, and wore 
 the ball and chain for over a month. This 
 man has not been tried yet for making his 
 escape. It will probably be overlooked be- 
 cause of the change in the prison administra- 
 tion. His original sentence was five years. 
 
 Another prisoner made his escape, was away 
 for five years; was then discovered, brought 
 back, and is at present eight hundred feet be- 
 \o\v the surface, digging coal. 
 
 One day a young man was brought to the 
 penitentiary under three years' sentence. He 
 was handsome and had winning ways. It was 
 not long before the officers had learned to like 
 him. He was a natural confidence man. It 
 was difficult to resist his influence. After he 
 had been in the penitentiary a short time he 
 was made a " trusty. " For awhile he was
 
 ESCAPES FROM PRISON. 119 
 
 very dutiful and obedient. He was no fool. 
 He gained the confidence of the officers so that 
 many of them would have confided their pocket- 
 books to his care. He was permitted to go 
 beyond the prison walls to quite a distance. 
 Finally he walked off. That convict has never 
 been heard of since. He was a slick one. 
 After his departure it was found out that he 
 had walked away from the Colorado prison in 
 the same manner. 
 
 The following is an instance of the shrewd- 
 ness practiced in effecting escapes. A hog- 
 thief was convicted and sent to the prison. 
 He related that while traveling through the 
 southern part of Kansas, a mere tramp, pass- 
 ing by a farmer's residence, he saw a number 
 of hogs in a lot adjoining a grove some distance 
 to the rear of the house. Passing up through 
 the grove, unperceived, he removed one of the 
 boards and drove the hogs out through the 
 woods into a small pond where they covered 
 themselves with mud. Then driving them 
 around on to the main traveled road, he started 
 with them for town some five miles off. As he 
 was driving along the highway, the owner of 
 the hogs met him and inquired where he was 
 taking them. He replied that he was going to
 
 120 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 market. The farmer said he was making up a 
 car load and would give him as much as he 
 could get in town. After some further conver- 
 sation the parties agreed upon the price, the 
 farmer buying his own hogs from the tramp, 
 who went on his way rejoicing. An hour or 
 two thereafter the farmer, going out into his 
 field to see his hogs, found they were gone, 
 and upon examining those recently purchased, 
 which by this time had rubbed all the mud off, 
 he discovered it was his own hogs he had pur- 
 chased from the tramp. He immediately set 
 out in pursuit of the thief, whose whereabouts 
 were soon determined. The thief, after receiv- 
 ing the money, went to town, took a train, but 
 stopped off at a little place nearby, and instead 
 of secreting himself for a time, began to drink. 
 While dissipating he was overtaken, arrested, 
 and held for trial. Had he left whisky alone, 
 he could have escaped. At the trial, which soon 
 followed, he was convicted of grand larceny, 
 and on his arrival at the prison was immediately 
 put into the coal mines. After working there 
 for a week or ten days he became dissatisfied, 
 and decided to secure a position on the surface. 
 One morning, as the prisoners were being let 
 down into the mines, apparentlv in a fit he fell
 
 ESCAPES FROM PRISON. 1 21 
 
 into the arms of a prisoner; when he landed at 
 the bottom he was in the worst part of his 
 spasm; the officer in charge ordered him sent 
 to the top as soon as he had partially recovered, 
 stating that it was dangerous to have a man 
 working in the mines who was subject to fits, 
 as he might not only kill himself but be the 
 cause of the death of others with him in the 
 cage. To make his case more plausible, when 
 the convict learned that the officer had ordered 
 him to the top, he began pleading to remain in 
 the mines and work, stating that he enjoyed the 
 work and would rather do service there than 
 on the top. But the officer persisted; he was 
 sent up and reported to the deputy warden, 
 who set him to quarrying rock. This was no 
 better job than working in the coal mines. 
 Providing himself for the occasion, by putting 
 a piece of soap in his mouth, assuming a frenzy 
 and frothing at the mouth, he would almost de- 
 ceive a physician as to the nature of his 
 malady. Later, it was decided that he was 
 unable to do duty on the rock pile, and was 
 placed in the " Crank House " with the cranks. 
 Those prisoners, who have either lost their 
 mind or are suffering with temporary insanity, 
 not incurable insane, or wholly idiotic, are
 
 122 THE TWIN HELLS 
 
 classed as " cranks," and have an apartment by 
 themselves. As a rule this class of individuals 
 are harmless and not guarded very closely. 
 Their cells are not locked up until nine o'clock 
 at night; the others at six o'clock. During the 
 noon hour the officers leave them alone, in fact, 
 being of a supposed harmless disposition they 
 are at no time closely guarded. This fello'w 
 improved the opportunities afforded by the 
 noon hour. He would go into one of the 
 towers and work as long as he dared cutting 
 the bars with a saw he had made out of a knife. 
 He labored in this manner until one of the bars 
 was sawed so near off that a little push would 
 remove it. One afternoon he bade the other 
 cranks good-bye, telling them he was going to 
 fly that night. They made sport of him, 
 thinking he was growing more insane. He 
 went so far as to say good-bye to the officer, 
 stating that he had received a revelation from 
 God the previous night, and that an angel was 
 coming to liberate him. The officer, of course, 
 thought he was getting more and more insane. 
 When night came he slipped out of his cell and 
 secreted himself in a portion of the cell house 
 where it was dark, and when the officer came to 
 lock up, the crazy hog-thief was not missed.
 
 ESCAPES FROM PRISON 1 33 
 
 Along in the night he pushed aside the bars 
 and made his escape. This was the last the 
 prison authorities heard of him until they 
 learned he was arrested at St. Joseph, Mis- 
 souri, and held there on a charge of grand 
 larceny for the same thing that he was in the 
 Kansas penitentiary stealing hogs. An 
 officer went up there to get and bring him 
 back to the Kansas penitentiary, but the St. 
 Joseph authorities refused to give him up. 
 He was tried there and sent to the Missouri 
 penitentiary. After his term expires in that 
 place he will have to serve out his original 
 term in the Kansas penitentiary. " The way 
 of the transgressor is hard," even if he does 
 pretend to have fits. 
 
 One of the most interesting and perilous 
 attempts at escaping from the penitentiary was 
 the following: In the evening, after the day's 
 work is over in the mines, the convicts are all 
 lifted to the top, as before stated, and remain 
 in their cells over night. One Saturday night 
 a convict, with a twenty years' sentence, re- 
 solved that he would remain in the mines, and 
 try to effect his escape. He had supplied 
 himself with an extra lot of bread and meat, 
 and hid himself in the darkness of the mines
 
 124 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 when the men were marched out in the evening 
 at six o'clock. When the count of the prisoners 
 was made at the evening lock up, this man was 
 found missing. As he had not been seen since 
 the prisoners were taken from the mines, it was 
 believed, correctly, that he had remained below. 
 There was nothing done about the matter that 
 night, the officers knowing there would be no 
 opportunity of effecting his escape during the 
 night-time, as they had carefully closed the 
 shafts at the top. They did not set any watch 
 until the next day. During that Saturday 
 night this convict climbed eight hundred feet 
 to the top of one of the shafts. The wooden 
 beams running across the shaft are about five 
 feet apart. Standing erect on one of these 
 beams he threw his arms over the one above 
 his head, and would swing up to it. In thi^ 
 manner he worked his way to the top of the.- 
 shaft. When he reached the surface how great 
 was his disappointment, for instead of finding 
 the shaft open, as he supposed it would be, he 
 found that the cover was down and that he was 
 unable to get out of the shaft, and thus out of 
 the coal fields into the woods adjoining. When 
 he discovered this there was nothing to do but 
 descend. This was a perilous undertaking.
 
 ESCAPES FROM PRISON. 125 
 
 The cross-beams were covered with oil whieh, 
 dripping down from the machinery above, 
 made them very slippery. A number of times 
 he came near falling, and if he had done so, 
 he would have reached the bottom a mangled 
 mass. It required nearly the entire night for 
 the ascent and descent. When he reached the 
 bottom he took a lunch of bread and meat, 
 went to the base of the other shaft, which is 
 about one hundred yards distant, and began 
 his ascent of it, with the hope he would find 
 it open. It was daylight when he reached the 
 top. Two officers had been stationed there to 
 watch him. Arriving at the surface and just 
 ready to get out, they took charge of, and 
 marched him into the presence of the deputy 
 warden. When the convict related the narrow 
 escapes from death in his efforts for liberty, the 
 deputy warden was so affected he refused to 
 punish him. 
 
 Out in the world, with the blessings of lib- 
 erty all around us, we do not realize the price- 
 less boon they are to us; but when we stand 
 in the presence of the perils that are under- 
 taken in order to gain them when deprived of 
 their benefits, we begin to comprehend the real 
 value of these sacred immunities of citizenship.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE PRISONERS. 
 
 THINKING that it may be interesting to somv 
 of my readers, I will now give, in brief form as 
 possible, a history of some of the most noted 
 inmates of the penitentiary. 
 
 FEMALE CONVICTS. 
 
 He must be of a very unsympathizing nature 
 who does not feel for his brother, who, though 
 sinful and deserving, is imprisoned, and ex- 
 cluded from the society of friends. While we 
 are sad when we behold our fellowmen in 
 chains and bondage, how much sadder do we 
 become when, passing through the prisons, we 
 behold those of the same sex with our sisters, 
 wives and mothers. In this land, blessed with 
 the most exalted civilization, woman receives 
 our highest regard, affection and admiration. 
 While she occupies her true sphere of sister, 
 wife or mother, she is the true man's ideal of 
 love, purity and devotion. When, overcome 
 by temptation, she falls from her exalted 
 sphere, not only do men feel the keenest sor-
 
 THE PRISONERS. 127 
 
 row and regret, but, if it is possible, the angels 
 of God weep. 
 
 In the Kansas penitentiary, just outside the 
 high stone wall, but surrounded by a tight 
 board fence some fifteen feet high, stands a 
 stone structure the female prison. In this 
 lonely place, the stone building, shut out from 
 society, there are thirteen female prisoners. 
 During the week these women spend their 
 time in sewing, patching and washing. But 
 very few visitors are allowed to enter this 
 department, so that the occupants are per- 
 mitted to see very few people. Their keepers 
 are a couple of Christian ladies, who endeavor 
 to surround them with all the sunshine possi- 
 ble. For these inmates the week consists of 
 one continual round of labor. It is wash, 
 patch and sew from one year's end to the other. 
 The Sabbath is spent in reading and religious 
 exercises. In the afternoon the chaplain visits 
 them and preaches a discourse. Several of 
 these women are here for murder. When a 
 woman falls she generally descends to the low- 
 est plane. 
 
 A few days before I was discharged, there 
 came to the prison a little old grandmother, 
 seventy years of age. She had lived with her
 
 128 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 husband fifty-two years, was the mother of 
 ten children, and had fifteen grand-children. 
 She and her aged husband owned a very beau- 
 ful farm and were in good circumstances, prob- 
 ably worth $50,000. Her husband died very 
 suddenly. She was accused of administering 
 poison. After the funeral, she went over into 
 Missouri to make her home with one of her 
 married daughters. She had not been there 
 but a short time when her eldest son secured 
 a requisition, and had his aged mother brought 
 back to Kansas and placed on trial for murder. 
 She was convicted. The sentence imposed, 
 was one year in the penitentiary, and at the 
 end of which time she was to be hung by the 
 neck until dead, which in Kansas is equivalent 
 to a life sentence. The old woman will do 
 well if she lives out one year in prison. She 
 claims that her eldest son desires her property, 
 and that was the motive which induced him to 
 drag her before the tribunal of justice to swear 
 her life away. During her long life of three 
 score and ten years, this was the only charge 
 against her character for anything whatever. 
 She always bore a good name and was highly 
 esteemed in the neighborhood in which she 
 lived.
 
 THE PRISONERS. 129 
 
 Another important female prisoner is Mary 
 J. Scales. She is sixty-five years of age, and is 
 called Aunt Mary in the prison. She is also a 
 murderess. She took the life of her husband, 
 and was sentenced to be hung April 16, 1871. 
 Her sentence was commuted to a life imprison- 
 ment. For eighteen years this old woman 
 has been an inmate of the Kansas penitentiary. 
 While she is very popular inside the prison, as 
 all the officers and their families are very fond 
 of Aunt Mary, it seems that she has but few, 
 if any, friends on the outside. Several old 
 men have been pardoned since this old woman 
 was put into prison, and if any more murderers 
 are to be set at liberty, it is my opinion that it 
 will soon be Aunt Mary's turn to go out into 
 the world to be free once more. 
 
 MRS. HENRIETTA COOK. 
 
 This woman was twenty-five years of age 
 when she came to the Kansas penitentiary to 
 serve out a life's sentence. She was charged 
 with having poisoned her husband. For fif- 
 teen years she remained in close confinement, 
 at the end of which time she received a 
 pardon, it being discovered that she was inno- 
 cent. When Mrs. Cook entered the prison 
 
 The Twin Hells. 9
 
 130 THE TWIN HELLS 
 
 she was young and beautiful, but when she 
 took her departure she had the appearance of 
 an old, broken-down woman. Fifteen year* of 
 imprisonment are sufficient to bring wrinkles 
 to the face, and change the color of the hair to 
 gray. This prisoner made the mistake of her 
 life in getting married. She, a young woman, 
 married an old man of seventy. She was 
 poor, he was rich. After they had been mar- 
 ried a short time she awoke one morning to 
 find her aged husband a corpse at her side. 
 During the night he had breathed his last. 
 The tongue of gossip soon had it reported that 
 the young and beautiful wife had poisoned her 
 husband to obtain his wealth, that she might 
 spend the rest of her days with a younger and 
 handsomer man. After burial the body was 
 exhumed and examined. The stomach showed 
 the presence of arsenic in sufficient quantity to 
 produce death. The home of the deceased 
 was searched and a package of the deadly 
 poison found. She was tried, and sufficient 
 circumstantial evidence produced to secure her 
 conviction, and she was sent to prison for life. 
 A short time before this sad event happened, 
 a young drug clerk took his departure from 
 the town where the Cook family resided,
 
 THE PRISONERS. 131 
 
 where he had been employed in a drug 
 store, and took up his abode in California. 
 After fifteen years of absence he returned. 
 Learning of the Cook murder, he went be- 
 fore the board of pardons and made affidavit 
 that the old gentleman was in the habit of 
 using arsenic, and that while a clerk in the 
 drug store he had sold him the identical pack- 
 age found in the house. 
 
 Other evidence was adduced supporting this 
 testimony, and the board of pardons decided 
 that the husband had died from an overdose 
 of arsenic taken by himself and of his own 
 accord. The wife was immediately pardoned. 
 How is she ever to obtain satisfaction for her 
 fifteen years of intense suffering. The great 
 State of Kansas should pension this poor 
 woman, who now is scarcely able to work; 
 and juries in the future should not be so fast 
 in sending people to the penitentiary on flimsy, 
 circumstantial evidence. 
 
 The other female prisoners are nearly all in 
 for short terms, and the crime laid to their 
 charge is that of stealing. 
 
 INDIANS IN THE PENITENTIARY. 
 John Washington and Simmons Wolf *re
 
 1 32 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 two young Indians tried and convicted in the 
 U. S. District Court on the charge of rape. 
 They were sentenced to be hung. After con- 
 viction these Indians were taken to the peni- 
 tentiary to await the day set for their execu- 
 tion. In the meantime an application was 
 made to the President to change the sentence 
 of death to that of life imprisonment. The 
 change was made. These two Indians were 
 placed in the coal mines on their arrival, where 
 they are at the present time getting out their 
 daily task of coal. They both attend the 
 school of the prison, and are learning very 
 rapidly. Prior to this, Washington served out 
 a one-year sentence in the Detroit house of 
 correction for stealing. He is a bad Indian. 
 
 At present there are fourteen Indians incar- 
 cerated in the Kansas penitentiary. The In- 
 dian pines for his liberty more than the white 
 man or negro. The burdens of imprisonment 
 are therefore greater for him to bear. 
 
 One young Indian was sent to the peniten- 
 tiary whose history is indeed touching. Ten 
 Indians had been arrested in the Territory by 
 U. S. marshals for Ijorse-stealing. They were 
 tried and convicted in the U. S. District Court. 
 Their sentence was one year in the State's
 
 THE PRISONERS. 133 
 
 prison. On their arrival at the penitentiary 
 they were sent to the mines to dig coal. This 
 was a different business from being supported 
 by the government and stealing horses as a di- 
 version. The Indians soon wanted to go home. 
 One of them was unable to get out his task of 
 coal. The officer in charge thought he was 
 trying to shirk his work and reported him to 
 the deputy warden. The young Indian was 
 placed in the dungeon. He remained there 
 several days and nights. He begged piteously 
 to get out of that hole of torture. Finally the 
 officers released him and sent him back to the 
 mines. While in the dungeon he contracted a 
 severe cold. He had not been in the mines 
 more than a couple of days, after being pun- 
 ished, when he gave suddenly out and xvas sent 
 to the hospital, where in a few days he died. 
 That young Indian was murdered, either in 
 that dungeon or in the mines. A few weeks 
 before, he came to the penitentiary from roam- 
 ing over the prairies, a picture of health. It 
 did not take long for the Kansas penitentiary 
 to "box him up" for all time to come. He 
 now sleeps "in the valley," as the prison grave- 
 yard is called. 
 
 Another one of the same group did not
 
 134 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 fare quite so badly as his associate. Th one 
 I am now describing was sent with the rest of 
 his companions to the bottom of the mines. He 
 remained there during the first day. A short 
 time after he went down on the following morn- 
 ing he became sick. He began to cry. The 
 officer in charge sent him to the surface. He 
 was conducted to the cell-house officer, Mr. 
 Elliott. I was on duty that day in the cell 
 house, and Mr. Elliott, on the arrival of the 
 Indian, ordered me to show him to the hospital. 
 After we had started on our journey from the 
 cell house to the hospital building to see the 
 doctor, and had got out of hearing of the offi- 
 cer, I said, " Injun, what's the matter with you?" 
 This question being asked, he began to " boo- 
 hoo " worse than ever, and, rubbing his breast 
 and sides with his hands, said, between his sobs, 
 " Me got pecce ecce. " I was not Indian enough 
 to know what " pecce ecce " meant. In a few 
 moments we reached the hospital building, and 
 I conducted my charge into the nicely furnished 
 room of the prison physician, and into the im- 
 mediate presence of that medical gentleman. 
 Removing my cap, and making a low bow, as 
 required, I said, " Dr. Nealley, permit me
 
 THE PRISONERS. 135 
 
 to introduce a representative of the Okla- 
 homa district, who needs medical attention." 
 
 While I was relieving myself of this little dec- 
 lamation the young Indian was standing at 
 my side sobbing as if he had recently buried 
 his mother. 
 
 " Reynolds, what is the matter with him?" 
 asked the doctor. 
 
 I then turned to my charge and said, " Injun, 
 tell the doctor what ails you." 
 
 Mister Indian then began rubbing his sides 
 and front, with tears rolling down his face, and 
 sobbing like a whipped school-boy, he ex- 
 claimed, " Me got pecce ecce." 
 
 " There, doctor, " said I, " you have it. This 
 Indian has got that dreadful disease known as 
 'pecce ecce.' ' 
 
 The physician, somewhat astonished, frankly 
 informed me that he never had heard of such a 
 disease before. I was in a similar boat, for I 
 had never heard of such words prior to this. 
 The sick Indian was unable to talk the language 
 of the white man. The doctor then sent down 
 into the mines for another of the Indians who 
 could speak English and had acted as an inter- 
 preter. On entering the office, the doctor said 
 to him, " Elihu," for that was his name, " this
 
 136 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 Indian says he has an attack of pecce ecce. 
 Now what does he mean by that? " 
 
 During all this time the sick Indian kept rub- 
 bing his body and sobbing. What was our 
 great astonishment and amusement when the 
 interpreter informed us that " pecce ecce " 
 meant nothing more nor less than " belly-ache. " 
 The doctor administered the proper remedy for 
 this troublesome disease, and the Indian was 
 sent back to the mines. He had not dug coal 
 more than an hour when he had another attack, 
 and began his crying, and was sent to the top. 
 He kept this up until he wore out the patience 
 of the officers, and they finally decided to take 
 him out of the mines altogether and give him 
 work at the surface. Even here, every few 
 minutes the Indian would have an attack of 
 " pecce ecce," and would start for the hospital. 
 At last, the chaplain, taking pity on the poor 
 outcast, wrote to President Cleveland, and put- 
 ting the case in a very strong light, was suc- 
 cessful in securing a pardon for the Indian. 
 That " cheeky " red youth was no fool. He 
 belly-ached himself out of that penitentiary. 
 I trust I may never have to spend any more of 
 my time in prison. If I do, I think about the
 
 THE PRISONERS. 137 
 
 first day I will get a dose of " pecce ecce," and 
 keep It up, and see if I can't get a pardon. 
 
 MALE PRISONERS. 
 
 Ed. Stanfield. The history of this prisoner 
 is as follows: He was about nineteen years of 
 age when he entered the prison, which was 
 some five years ago. His people reside in 
 South Bend, Indiana. His father, prior to his 
 death, was a prominent judge. The family was 
 wealthy, influential and highly respected. It 
 consisted of the parents and two sons. Ed. 
 proved to be the black lamb of the flock. At 
 the early age of nine years, being sent away to 
 school, he bade all good-bye one day and fol- 
 lowed in the wake of a circus show which was 
 holding forth in the town where he was attend- 
 ing school. He was not heard of any more for 
 several years. His parents spent vast sums of 
 money attempting to ascertain his whereabouts. 
 They finally heard of him in the following ac- 
 cidental manner: His father, Judge Stanfield, 
 had been out in Nebraska looking after some 
 land he had recently purchased, and, on his 
 return home, sitting in the cars, purchased a 
 newspaper of the newsboy as he came around. 
 Looking over the paper he caught the name
 
 138 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 of his prodigal son. There, before him, was 
 the account of his son who, having knocked 
 down a prosecuting attorney in broad daylight 
 with a coupling pin, with the intention of rob- 
 bery, had been tried, convicted and sentenced 
 to the penitentiary for ten years, and was on 
 that day safely lodged behind the walls. The 
 sad father, on reaching home, dispatched 
 his elder son to the Kansas prison to ascertain 
 if it was his younger son who was a convict. 
 The young man came on and soon satisfied 
 himself of the identity of the long-lost brother. 
 He returned home and made the report to his 
 parents. From that day Judge Stanfield was 
 a broken-hearted man. He soon grieved him- 
 self to death over the sad fate of his boy, 
 and the disgrace he had brought upon the 
 family. In making his will, however, he gave 
 Ed. an equal share in the estate with his brother. 
 After the death of the father, the mother began 
 to put forth efforts to secure a pardon for her 
 son. His crime was so heinous and so un- 
 called for that it was necessary for some time 
 to elapse before an application was pre- 
 sented. At the earliest moment possible the 
 wheel began to turn. The prosecuting 
 attorney of Bourbon County, who had been
 
 THE PRISONERS. 139 
 
 knocked down with an Iron coupling pin, 
 
 wai soon satisfied, for the family had wealth. 
 It is of course unknown how much money was 
 passed to him to make his heart tender 
 and his eyes weep over the erring child 
 that had come so near getting away with his 
 gold watch and chain. A petition was soon 
 in circulation for his release, signed by many 
 prominent citizens. An open pocketbook will 
 easily secure a petition for pardon, it makes 
 but little difference as to the gravamen of the 
 crime. The convict promised not to engage 
 again in this pleasant pastime for filthy lucre. 
 The mother of the young man came on from 
 the East and remained until she had secured a 
 pardon for her boy. The young man stated in 
 our hearing that it took one thousand big dol- 
 lars to secure his pardon. A great many who 
 are acquainted with the facts in the case are not 
 slow in saying that if Stanfield had been a poor, 
 friendless boy, he never would have received a 
 pardon, but would have had to serve his time 
 out. There are more than five hundred men in 
 that prison whose crimes are of a less serious 
 nature, and who are far more deserving of ex- 
 ecutive clemency than Stanfield. It is said that 
 " rocks talk" in the penitentiaries as we 11 as on
 
 140 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 the outside. The history of this criminal will 
 show my boy readers the future of many of 
 those who, in early youth, ran away from home, 
 and go out into the world to mingle in bad com- 
 pany. 
 
 Cyrenius B. Hendricks. This man was 
 sent from Chatauqua County. He was twenty- 
 seven years of age when sentenced. His crime 
 was murder in the first degree. The particu- 
 lars are as follows: He had been down to the 
 Indian Territory looking after his own and his 
 father's cattle. He was absent on this business 
 some little time. On his return his wife in- 
 formed him that a neighbor had been talking 
 about her in his absence, and had given her a 
 bad character, and that on account of it she had 
 become the talk of the entire neighborhood. 
 The enraged husband compels his wife to go 
 with him, and they proceed to the neighbor's 
 house. Hendricks took his gun with him. 
 When they reached the neighbor's gate they 
 halted and called the unsuspecting man out of 
 his home. Hendricks then asked him if the 
 charges were true as to his talking about Mrs. 
 Hendricks. The neighbor neither affirmed nor 
 denied the statement. At this Hendricks lev- 
 eled his gun and shot him dead on the spot. He
 
 THE PRISONERS. I4l 
 
 and his wife in a few hours after were arrested, 
 and, as it was too late to take them to the 
 county seat that night, they were guarded in an 
 old log house in the neighborhood. Hendricks 
 was fastened to the wall with a log-chain. 
 During the night some one, supposed to be the 
 brother of the murdered man, came to the win- 
 dow of the house in which they were confined, 
 and, placing the muzzle of a gun through the 
 window, shot Hendricks. The ball struck hi r n 
 near one of the eyes, rendering him blind in 
 that eye, but did not kill him. The next day 
 the two prisoners were taken to jail. They 
 were tried, and both found guilty of murder 
 in the first degree. The husband was sentenced 
 to be hanged, while the wife received a life sen- 
 tence. They were both taken to the peniten- 
 tiary. After they had been there a short time 
 Hendricks lost the other eye, from sympathy, 
 as they call it. For a time the husband and 
 wife remained on good terms. They were 
 allowed to visit each other once a month. 
 After a while she tired of him and would have 
 nothing more to do with him. She served 
 four years, and received a pardon. Hendricks 
 still remains in prison, and is a pitiable and 
 helpless wreck. He is totally blind, and his
 
 142 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 nervous system entirely shattered. He can 
 scarcely lift food to his mouth. He is so weak 
 that it is with difficulty he walks about the prison 
 park. An aged prisoner waits on him con- 
 stantly to care for his wants, and to see that he 
 does not commit suicide. Abandoned by his 
 wife and friends, left to his own sad fate, 
 totally blind and physically helpless, he is an- 
 other testimonial to the truth that " the way of 
 the transgressor is hard," and it also illustrates 
 h^w much trouble may arise from using that 
 litUe member called the tongue in an indis- 
 criminate manner. Since my discharge from 
 the prison I have learned of the death of Hen- 
 dricks. 
 
 Ed. Miner. One of the men whose history 
 will be interesting to the general reader is Ed. 
 Miner. This man is forty-nine years of age. 
 He served in the Missouri penitentiary two 
 years on the charge and conviction of assault 
 and battery with intent to kill. After the ex- 
 piration of his sentence, drifting down the cur- 
 rent of crime, he next embarked in stealing 
 horses. He was arrested, tried and convicted. 
 He received a five years' sentence, served his 
 tim, and went out into th world a free man. 
 Again falling into bad company, he tries his
 
 THE PRISONERS. 143 
 
 hand once more at the same old trade of riding 
 fast horses, is again caught, fr-ted, convicted, 
 and received another sentence of five years in 
 the prison, which he is now serving out. As a 
 prisoner, Miner is one of the very best. He 
 never violates a prison regulation and was never 
 known to be punished. During the war he 
 served his country faithfully ibr four years as a 
 member of the I2th Illinois Infantry. At the 
 close of the war, and just before the troops were 
 discharged, one day on review, the governor of 
 the State of Illinois being present, Miner was 
 asked by the commanding officer to step from 
 the ranks, and was introduced to the governor 
 as the bravest and most daring man in the com- 
 mand. The governor gave him a hearty shake 
 of the hand, and afterward sent him a neat 
 little golden medal as a token of his esteem. 
 Miner now wears this suspended on a small 
 gold chain about his neck. He is very proud 
 of it. One of our prison officers, Mr. Elliott, 
 was in the army with Miner, and says there 
 never was a braver man. It may be a sur- 
 prise to the reader that sucii a brave man, 
 such a bold defender of his country's rights, 
 would now be rilling a felon's cell. The 
 answer to this is easily given. It is all con-
 
 144 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 tainedin the one word liquor. Miner loves 
 strong drink, and when he is under its influence 
 appears to have no sense. He is then ready 
 for the commission of any offense, ready to 
 participate in any kind of deviltry. Were it 
 not for this baneful appetite there is every 
 reason to believe he would be a highly re- 
 spected citizen. I asked him one day what he 
 would do when he got out. His reply was, 
 " I don't know ; if I could not get the smell 
 of whisky I could be a man ; it has downed 
 me so many times that I fear my life is now a 
 wreck ; the future looks dreary ; awful dreary. " 
 With this remark Ed. went away to attend to 
 his duties. My eyes followed the old soldier, 
 and , reader, do you blame me when I say to you 
 that from within my heart there came forth 
 the earnest desire that God in some way 
 would save that man, who, away from strong 
 drink and the influence of wicked companions, 
 is a good-hearted, generous man. 
 
 Gordon Skinner. A young man of twenty, 
 possessed of an innocent, boyish appearance, 
 whom none would take for a murderer, was 
 sent up from Ellis County. His victim was 
 Andrew Ericson, a respectable and worthy citi- 
 zen about thirty-seven years of age. Skinner
 
 THE PRISONERS. 145 
 
 claims the shooting was purely accidental; that 
 he was carelessly handling a six-shooter when 
 it went off, the ball striking Ericson. He claims, 
 also, that he and his victim were good friends, 
 and that he never had any intention of killing 
 him. The other side of the story is that there 
 lived near Hayes City a beautiful girl, and that 
 Skinner and Ericson were rivals for her heart 
 and hand. Ericson, being much older than 
 young Skinner, possessed of some property, 
 and doubtless more skillful in the art of winning 
 hearts, was beginning to crowd his rival to the 
 wall. Young Skinner, not being able to endure 
 the sight of his fair one being thus ruthlessly 
 torn away by an old bachelor of thirty-seven, 
 met him one day and the two engaged in a 
 spirited controversy, when Skinner drew his 
 revolver and shot him. Ericson lived several 
 days afterward. Just before death, Ericson 
 begged of his friends not to have Skinner ar- 
 rested, stating he was not to blame. Skinner, 
 moneyless, friendless, a comparative strangerin 
 the neighborhood, his people all residing in 
 Phillips County, this State, and, with the 
 prejudices of the Ericson people against him, 
 was tried, convicted and sentenced to twenty 
 years' imprisonment. If the Board of Par- 
 
 The Twin Hells zo
 
 146 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 dons ever takes the trouble to investigate this 
 case, with a view of tempering justice with, 
 mercy, they will find it worthy. Skinner is a 
 good prisoner, and has ingratiated himself irftjthe 
 good opinion of the officers. But the weight 
 of a twenty years' term is heavy, and is visibly 
 affecting his health. Death should not be 
 left to accomplish what the Board of Pardons 
 should take pleasure in doing. This delicate 
 boy should be sent home to his parents. 
 
 FREAKS OF JUSTICE. 
 
 ' Robert W. Corey was sent from Wyandotte 
 County with a sentence of three years for steal- 
 ing cattle. This is a remarkable case. Corey 
 is a blind man, and had been totally blind for 
 thirteen months prior to his arrival at the 
 prison ; he was a taxidermist, and some years 
 ago had taken a contract for furnishing stuffed 
 birds for the museum of the Agricultural Col- 
 lege of Ames, Iowa. This business requires 
 the use of arsenic ; carelessly handling it de- 
 stroyed his eyesight. How a man, blind as he 
 is, and was, at the commission of the alleged 
 offense, could drive off and sell these cattle, is 
 a mystery. The man who swore that he com- 
 mitted the theft is now an inmate of the insti-
 
 THE PRISONERS. 147 
 
 tution, sent here for stealing since the arrival 
 of blind Corey. This man now says that he is 
 not positive that Corey took the cattle. On 
 the trial, however, he swore it was Corey, and 
 that he was positive of that fact ! About the 
 the truth of the matter is, he was the villain 
 that took the cattle and swore it on the blind 
 man. Corey has only a few months to remain 
 in prison at this writing. It is terrible to heap 
 such a disgrace upon as helpless a creature as 
 Corey. 
 
 His case calls to mind another in the peni- 
 tentiary. He is a colored man who cannot 
 write, by the name of Thomas Green, from 
 Fort Scott, serving out a five years' sentence 
 for forging a check for $1,368. He was tried, 
 convicted, and sentenced. Taking an appeal 
 to the Supreme Court, the judgment of the 
 lower court was set aside; but at his second 
 trial, he was found guilty again, and is now in 
 prison serving out his sentence. How can one 
 commit the crime of forgery who cannot write? 
 Probably some " Smart Aleck " of a district 
 judge can explain. I admit that it is beyond 
 my powers of comprehension. It may be law, 
 but there is not much common sense in it.
 
 148 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 OH ! RIGHTEOUS JUDGE ! 
 
 Gus Arndt is the next. The history of this 
 man will show the freaks of whisky when 
 enclosed in the hide of a raw Dutchman. Gus 
 came to this country a number of years ago, 
 and went to work for his uncle in Wabaunsee 
 County. Not being able to speak English, his 
 uncle took advantage of him, no doubt, for he 
 paid him only ten dollars a month for his serv- 
 ices as a farm hand during the summer season, 
 and nothing but his board during the winter. 
 Gus remained here for some time, three or four 
 years, working at these wages. He had learned 
 and could understand and speak English a little. 
 One day as he was pitching grain in the field 
 an Irishman came by who resided on a farm a 
 few miles distant. Needing a hand and notic- 
 ing that Arndt handled himself in a satisfactory 
 manner, he offered him twenty dollars per month 
 to go and work for him. Arndt accepted his 
 proposition, and agreed to report at the 
 Irishman's farm the following Monday, this 
 being Thursday when the bargain was made. 
 That night the German settled up with his 
 uncle, and received the balance of his wages, 
 cme $75. He had been in America long enough
 
 THE PRISONERS. 149 
 
 to reach that point in our civilization that, after 
 working awhile, and getting a balance ahead, 
 he must take a rest and go on a " spree." He 
 started for the nearest town. For a couple of 
 days he fared sumptuously, constantly drinking. 
 He at length reached a point below zero. Half 
 crazed, he staggers off to the fence across the 
 way where the farmers who had come to town 
 to do their shopping on Saturday had hitched 
 their teams, and, untying a horse that was 
 hitched to a buggy, Gus thought he would take 
 aride. Lumbering into the buggy, as a drunken 
 man can, he drove down the main street of 
 the town in broad daylight and out into the 
 country. In an hour or so the owner getting 
 ready to return, misses his horse and buggy. 
 Making numerous inquiries about them and 
 getting nothing satisfactory, he places the mat- 
 ter in the hands of a sheriff, who commences 
 a search for the missing property. Not finding 
 it in town he sends men out on the roads lead- 
 ing to the country, himself taking one. In a 
 very short time he overtakes the noted horse- 
 thief. Gus was sitting in the buggy sound 
 asleep; the lines were hanging down over the 
 dashboard, and the old horse was marching 
 along at a snail's pace. He was ou* some
 
 150 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 two miles from town, and, no doubt, had 
 traveled at this gait all the way. He was 
 faced about, and, assisted by the sheriff, drove 
 back to town. He was then placed under 
 arrest and sent to jail, subsequently had his 
 trial, and for this little drive was sent to the 
 penitentiary for five years. Of a more unjust 
 sentence I never heard. Gus served his time 
 out and a better behaved person was never 
 behind the walls. When he regained his 
 liberty, instead of returning to Wabaunsee 
 County, and to his uncle's house, he finds his 
 way to Marysville, Kansas. Here reside a 
 number of prosperous German farmers, and 
 the ex-convict soon got work. When he 
 applied for work he forgot to tell his employer 
 that he had just finished up a contract for the 
 State of Kansas. Some months had elapsed 
 and Gus had worked hard amd industriously, 
 had accumulated a neat little sum of money, 
 and began to feel happy once more. At this 
 time a man passed through the country that 
 was acquainted with Arndt's antecedents, and 
 being a dirty dog he thought it was his duty to 
 inform the farmer that his hired man was an 
 ex-convict, horse-thief and a desperado of the 
 worst type. Some men are so officious and are
 
 THE PRISONERS. *5I 
 
 w Anxious to do their duty when it is in their 
 power to injure a fellow-man who is trying to 
 earn an honest living. Gus immediately got 
 the "bounce." He was informed by his em- 
 ployer that he did not want to make his home 
 a harbor for horse-thieves. Gus took his wages 
 and clothes and started for Marysville, He 
 could not bear the idea of being discharged 
 because of his former misfortune. He again 
 applies to the bottle for consolation. He goes 
 on another spree. When crazed with liquor 
 he acted just as he did before ; he goes to a 
 hitching post, and unties a team of horses 
 attached to a buggy. One of the horses had 
 had its leg broken at some former time, and 
 was almost worthless, while the other one 
 was very old. He seemed to select the very 
 worst team he could find. Maybe it was the 
 buggy he was after ! He was orobably very 
 tired and wanted an easy place to rest. He 
 unhitched them just as if tney had been his 
 own. It was in the afternoon. The streets 
 were full of people. Gus crawled into the 
 buggy in his half drunken manner and started 
 off down the road. When found by the sheriff 
 some two hours after he had gone, about half 
 a mile from town, the old horses were stand-
 
 t$2 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 ing at one side of the road and the drunken 
 Dutchman 'was lying in the buggy sound 
 asleep, with one bottle of whisky un- 
 corked, the contents of which had run out and 
 over his clothes, and another bottle in his 
 pocket untouched. He had evidently gone out 
 for a drive. He was taken to jail, and the 
 news soon spread that he was an ex-convict 
 and horse-thief. He was tried on a charge of 
 stealing horses, and was returned to the peni- 
 tentiary for a term of two years. Here were 
 seven years' service for two drunks! Ancient 
 Jacob, " how tuff ! " After Gus had completed 
 his narration to me he wound up by saying, 
 M Ven I shall oudt git this time, I let von visky 
 alones." 
 
 BOVINE TROUBLE. 
 
 Woodward R. Lopeman was sent up from 
 Neosho County for murder in the first degree. 
 Under his sentence he was to be hanged at the 
 close of the first year. This part of the sen- 
 tence is never carried out in Kansas. The par- 
 ticulars of his crime are as follows: He was a 
 well-to-do farmer residing in Neosho County, 
 and never had any difficulty to amount to any- 
 thing before this time. He was an old soldiei
 
 THE PRISONERS. I 53 
 
 and served his country faithfully and bravely 
 for four years. For some trivial cause he and 
 one of his neighbors had a little difficulty, but 
 it was thought nothing would ever come of it, 
 as each of them had been advised by their 
 friends to bury their animosity before it should 
 lead to graver results. Lopeman seemed will- 
 ing to do this, but his irate neighbor would not 
 meet him half way. One day a calf of Lope- 
 man's, worth but a few dollars, got through the 
 fence and over into his neighbor's pasture. 
 Word was sent to the owner of the calf that if 
 he would come over and pay damages for the 
 trouble of penning it up he could have his prop- 
 erty. This had a tendency to arouse a bad feel- 
 ing in the heart of Lopeman ; so, placing his re- 
 volver in his pocket, and asking his grown up 
 son to accompany him, they went to the house 
 of the neighbor and directly to the lot where 
 the calf was shut in and commenced to lay 
 down the bars to let it out, when the neighbor 
 came from the house with his son, and Lope- 
 man was ordered to leave the bars alone. The 
 neighbor, who was a strong, muscular man, 
 proceeded to chastise Lopeman; the two sons 
 also got ready for an encounter. Lopeman, be- 
 ing by far the smaller man of the two, began to
 
 154 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 retreat slowly as his enemy advanced brandish- 
 ing a club. When almost near enough Lope- 
 man to strike him with the uplifted club, Lope- 
 man, in self-defense, as he claims, drew his re- 
 volver and shot him. He fell lifeless to the 
 ground. The son of the murdered man per- 
 ceiving what was done, ran quickly into the 
 house, and getting a double-barreled shotgun, 
 came out and fired twice at Lopeman and his 
 son. The shots did not take effect. Lope- 
 man fired two shots at him. At this the son re- 
 tired into the house, and Lopeman and son tak- 
 ing the almost worthless calf, which had been 
 the cause of so much trouble, went to their 
 home. Lopeman then went to the county seat 
 and gave himself up to the authorities. As 
 soon as the news spread over the neighborhood, 
 excitement ran high and there was loud talk of 
 lynching. The murdered man was very popu- 
 lar. His old neighbors smelled blood, and it 
 was with some difficulty that they were pre- 
 vented from taking the law into their own hands. 
 Better judgment prevailed, however, and after 
 six months the trial came off and the murderer 
 was convicted and sentenced as aforesaid. This 
 man was my cell mate. He is 5omething over 
 sixty years of age, of medium height, and dur-
 
 THE PRISONERS. 1 55 
 
 ing his younger days must have been very hard 
 to handle. The first evening we occupied the 
 cell together he told me of all his troubles, and 
 I learned from his own lips that I was to room 
 with a murderer. I felt I would much 
 rather be at home, than locked in that 4x7 cell 
 with a man whose hands were dyed with the 
 blood of his neighbor. My alarm somewhat 
 subsided when the time came for retiring. The 
 old man, as solemnly as the Apostle Paul 
 would have done, took down the Bible, read 
 a few verses, and then knelt down and prayed. 
 I sat there in mute astonishment at the pro- 
 ceedings of this gray haired criminal. How 
 was it possible for a man who was guilty of 
 such a grave crime to be devout. He often 
 told me that he had no consciousness whatever 
 of guilt, nor the fear and dread of a murderer. 
 I asked him if in his dreams he could not often 
 see the face of his victim. With a shrug of 
 the shoulders he admitted that he could. For 
 six months this old man and myself occupied 
 that small cell together, so small that it was 
 very difficult for us to get by each other when 
 the sleeping bunks were down. We never had 
 the least trouble during the entire time. A 
 kinder hearted man I never met. Whenever
 
 156 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 he received any little delicacies from home he 
 would always divide with me, and in such a 
 cheerful spirit that I soon came to think a good 
 deal of the old man. If we had both been on 
 the outside world I would not have desired a 
 kinder neighbor. His son, later on, was con- 
 victed as an accomplice, and sent up for two 
 years. The old man has hopes of a pardon in 
 a few years. He has a wife and several chil- 
 dren who are highly respected and much be- 
 loved in the neighborhood where they reside. 
 They have the sympathy of all their neighbors 
 in this affliction and bereavement. 
 
 WHISKY AND WOMEN. 
 
 Doc. Crunk. One of the many despera- 
 does now behind the prison walls of the Kan- 
 sas penitentiary is this noted Texas out- 
 law. He is a native Texan, now nearly 
 fifty years of age. After years of crime he 
 was finally caught in the Indian Territory while 
 introducing whisky among the Indians. He 
 had his trial in the U. S. District Court, was 
 convicted and sent to the penitentiary for 
 three years. For a time during the war he 
 was a confederate soldier. Becoming dis- 
 satisfied with the profession of arms, he de-
 
 THE PRISONERS. 157 
 
 sorted and entered upon the life of an outlaw. 
 He gathered about him a few kindred spirits 
 with which Southern Texas was infested, and 
 organized a band of cattle and horse thieves, 
 This band of banditti became so numer- 
 ous that after a time it extended along 
 the lower line of Texas into the In- 
 dian Territory and up into Kansas. Their 
 ravages were also felt in Arkansas. They had 
 a regular organized band, and stations where 
 they could dispose of their stolen property. 
 The cattle that were stolen -were run to the 
 frontiers and sold to cattlemen who were in col- 
 lusion with them, and which latter were getting 
 immensely rich out of the operations of these 
 thieves. They would steal horses, run them off 
 and sell them to buyers who knew they were 
 purchasing stolen property. For years this 
 gang flourished. Another mode of securing 
 stock was the following: A great many estrays 
 would betaken up and advertised. In every 
 instance some member of the Crunk gang 
 would claim the property under oath and take 
 it away. The leader of these outlaws stood 
 trial for nineteen different murders, and was ac- 
 quitted each time. He could always prove an 
 alibi. His assistants would come in and swear
 
 158 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 him clear every time. He was an intimate ac- 
 quaintance and on friendly terms with the James 
 boys, and related many trips that he had made 
 with these noted and desperate men in their 
 work ~of " seeking revenge," as he styled it. 
 He has no love for a colored man, and as he 
 works now in the prison with a number, point- 
 ing to them one day he said to me, " I wish I 
 had a five -dollar note for each one of them 
 black skunks I have killed since the wa'. " He 
 said he considered " a ' niggah ' that wouldn't 
 vote the way decent people wanted him to 
 should not vote at all." Said he: "I know of a 
 number that will not vote any mo'. I saw them 
 pass in their last ballot." " The most money, 
 made the easiest and quickest, was made by our 
 men," said he, " as moonshiners in Montague 
 County. We carried on this business success- 
 fully for a long time, but finally the U. S. mar- 
 shals became too much for us, and we had to 
 close up shop. We had several engagements 
 with them; men were dropped on both sides, 
 until finally we concluded to quit the business 
 and return to our old trade of stealing cattle 
 and horses. The way our moonshiner's nest 
 was found out was very romantic. A young 
 woman came into the district, and tried to get
 
 THE PRISONERS. 159 
 
 up a school, seemingly, but failed. I guess she 
 did not try very hard to get scholars. At any 
 rate she remained with a family in the neigh- 
 borhood for some time, whom she claimed were 
 her relatives. One of my men fell desperately 
 in love with this young woman. He would be 
 out riding with her, and, as none of us suspected 
 anything, he would at times bring her over to 
 our camp, and we taught her how to make 
 whisky. She seemed deeply interested in the 
 business. I told the boys several times that I 
 was a little afraid of that ' gal, 'but they laughed 
 at me, and so I said, ' I can stand it if the rest 
 of you can.' She even went so far as to be- 
 come familiarly acquainted with all of us. 
 We all got to thinking that she was a nice 
 young woman, and her lover simply thought 
 he had secured the finest prize in the world. 
 But alas! At the proper time she fixed our 
 camp. She proved to be a female detective 
 from New York city.' She gave away our fel- 
 lows, and soon we were surrounded by a posse 
 of U. S. marshals and their deputies. Her 
 lover was captured and is now in the Texas 
 penitentiary. Several of our boys were killed 
 or wounded, and those of us who escaped made 
 up our minds to go back to the old cattle
 
 160 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 trade." " What are you going to do, Doc.," 
 said I, "when you get out of this place?" 
 " Going back to Texas; hunt up the boys, and 
 see if we can't find some more horses and 
 cattle. One thing is certain I will never go to 
 another penitentiary. I will swallow a dose of 
 cold lead first." 
 
 And, with this, the famous outlaw went off 
 to his room in the mine to get out his task 
 of coal to keep from being punished. Of 
 the nine hundred criminals in the prison, 
 probably there is not one of them who has 
 seen so much of a life of crime as the famous 
 Doc. Crunk. 
 
 EIGHT TIMES A CONVICT. 
 
 Thomas A. Currens. One of the most 
 unique characters to be found in the striped 
 ranks of the Kansas penitentiary is that of the 
 man who is herein described. This convict is 
 fifty-two years of age, and a native of Ken- 
 tucky. His life, save a short time spent in the 
 army, has been one of crime. He was a cour- 
 ageous lad. Leaving his home at the early age 
 of ten years, thus deprived of all parental pro- 
 tection and restraints, he formed bad associa- 
 tions, an** -soon his future career was in the di-
 
 THE PRISONERS. l6l 
 
 rection of crime. The greater part of his 
 boyhood was spent in city and county jails and 
 reform schools. At the age of twenty-two 
 years he was convicted on a charge of horse- 
 stealing and sent to the Frankfort, Ky., peni- 
 tentiary for six years. After serving four years 
 he was pardoned by the Legislature. He re- 
 mained out of prison for the two following 
 years. We next find him in " limbo " in Indi- 
 ana. He was arrested, and twenty different 
 charges were preferred against him. By plead- 
 ing guilty to the count of stealing a wagon, the 
 court dismissed the other cases and gave him a 
 sentence of three years at hard labor. He was 
 taken to the State's prison. Shortly after his 
 arrival he was put to work running an engine 
 during the night-time. After five months had 
 passed away, Thomas, reaching the conclusion 
 that he did not enjoy watching over an engine 
 during the lonely hours of the night, determined 
 to escape. Stealing an old suit of clothes be- 
 longing to an officer, which he drew on over 
 his suit of stripes, he scaled the walls and was 
 once more a free man. It was a cold winter's 
 night. After traveling some distance through 
 the woods his feet were almost frozen. Day- 
 light was now approaching. He must find a 
 
 The Twin Hells 1 1.
 
 1 62 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 place of hiding during the coming day. In a 
 few hours he would be missed at the peniten- 
 tiary. The alarm being given, the usual re- 
 ward being offered, scores would be on the 
 lookout for him. Approaching a farmyard, he 
 sat down and cut up his striped pantaloons and 
 wrapped up his almost frozen feet. He then 
 crawled under a hay-stack. In this place he 
 came near being discovered, for in a couple of 
 hours the farmer came out to feed his cattle, 
 and as chance would have it took the hay from 
 the stack under which the convict was secreted. 
 As he was removing the hay, several times 
 prongs of the fork sank deep enough to pene- 
 trate the flesh of the runaway. He endured 
 this pitchfork probing heroically while it lasted, 
 and was thankful when the cattle had received 
 sufficient provender. Here he remained until 
 nightfall. He did not renew his journey until 
 the farmer and his family had retired and were 
 in the land of dreams. Almost starved, unin- 
 vited he enters the kitchen and helps himself to 
 what he can find. His hunger being appeased, 
 his old habit of taking things that he should 
 leave alone, forced him into the bed-room of the 
 sleeping farmer, and forced his hand into the 
 pocket of the aforesaid granger's pantaloons,
 
 THE PRISONERS. 163 
 
 from which he took his pocketbook containing 
 twenty dollars in money. He was now pre- 
 pared for traveling. Continuing his journey for 
 several miles, becoming very tired, he decided 
 not to walk any longer as there was so much 
 good horse-flesh in the vicinity. Near the hour 
 of midnight, this weary tramp entered the farm- 
 yard of a wealthy old Indiana farmer, and 
 going into the barn led out one of his fleetest 
 steeds. Once more astride a good horse, 
 Thomas felt like a free man. During the rest 
 of the night he made good headway, and by 
 the morning sun was up the rider and horse 
 were many miles away from the place where 
 first they met. Entering a small village, the 
 horse was fed and nicely groomed. At the 
 same time Thomas partook of a good breakfast, 
 which he heartily enjoyed. The fates seemed 
 to favor the man of crime. It is an old saying: 
 " The devil looks after his own." A horse- 
 buyer had arrived in the village a few days 
 before. When the noon train came whistling 
 up to the station, the convict having converted 
 his horse into one hundred and twenty-five 
 dollars, purchased a new suit of clothes, a silk 
 hat, and a pair of kid gloves, and, representing 
 himself to be a traveling salesman, getting
 
 164 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 aboard, soon reaches Chicago, where, soon 
 after his arrival, he joined a band of crooks. 
 He was never discovered by the Indiana prison 
 officials. Fifteen years after his escape, he got 
 a " pal " to wire the authorities of the Indiana 
 penitentiary, and inquired of them what reward 
 they would pay for the return of Thomas A. 
 Currens, a convict who had effected his escape 
 many years before. An answer came that if 
 he would remain out of the State, he would 
 never be molested. 
 
 Wandering about several months after his 
 escape, he arrives in Sedalia, Missouri. Among 
 other little articles he was accused of stealing 
 at this place was an eight hundred dollar ba- 
 rouche, the property of Judge Ferguson, of 
 that place. Again this noted thief was arrested 
 and confined in the county jail to await trial. 
 He was not anxious for trial, for he knew the 
 " yawning pen " was waiting to receive him. 
 For eleven months he remained in this jail, hav- 
 ing his trial continued from term to term. When 
 his case was called up for the first time he 
 feigned sickness. The next time one of the 
 principal witnesses was absent, and thus for 
 eleven months his case was continued. Thomas 
 now yearned for freedom. How to get out of
 
 THE PRISONERS. 165 
 
 that jail was the problem. Another term of 
 court would soon convene. He had no grounds 
 for further continuance. Fortune favored him. 
 At this time a man was arrested and placed in 
 the same cell with Currens. The face of the 
 new arrival was covered over with blotches. 
 The next morning Currens in a confidential 
 manner stated to the sheriff that his cell mate 
 had the small-pox. Being interrogated the 
 prisoner said he had been exposed recently, and 
 a physician being called, on examination it was 
 decided to remove him to the pest-house. Cur- 
 rens was sent along on account of his exposure 
 to the contagion. An officer was placed in 
 charge of the two jail-birds at the pest-house. 
 During the night following their arrival at this 
 out-of-the-way place, the officer was pounced 
 upon by the two desperate criminals, bound 
 hand and foot, and with a large cork placed be- 
 tween his teeth, was gently laid on the floor. 
 His gold watch and chain, and all the loose 
 change he had with him were taken from his 
 person, and the two small-pox patients walked 
 forth into the darkness and gloom of that 
 night unattended by any friendly official. 
 
 Thomas never believed in criminals travel- 
 ing in groups, so he bade his companion an af-
 
 1 66 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 fcctionate farewell. Wending his way to the 
 southwestern portion of the State he was ar- 
 rested for additional crimes and misdemeanors. 
 Knowing that the officers had not sufficient evi- 
 dence against him he bravely stood trial and 
 was acquitted. However, as he was going 
 forth from his prison cell a free man, much to 
 his surprise, an official from Sedalia put in an 
 appearance and took him back to the scene of 
 his small-pox escapade. At his trial he was 
 convicted and received a sentence of six and 
 one-half years. He now took a cell in the Jef- 
 ferson City penitentiary. After four years of 
 imprisonment this notorious criminal makes an 
 application for pardon, setting up an alibi as the 
 basis of the application, and succeeded in influ- 
 encing the Governor to believe the testi- 
 mony, and was set at liberty, promising that he 
 would leave the State of Missouri, never to re- 
 turn. The conscience of the said Thomas 
 never troubled him over failing to keep his 
 word with the officers of the law. He did not 
 leave Missouri, as he agreed, but betook him- 
 self to the pleasant little city of Carthage. 
 Scarcely three moths had elapsed before he 
 found himself again in durance vile for stealing 
 horses. H was tried, convicted and returned
 
 THE PRISONERS. 1^7 
 
 to Jefferson City penitentiary under a sentence 
 of six years. He took an appeal to the 
 Supreme Court. The judgment of the lower 
 court was reversed. He was taken back to 
 Carthage for another trial, and was convicted 
 the second time, and again received a sentence 
 of six years at hard labor in the penitentiary. 
 As before, he appealed the case, and the gov- 
 ernor, thinking the State was getting the worst 
 of the matter, and that a large amount of costs 
 were being made, pardoned the convict under 
 another promise that he would leave the State. 
 Currens, now following Greeley's advice, turns 
 his eyes toward the setting sun. He crosses 
 the Big Muddy, and plants his feet upon the 
 sacred soil of Kansas. He makes a raid upon 
 Lawrence, breaks into a house, and is caught 
 in the act of trying to carry off the household 
 goods. A courteous policeman takes charge of 
 him now deeply steeped in crime soonland- 
 ing him behind the bars. In the presence of 
 the court he next makes a solemn statement 
 that, prior to this, he had been a Sunday-school 
 teacher; that misfortune had overtaken him, 
 and h was forced to enter some friend's 
 kitchen or starve. Those who listened to his 
 pathetic appeal inform me that the stern judge
 
 1 68 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 was moved to tears, and that while he had con- 
 templated giving the wayward Thomas six 
 years, he made it three. This was the first in- 
 troduction of our hero to the principal brown 
 stone front of Lansing. It was not long after 
 his arrival at the Kansas penitentiary before he 
 gained the confidence of the authorities, and 
 was made a " trusty." He had an easy place 
 given him. 
 
 His three years' sentence soon passed away. 
 His term was reduced three months because of 
 his excellent conduct while in prison. Bearing 
 with him the good wishes of a majority of the 
 prison officials, and followed by the prayers of 
 the pious chaplain, he goes forth to engage in 
 life's battle again. Thomas could not fully en- 
 joy the sweets of liberty unless on horseback. 
 He makes his way to the capital of Kansas, and 
 engages at once in the dangerous business of 
 stealing horses. He had not continued this 
 course long before he was arrested, tried, con- 
 victed and returned to Lansing for five years 
 more. Thomas had not been in the Kansas 
 penitentiary the second time but a few months, 
 when he called upon the chaplain, and with 
 tears rolling down his face confessed he was a 
 great sinner, promised to lead a different life^
 
 THE PRISONERS. 169 
 
 and urged the chaplain to pray for him. De- 
 lighted at the prospect of snatching such a 
 brand from the eternal burning, the man of 
 God took Thomas into a private room, and the 
 two knelt down. The chaplain offered a fer- 
 vent prayer that the loving Father would take 
 to His embrace the returning, sinful prodigal. 
 At the conclusion of this prayer the chaplain 
 called upon the " sin sick soul " to pray for him- 
 self. This was an unexpected movement by 
 the chaplain, and Thomas was hardly prepared 
 for the emergency. However, he prayed. He 
 was converted on the spot. At least, the chap- 
 lain thought so. Strange as it may appear to 
 my readers, instead of this noted convict having 
 to remain and serve out his five years' sentence, 
 through the influence of this minister he secured 
 a pardon. At the expiration of eighteen 
 months the shrewd convict was a free man. 
 That chaplain was " worked." 
 
 The fortunate Thomas next visits Atchison. 
 A farmer came to the city one day, driving a 
 beautiful horse. The temptation was too great, 
 and the man who had been an inmate of a peni- 
 tentiary seven different times followed the un- 
 suspecting farmer to his home, and that night 
 rode away the coveted prize. The Atchison
 
 I/O THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 County Vigilance Committee traced and soon 
 caught the guilty horse-thief, landing him in 
 Atchison County's beautiful jail. Shortly after, 
 Thomas had an interview with the county at- 
 torney, and it was agreed by and between them, 
 if the horse-thief would plead guilty, he should 
 be let off with one year in the penitentiary. 
 To this the grave offender agreed, and, pre- 
 senting himself before the tribunal of justice, 
 Hon. W. D. Gilbert presiding, plead guilty. 
 The county attorney being absent, the court 
 gave Thomas, instead of twelve months, a year 
 and a half at hard labor.- I met him in the 
 penitentiary a few days ago, and learned that 
 he is putting forth an effort to secure a pardon 
 on the ground that had he not been promised 
 only a one year's sentence, he would have stood 
 trial and been acquitted. He claims that he 
 should be given his liberty when his one year 
 is up. 
 
 Thomas was out of the penitentiary long 
 enough to go into the army and get a bullet 
 through his ankle, and therefor draws a pension 
 of twenty-four dollars per month. He takes 
 good care of his money, and has enough on 
 hand to enable him to get a good start in life 
 when he obtains his freedorrj. He is a well-
 
 THE PRISONERS. I/I 
 
 behaved prisoner. He is true to his pals in 
 crime, never having been known to turn State's 
 evidence. He has a mania for taking things 
 that do not belong to him. He claims that he 
 never would have been caught the last time 
 had not his housekeeper " given him away. " 
 The two had a domestic quarrel, and in her 
 efforts to get even, she told the authorities of 
 his theft. After his trial and conviction, 
 womanlike, she repented in sackcloth and ashes, 
 but Thomas would have no more to do with 
 her. Later, she went over into Missouri , where 
 she has since died. One of the first things 
 Thomas will do on regaining his liberty will be 
 to secure another housekeeper, and probably the 
 the next thing will be to steal some farmer's 
 horse. 
 
 This convict is now serving out his eighth 
 term in the penitentiary. It is fearful to con- 
 template these human wrecks. A wasted life, 
 golden opportunities unimproved, a dark and 
 dismal future will constitute the death knell of 
 such fallen beings. Young man, remember 
 the life of this convict, and shun such a course. 
 
 SKILLED LABOR. 
 William Hurst. Some of the narratives in
 
 172 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 this book read like the story of Aladin's Lamp, 
 and we have no doubt some of them so read- 
 ing are absolutely true, while for the Lamp 
 story nothing is claimed. For many ages men, 
 and particularly those engaged in the literary 
 field of thought, have discanted on the baseness 
 of the passion of jealousy. There is no sense 
 in being jealous. You are either loved or you 
 are not, and hence the absolute foolishness of 
 indulging the passion. 
 
 William Hurst, whose history we now re- 
 late, is a man of rough personal appearance, 
 Irish descent, and his age is now about fifty-five. 
 Coming to Kansas at an early day, he settled in 
 Doniphan County, and there courted and subse- 
 quently married one of Doniphan County's 
 pretty girls. Time went along as usual, and in 
 a few years there were several little cherubs that 
 blessed the household of Hurst. But, as some- 
 times happens, thehusband began to drink, love 
 grew colder, the necessities of the family hourly 
 grew greater, poverty in all its hideousness 
 came to curse the home once so happy. The 
 poor, distracted wife and mother did all she 
 could, by taking in washing and ironing, to pre- 
 vent the starvation of her little ones. The hus- 
 band through his bleared eyes imagined he
 
 THE PRISONERS. 1/3 
 
 could see that other men were too friendly to 
 his wife. He charged her with unfaithfulness 
 to the marriage vows. She denied the charge. 
 Only incensed by this he would beat and mis- 
 treat her out of all reason. For protection she 
 had him arrested, intending to bind him over to 
 keep the peace, but on the advice of officers, 
 who are so full of it, she withdrew the charge 
 and he was set at liberty. For a few days he 
 was quiet, but soon the red liquor poured down 
 his throat, and like a mountain devil stirred all 
 the dark passions of his lost and ruined nature. 
 He attempted to debauch his own daughter, 
 and was only prevented by the physical force of 
 the ever-watchful mother. The father (great 
 God! is such a human being entitled to the en- 
 dearing term?) turned upon her, and again, as 
 had often happened, abused, kicked and mis- 
 treated her in a most shameful manner. She 
 had him arrested a second time with the inten- 
 tion of binding him over to keep the peace. 
 He pretended, while in charge of the officer, 
 that he must see his wife, and together they 
 started toward the hovel where they lived. 
 They met the wife and mother at the outskirts 
 of the little village, had some words, and before 
 the officer could prevent it, Hurst sprang upon
 
 174 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 the woman and cut her throat from ear to ear, 
 jumped away, and made good his escape to the 
 woods, the officer, meanwhile, deeming it more 
 important to aid the woman, not knowing, for 
 a moment, that the cutting was fatal. That 
 fact was very soon apparent. Others were 
 called who took charge of the body, and the 
 officer struck out in hot pursuit of the murderer. 
 He was followed to the woods a few miles 
 from White Cloud, in Doniphan County, there 
 overtaken and conducted to the county seat, 
 tried, convicted of murder in the first degree, 
 sentenced to be hung, sent to the penitentiary 
 to await the final execution, which, in our 
 State, never comes. He remained in there 
 about twenty months when he became insane, 
 and was sent to the asylum; was there about 
 three and a half years, when he was pronounced 
 cured and returned to the penitentiary. He 
 is now insane a second time. You have all in 
 your younger days read the story of the maniac 
 that paced hiscell, repeating" once one is two," 
 and now comes the queerest part of this nar- 
 rative. Hurst seems anxious to talk to every 
 one that calls, and especially anxious to shake 
 hands; but if you say anything to him, or ask 
 any question, his only answer is " skilled
 
 THE PRISONERS. 175 
 
 labor," and keeps on repeating these words as 
 he walks up and down his place of confine- 
 ment. 
 
 Who knows but the infinite God has de- 
 stroyed reason to prevent the power of dark- 
 ness over this poor, unfortunate being. Or 
 who knows but the demands of justice are met 
 in the terrible conscience blows which have 
 staggered and shattered that which originally 
 was in the image of God. 
 
 LIFE INSURANCE AND MURDER. 
 
 McNutt and Winner. These are two of the 
 most noted criminals in the penitentiary, ren- 
 dered so because of the dastardly crime com- 
 mitted by them, and the high social relations 
 of the latter. They came from Wichita, and 
 have been in prison almost fifteen years. Mc- 
 Nutt is a fine artist and painter. He had his 
 paint shop in Wichita, and was doing a very 
 successful business. Winner was his associate, 
 and the two plotted and carried into execution 
 the following horrible crime: McNutt got his 
 life insured for $5,000, his wife being his ben- 
 eficiary. It was a dark, stormy night when 
 McNutt and Winner enticed into this paint shop 
 an unsuspecting mutual friend. Here they
 
 176 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 murdered him in cold blood. They then set 
 fire to the paint shop and took to flight. After 
 the fire was put out, the charred remains of the 
 murdered man were found, and supposed to be 
 those of McNutt, the owner of the building. 
 The wife, cognizant of the awful deed which 
 her husband had committed, followed the 
 remains of the murdered man to the grave, 
 dressed in her garb of mourning. 
 
 Shortly after this she applied for the in- 
 surance money on her husband's life. Some 
 doubts were raised as to the identity of the 
 body. Detectives were employed to make an 
 investigation of the case. They made use of 
 a deception, and thus got the woman to con- 
 fess. They told her that they had found an 
 accomplice who had confessed the crime, and 
 was in jail. They promised the wife that if 
 she would tell the truth they would not prose- 
 cute her. She consented. She narrated the 
 sickening events as they had been plotted ift 
 her presence and under her roof. Officers 
 were now despatched to find the murderers. 
 McXutt was found in Missouri plowing corn. 
 Winner was found near Wichita. They were 
 brought to trial, convicted, and sent to prison 
 for life. Winner was unmarried at the time of
 
 THE PRISONERS. 1 77 
 
 his conviction. His father and only brother 
 are very wealthy, and living in Kansas City. 
 I have been told they offer $20,000 for 
 Winner's pardon. McNutt is a very useful 
 man in the prison. He has charge of the 
 painting department. He has done some fine 
 work on the walls of the prison chapel, cover- 
 ing them with paintings of the Grecian god- 
 desses. Both ofthese prisoners hope to receive 
 pardons. Whether they will regain their 
 liberty is a question which the future alone can 
 answer. 
 
 THE HOG-THIEF. 
 
 In the coal mines, as before stated, the con- 
 victs are permitted to converse with each other. 
 I improved this opportunity of acquiring the 
 histories of the five hundred criminals with 
 whom I daily worked, eight hundred feet be- 
 low the surface. I would talk with a fellow 
 prisoner, and get the details of his crime as we 
 sat together in the darkness. Understanding 
 " short-hand, "I would go to my cell in the even- 
 ing and jot down what I had learned during 
 the day. I had no fears of any one reading my 
 notes, as I was the only short-hand writer about 
 the institution. Day after day I kept this up 
 
 The Twin Hell 12
 
 1 78 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 until I had material sufficient of this nature to fill 
 a book of more than two thousand pages. My 
 readers should also know, that a convict will tell 
 a fellow-prisoner the details of his crime, when 
 he would not think of saying a word about it 
 to others. As a rule they deny their crimes to 
 those who are not, like themselves, criminals, 
 pleading innocence. It is not difficult for a 
 prisoner to get the confidence of a fellow- 
 prisoner. In fact, criminals love to unburden 
 their minds to those who possess their confi- 
 dence. The truth is, convicts have related 
 their crimes so often to me that it became tire- 
 some. They say it relieves them to communi- 
 cate their troubles. Pinkerton, of Chicago, the 
 prince of detectives, stated at one time that a 
 criminal could not keep his secret. It is true. 
 I know it to be a fact. It has been demon- 
 strated a hundred times in my association with 
 these convicts in the Kansas penitentiary. 
 Securing their confidence, these men have not 
 only told me of the crimes for which they have 
 been sent to prison, but also of crimes that they 
 have committed, and, in the commission of 
 which, they had not been detected, which, if I 
 should make them known, would cause a number 
 of them to remain in the penitentiary the rest of
 
 THE PRISONERS. 1/9 
 
 their lives. I am not in the detective business, 
 and will therefore keep what was confided to 
 me. I have met but few criminals in the mines 
 that would not admit their guilt. I have 
 thought in many cases, convicts received sen- 
 tences too severe, and not at all commensurate 
 with the crime committed. I have met a few 
 men, however, who would stubbornly deny 
 their guilt and stoutly affirm their innocence. 
 I have worked upon these men day after day, 
 and never got anything out of them but that 
 they were innocent. At times, in tears, they 
 would talk of their sufferings, and wonder if 
 there was a just God silently permitting the 
 innocent to suffer for the guilty. I am satis- 
 fied these men are innocent, and they have my 
 sympathy. They are exceptions. Others, 
 while admitting their guilt oh general princi- 
 ples, and assenting to the justice of imprison- 
 ment, yet maintain that they were innocent 
 of the particular crime for which they stand 
 convicted. I trust the reader will not get his 
 sympathies wrought too high, as compara- 
 tively few angels find their way into modern 
 prisons. I will give you a few illustrations. 
 These are just samples of scores of histories in 
 my possession.
 
 180 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 A hog-thief worked in the mines with me 
 for a few days. His dose was five years at 
 hard labor. He had stolen an old sandy female 
 swine with six pigs. I asked him if he was 
 really guilty of carrying on the pork business. 
 " Yes," said he, with a low chuckle, " I have 
 stolen pigs all my life, and my daddy and 
 mammy before me were in the same business. 
 I got caught. They never did." He then 
 related the details of many thefts. He made 
 a considerable amount of money in his wicked 
 traffic, which he had squandered, and was now 
 penniless. Money secured in a criminal manner 
 never does the possessor any good. I asked 
 him if he had enough of the hog business, and 
 if it was his intention to quit it, and when he 
 got out of the pen to earn an honest living. 
 " No," he replied, " as long as there is a hog 
 to steal and I am a free man, I propose to steal 
 him. " Imprisonment failed to reform this 
 convict. Although a hog-thief he was an ex- 
 cellent singer and a prominent member of the 
 prison choir. 
 
 There are many murderers in the mines. 
 In fact, nearly all the life men are there. Some 
 of them speak of their crimes with a bravado 
 simply astonishing, showing their utter deprav-
 
 THE PRISONERS. l8l 
 
 ity. Others, admitting their guilt, say but little 
 of details. The following will give the reader 
 some idea of the stories that greeted my ears 
 almost daily, and led me to conclude that the 
 coal mines of the penitentiary are not inhabited 
 exclusively by Sunday-school scholars. This 
 cruel and heartless wretch had murdered an 
 old man and his wife. The old people lived on 
 a farm adjoining the one where this criminal, 
 who was then a hired man, worked, It was 
 the talk of the neighborhood that they had 
 money. This human fiend undertook to secure 
 their " loose change, " as he called it. He pro- 
 cured a shotgun and an axe, and, in the dead 
 hour of night, went to the house of the old peo- 
 ple. He forced open the kitchen door and 
 went in. He had also brought with him alan- 
 tern. He quietly stole to the bedside of the 
 innocent and aged sleepers. He had no 
 use for his lantern as the moonlight shone 
 through the window opposite and fell upon 
 the faces of the unconscious victims. Set- 
 ting his gun down by the side of 
 the bed, so that he could have it handy 
 for use, if necessary, he took the axe and 
 struck each of his victims a blow upon the 
 head. He said7with a demoniac chuckle, that
 
 f82 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 K was more difficult to kill a woman than a 
 nun, as it required two blows from the axe to 
 kill the woman, while one was sufficient for 
 the man. He then ransacked the house, and, 
 between some blankets underneath the straw- 
 bed upon which the old folks were sleeping, 
 he found a small bag, which contained some 
 gold, silver and paper money, amounting to 
 over one thousand dollars. In a cold-blooded 
 manner he further stated (and as I pen his 
 words my blood nearly freezes in my veins), 
 in order to search the bed upon which his 
 victims were lying, it became necessary for 
 him to remove the bodies; so he lifted them 
 up one at a time, and placed them upon the 
 floor, face downward, for the reason, as he said, 
 that their eyes bulged out and seemed to stare 
 at him. 
 
 After securing the money he fled and re- 
 turned to the farm where he worked. He 
 slept in the barn, as is very often the case with 
 farm laborers during the summer season. 
 Entering the barn he procured an old bucket, 
 places his money in it, covers the top with a 
 piece of board, and buries it in the earth east 
 of the barn. He also buried the axe near the 
 bucket. He said there were clots of blood and
 
 THE PRISONERS. 1 8} 
 
 hair on the axe, and he thought best to put it 
 out of sight. He then returned to the barn, 
 and, strange to say, soon fell asleep and slept 
 sweetly until morning. He went to work the 
 next day as usual, and his mind was taken up 
 more by thinking of what a good time he would 
 have after a little, spending that money, than 
 in worrying over the terrible crime he had 
 committed. He reasoned that the money 
 would do the old people no good, but that he 
 could use it to advantage. 
 
 The discovery of the murder was made the 
 next day about noon. The alarm was given. 
 The whole country was aroused and excited 
 over the commission of such a horrible crime 
 two innocent, helpless and highly-respected old 
 people murdered for their money. A couple of 
 tramps had passed through the neighborhood 
 the day before, and, of course, everybody 
 thought it must have been the tramps that 
 committed the murder. The object now was 
 to find them. They were overtaken the next 
 day and brought back to the scene of the mur- 
 der. They both stoutly denied any knowl- 
 edge of the crime. They were separated, and 
 each was told that the other had confessed. 
 This was done that a confession might be forced
 
 1 84 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 from them. They continued in their affirma- 
 tion of innocence. They were then taken to 
 the woods near by and each hung up until life 
 was almost extinct, but they still denied the 
 commission of the crime. They were at length 
 taken to the county seat, not far distant, and, 
 on a preliminary examination, were bound over 
 to appear at the next term of the District Court, 
 and put in the county jail. The majority of 
 the people believed that the perpetrators of 
 this crime had been arrested and were now in 
 durance vile; the excitement soon passed away, 
 and very little was said about it. 
 
 " It was at this time," said my informant, 
 " that I made the mistake of my life. I had 
 worked hard on the farm for several months, 
 and thought I would take a lay off. I felt it 
 was due me. I now made up my mind to have 
 a time. I went to town and soon fell in with a 
 harlot. I got to drinking. I am very fond of 
 strong drink ; it has been my ruin. I became 
 intoxicated, and during this time I must have 
 betrayed my secret to this wicked woman. A 
 large reward had been offered for the murderer 
 of these old people. This woman who kept 
 me company having thus obtained my secret, 
 went to the city marshal and made an arrange-
 
 THE PRISONERS. 185 
 
 merit that for half of the reward offered she 
 would show him the man who had committed 
 the crime. This was agreed to. While I was 
 drinking and having a good time with my 'fast 
 woman' three men were on the road to the 
 farm where I had been working. They found 
 and dug up the old bucket containing what 
 money I had left in it, and the axe. All this I 
 learned at the trial. I was arrested and bound 
 over to the District Court on a charge of murder 
 in the first degree. The officers had to keep 
 me secreted for some time, as there was strong 
 talk of lynching. In due time I had my trial 
 and got a life sentence." 
 
 I asked him if he had any hope of pardon. 
 
 " Oh yes," said he, " in the course of eight 
 or ten years I will be able to get out once 
 more." 
 
 " What became of the tramps that came so 
 near being compelled to suffer the penalty of 
 your crime?" 
 
 " They were released as soon as I was ar- 
 rested, a snug little sum of money was raised 
 for them, a new suit of clothes purchased, and 
 they went on their way rejoicing, thinking 
 themselves creatures of luck." 
 
 As we sat together in a secluded place in the
 
 1 86 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 mines, with the faint light of my miner's lamp 
 falling on his hideous face, the cool, deliberate 
 manner in which he related his atrocious doings, 
 the fiendish spirit he displayed, led me to 
 regard him as one among the most debased and 
 hardened criminals I had met in the mines 
 a human being utterly devoid of moral nature 
 a very devil in the form of man! 
 
 A NOTED COUNTERFEITER. 
 
 One of my companions in the mines, and 
 with whom I worked a couple of weeks, lying 
 almost side by side with him as we dug coal in 
 the same room, was a noted counterfeiter. 
 He had plied his trade for many years suc- 
 cessfully. Whisky finally sent him to the 
 penitentiary. If professional criminals would 
 only let strong drink alone not half so many 
 of them would get caught. They get drunk, 
 and in this condition expose themselves. We 
 don't mean to use this as an argument against 
 the prohibitory law ! It is, perhaps, proper 
 for them to drink. This counterfeiter makes 
 his dies out of plaster paris. They are very 
 simple arid easy of construction. He explained 
 to me the manner in which they were made. 
 I would give his method of making these dies
 
 THE PRISONERS. 1 8/ 
 
 were it not for the fact that some smart boy 
 getting hold of this book and learning the 
 method would undertake the business, and 
 as a result his good old mother would be 
 going to the penitentiary to visit him. When 
 this counterfeiter would run short of funds he 
 would purchase the necessary material, go 
 into the woods on a dark night, and in a 
 very short time would have plenty of bogus 
 money. He taught the trade to his brother and 
 to some bosom friends, and it was not long until 
 they had a regular organized gang. Getting 
 drunk one day one of them displayed too many 
 shining new pieces of money. He was " spot- 
 ted." A detective was put on his track. He was 
 traced to the headquarters of the gang, and in 
 a few hours thereafter the entire posse were 
 locked up in jail on a charge of counterfeiting 
 and passing" bogus money." They now formed 
 plans for their escape from jail. They adopted 
 the plan of seizing the jailor, as he brought in 
 supper, thrusting him into a cell, locking him in, 
 and then making good their escape. They 
 made the attempt. The jailor was locked in 
 the cell according to the programme, but so 
 much noise was made in the struggle that the 
 sheriff put in an appearance with a loaded re-
 
 1 88 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 volver. The prisoners made a dash for liberty. 
 A brother of my informant was killed; another 
 of the gang was wounded and dragged back 
 into his cell in the jail; the others got away. It 
 was in the winter time. The succeeding night 
 was extremely cold. Wandering about all 
 night in the snow, their feet were frozen, and 
 they were easily recaptured the next day. They 
 had their trial, and all were sent to the peniten- 
 tiary. They got eight years apiece, three for 
 counterfeiting and five for breaking jail. In 
 this manner was broken up one of the worst 
 counterfeit gangs of the West. Whisky has 
 trapped many a criminal. There are but very 
 few that do not " indulge." In fact, I cannot 
 now recall a single professional criminal but 
 would take a drop if he could get it. They 
 must have whisky to nerve them for their ini- 
 quitous business. When the crime is com- 
 mitted they drink again t& soothe their 
 " wounded consciences." 
 
 YELLOW BACK LITERATURE. 
 
 A boy was brought into the hospital one 
 day while I was there, whose history is worth 
 relating, as it shows the fatal effects of bad lit- 
 erature upon the human mind, and to what sad
 
 THE PRISONERS. 1 89 
 
 results it may lead. This youth had become 
 suddenly ill in the mines, and had to be assisted 
 from his place of work to the ward for the sick. 
 He was very ill for several days, but began to 
 grow convalescent. An opportunity present- 
 ing itself, I got into conversation with him, and 
 he told me the history of his crime. He was 
 an orphan. At the death of both his parents 
 in the East he had come to Kansas to make his 
 home with an uncle. This relative was very 
 kind, and after a time adopted the boy. He 
 had a pleasant home, and his prospects for the 
 future were bright. How often is it the case 
 that the sky of the future becomes overcast. 
 This young criminal was a constant reader of 
 the Life of Jesse James, andkindred literature, 
 until he made up his mind to go on the " war 
 path" and become Jesse James No. 2. With 
 this in view, he provided himself with two 
 large revolvers. One night, after all the house- 
 hold had .retired, he crept stealthily into the 
 bed-room of one of the hired men and stole 
 seventy dollars. He goes to the barn and 
 takes one of his uncle's horses and starts for 
 the Indian Territory. The uncle was awakened 
 an hour later on account of some unusual sound 
 at the barn, and going thither discovered that
 
 190 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 one of his best horses was gone, and also that 
 his nephew was away. He got together sev- 
 eral of his neighbors and started in pursuit, 
 and the next day, about noon, the youthful 
 thief was overtaken and surrounded. The 
 uncle rode up to him and began to question 
 him as to his strange conduct, when the boy 
 drew one of his revolvers, and, pointing at his 
 uncle, shot him dead. He was going to play 
 Jesse James to the last. When he saw his 
 uncle fall dead from his horse, now realizing 
 what he had done, the bravado spirit forsook 
 him, and he began to quake with fear. The 
 neighbors closed in upon him and soon took 
 his firearms from him. In due time he had 
 his trial and was sent to the penitentiary for 
 life. 
 
 Bad books are our worst companions. I 
 have narrated the history of this young mur- 
 derer, and now urge my boy readers to let 
 yellow back literature alone. It wrecked the 
 future of this youth, and what it did for one 
 it may do for another. 
 
 A YOUTHFUL MURDERER. 
 
 Willie Sells. In the prison, this convict is 
 called the " baby convict-" When he came to
 
 THE PRISONERS. 19 1 
 
 the penitentiary in 1886, he was but sixteen 
 years of age, and in appearance much younger. 
 One of the most sickening murders committed 
 in Kansas is charged to the account of this boy. 
 His home is in Neosho County. His father, 
 a prosperous farmer, lived happily with his 
 wife and three children. Willie was the oldest 
 of the children. Early one morning he rushed 
 from his home and made his way to the nearest 
 neighbor, about half a mile distant, and with 
 his face and hands covered with blood conveyed 
 the startling intelligence that the entire family 
 had been murdered, and he only had escaped. 
 Soon an excited crowd of neighbors gathered 
 at the home of the murdered victims, and the 
 sight that was presented has but few parallels 
 in the fatal and fearful results of crime. The 
 victims had been murdered while asleep. In 
 one room lay the father and mother of the 
 youthful murderer, on their bed of death. Their 
 heads had been split open with an axe that lay 
 near by, and the blood of one mingled with that 
 of the other. In an adjoining bed-room, cov- 
 ered with their own life's blood, were found 
 the little brother and sister. They had been 
 foully murdered with the same instrument that 
 had caused the death of the parents. Who
 
 192 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 was the monster that had committed this terri- 
 ble and atrocious act? A search of the prem- 
 ises disclosed the fact that robbery was not the 
 motive. No property was missing. The sur- 
 vivor was questioned again and again. He 
 said that a burly-looking tramp had effected an 
 entrance into the house through a window dur- 
 ing the night; that he being awake at the mo- 
 ment, and becoming alarmed, hid himself, and, 
 unperceived, beheld his father and mother, his 
 brother and sister, thus foully murdered. A 
 thorough and extensive search was made, but 
 no clue could be obtained that would warrant 
 the arrest of any one. 
 
 Finally, the surviving child was taken into 
 custody. It was claimed that his statements 
 of the circumstances connected with the crime 
 varied, and in several instances were contra- 
 dictory. The evidence introduced at his trial 
 was purely circumstantial. After much delib- 
 eration and hesitancy, the jury decided on a 
 verdict of guilty of murder in the first degree, 
 and this child criminal was sentenced to im- 
 prisonment for life. 
 
 He conducts himself well in the prison. On 
 account of his extreme youth he is given a great 
 deal of liberty. It is with great reluctance
 
 THE PRISONERS. 193 
 
 that he talks about his crime, and longs for 
 freedom. 
 
 Is this boy guilty? This question has never 
 been satisfactorily answered in the affirmative. 
 I am informed there was a grave doubt in the 
 mind of the judge who tried the case and im- 
 posed the sentence as to the guilt of this alleged 
 youthful offender. A chill of horror creeps 
 over us as we think of the members of this 
 family weltering in each other's blood. Should 
 he be innocent, it would be awful for this boy 
 to remain in the Kansas Hell for a lifetime. 
 
 A MOST REMARKABLE CASE. 
 
 William Baldwin furnishes the history of 
 one of the most remarkable cases in the crim- 
 inal annals of Kansas. He was charged with 
 the atrocious crime of murdering his own sister. 
 William and his sister were the only children of 
 a widowed but wealthy mother. It is claimed 
 that the son had received his portion of the es- 
 tate prior to this sad occurrence, and that by 
 taking the life of his sister he would become 
 the sole heir of the Baldwin estate, which was 
 supposed to be very large. Mary, the beautiful 
 and accomplished sister was discovered dead 
 one morning lying upon her bed in her chamber 
 
 The Twin Hells 13.
 
 194 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 with a chloroform bottle at her side. A panel 
 of the outside door of the house was found re- 
 moved. Immediately upon the discovery of the 
 murder it was supposed that the house had 
 been burglarized, and that the thief had com- 
 mitted the murder. Upon an examination of 
 the premises by the proper officials it was 
 found that nothing had been taken from the 
 house. In looking for a motive that would 
 prompt a person to commit such a fiendish act, 
 and it being known that William Baldwin, the' 
 brother, would be the sole heir in case of the 
 death of his sister, he was at once suspected of 
 having committed the crime. His arrest was 
 prompt and immediate. He was bound over 
 on preliminary examination, and in due course 
 of time had his trial and was convicted. He 
 was sentenced to the penitentiary for one year, 
 at the expiration of which he was to be hung 
 until dead. His case was taken on appeal to 
 the Supreme Court of the State. Baldwin, in 
 the meantime, was removed to the peniten- 
 tiary. Here he was placed in the tailor shop, 
 where he has remained since. He is a very 
 obedient prisoner, and is highly esteemed by 
 the prison officials. The judgment in his case 
 upon hearing in the Supreme Court of the
 
 THE PRISONERS. 195 
 
 State was affirmed. From the Supreme Court 
 of Kansas his case was taken by appeal to the 
 Supreme Court of the United States; in this 
 highest tribunal, the judgments of the lower 
 courts were affirmed, and the fate of William 
 Baldwin is forever sealed so far as the judiciary 
 of the country is concerned. If he is permitted 
 again to inhale the air of freedom, it must be 
 through the clemency of the pardoning board 
 and of the governor of Kansas. During one 
 hundred and ten years of American jurisprud- 
 ence, there had been only two similar cases 
 taken to the Supreme Court of the United 
 States. But a few days before my release I 
 was talking with Billy Baldwin in the peniten- 
 tiary, and he seemed to be very hopeful that 
 after a time he would secure his pardon. 
 
 His wife is one of the most highly respected 
 ladies of Atchison ; is true, faithful and devoted 
 to her husband. She has enlisted the sympa- 
 thies of the entire community in her behalf, be- 
 causf of her youth and great bereavement. 
 His aged mcriher, who has been called upon to 
 wade through deep waters of affliction because 
 of the great calamity that has befallen her son 
 and daughter, will also exert great influence in 
 getting signers to a petition for his pardon.
 
 196 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 The question has often been asked me, be- 
 cause of my intimate relation with Baldwin in 
 the penitentiary, whether I believed that he is 
 guilty. I can answer as to my own belief. I 
 have watched him carefully as I have the other 
 fifty-five lifetime convicts, and I am free to say 
 that I do not believe that William Baldwin ever 
 committed the crime of killing his sister for the 
 malicious desire of obtaining filthy lucre, or the 
 estate of his sister. He does not conduct him- 
 self as scores of other criminals who have con- 
 fessed their guilt. In conversation with him, 
 while I was " in stripes," he has time and 
 again told me, with tears rolling down his 
 cheeks, that he was innocent of the terrible 
 crime of which he stands accused, and that 
 there was i ; o brother had greater love for his 
 sister than he, and that he had such faith in an 
 overruling Providence that eventually he would 
 be exonerated from the crime; and that the 
 real perpetrator would be made known. If 
 he is innocent and it should ever be clearly 
 proven, his will be one of the saddest and 
 most mysterious events ever recorded. There 
 is beyond doubt an unsolved mystery hanging 
 over this remarkable case.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 FORTY-EIGHT HOURS IN HELL. 
 
 ONE of the most interesting cases of resus- 
 citation that ever came to my knowledge was 
 that of George Lennox, a notorious horse- 
 thief of Jefferson County. He was serving his 
 second term. Sedgwick County sent him to 
 the prison the first time for a similar offense 
 stealing horses. 
 
 During the winter of 1887 and 1888, he 
 worked in the coal mines. The place where 
 he was laboring seemed dangerous to him. He 
 reported the fact to the officer in charge, who 
 made an examination, and deciding that the 
 room was safe, ordered Lennox back to his 
 work. The convict, obeying, had not continued 
 his work more than an hour, when the roof fell 
 in and completely buried him. He remained 
 in this condition fully two hours. Missed at 
 dinner-time, a search was instituted for the 
 absent convict, and he was found under this 
 heap of rubbish. Life seemed extinct. He was 
 taken to the top, and on examination by the 
 prison physician was pronounced dead. His
 
 198 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 remains were carried to the hospital, where he 
 was washed and dressed preparatory for inter- 
 ment. His coffin was made and brought into 
 the hospital. The chaplain had arrived to per- 
 form the last sad rites prior to burial. A cou- 
 ple of prisoners were ordered by the hospital 
 steward to lift the corpse from the boards and 
 carry it across the room and place it in the 
 coffin. They obeyed, one at the head and the 
 other at the feet, and were about half way 
 across the room when the one who was at the 
 head accidentally stumbled over a cuspidor, 
 lost his balance, and dropped the corpse. 
 The head of the dead man struck the floor, 
 and to the utter surprise and astonishment of 
 all present, a deep groan was heard. Soon 
 the eyes opened, and other appearances of life 
 were manifested. The physician was immedi- 
 ately sent for, and by the time he arrived, 
 some thirty minutes, the dead man had 
 called for a cup of water, and was in the act 
 of drinking when the physician arrived. The 
 coffin was at once removed, and later on was 
 used to bury another convict in. His burial 
 robes were also taken from him, and the 
 prison garb substituted. On an examination 
 he was found to have one of his legs broken in
 
 FORTY-EIGHT HOURS IN HELL. 199 
 
 two places, and was otherwise bruised. He 
 remained in the hospital some six months, and 
 again went to work. I learned of his peculiar 
 experience while apparently dead, soon after, 
 from a fellow miner. Prompted by curiousity, I 
 longed for an acquaintance with Lennox to get 
 his experience from his own lips. This oppor- 
 tunity was not offered for several months. At 
 last it came. After being removed from the 
 mines I was detailed to one of the prison 
 offices to make out some annual reports. The 
 subject of this man's return to life was being 
 discussed one day, when he happened to pass 
 by the office door and was pointed out to me. 
 It was not long until I had a note in his hand, 
 and asked him to come where I was at work. 
 He did so, and here I got well acquainted 
 with him, and from his own lips received his 
 wonderful story. He is a young man, prob- 
 ably not over thirty years of age. He is not 
 a hardened criminal; is possessed of a very 
 good education, and naturally very bright. 
 
 The most wonderful part of his history was 
 that during the time he was dead. Being a 
 short-hand reporter I took his story from his 
 dictation. Said he: " I had a presentiment all 
 the morning that something terrible was going
 
 200 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 to happen. I was so uneasy on account of my 
 feelings that I went to my mining boss, Mr. 
 Grason, and told him how I felt, and asked him 
 if he would not come and examine my 'coal 
 room, 'the place where I was digging coal. He 
 came, 'and seemed to make a thorough examina- 
 tion, and ordered me back to work, saying, there 
 was no danger, and that he thought I was go- 
 ing ' cranky.' I returned to my work, and had 
 been digging away for something like an hour, 
 when, all of a sudden, it grew very dark. Then 
 it seemed as if a great iron door swung open, 
 and I passed through it. The thought then 
 came to my mind that I was dead and in an- 
 other world. I could see no one, nor hear 
 sound of any kind. From some cause un- 
 known to myself, I started to move away from 
 the doorway, and had traveled some distance 
 when I came to the banks of a broad river. It 
 was not dark, neither was it light. There was 
 about as much light as on a bright star-lit night. 
 I had not remained on the bank of this river 
 very long until I could hear the sound of oars 
 in the water, and soon a person in a boat rowed 
 up to where I was standing. I was speechless. 
 He looked at me for a moment, and then said 
 that he had come for me, and told me to get
 
 FORTY-EIGHT HOURS IN HELL. 2OI 
 
 into the boat and row across to the other side. 
 I obeyed. Not a word was spoken. I longed 
 to ask him who he was, \nd where I was. My 
 tongue seemed to cling to the roof of my mouth. 
 I could not say a word. Finally, we reached 
 the opposite shore. I got out of the boat, and 
 the boatman vanished out of sight. Thus left 
 alone, I knew not what to do. Looking out 
 before me, I saw two roads which led through 
 a dark valley. One of these was a broad road, 
 and seemed to be well traveled. The other 
 was a narrow path that led off in another direc- 
 tion. I instinctively followed the well beaten 
 road. I had not gone far when it seemed to 
 grow darker. Ever and anon, however, a 
 light would flash up from the distance, and in 
 this manner I was lighted on my journey. 
 Presently I was met by a being that it is utterly 
 impossible for me to describe. I can only give 
 you a faint idea of his dreadful appearance. He 
 resembled a man somewhat, but much larger 
 than any human being I ever saw. He must 
 have been at least ten feet high. He had great 
 wings on his back. He was black as the coal 
 I had been digging, and in a perfectly nude con- 
 dition. He had a large spear in his hand, the 
 handle of which must have been fully fifteen
 
 2O2 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 feetin length. His eyes shone like balls of fire. 
 His teeth, white as pearl, seemed fully an inch 
 long. His nose, if you could call it a nose, was 
 very large, broad and flat. His hair was very 
 coarse, heavy and long. It hung down on his 
 massive shoulders. His voice sounded more 
 like the growls of a lion in a menagerie than 
 anything I can recall. It was during one of 
 these flashes of light that I first saw him. I 
 trembled like an aspen leaf at the sight. He 
 had his spear raised as if to send it flying 
 through me. I suddenly stopped. With that 
 terrible voice I seem to hear yet, he bade me 
 follow him ; that he had been sent to guide me 
 on my journey. I followed. What else could 
 I do? After he had gone some distance a huge 
 mountain appeared to rise up before us. The 
 part facing us seemed perpendicular, just as if 
 a mountain had been cut in two and one part 
 had been taken away. On this perpendicular 
 wall I could distinctly see these words, ' This is 
 Hell.' My guide approached this perpendicu- 
 lar wall, and with his spear-handle gave three 
 loud raps. A large massive door swung back 
 and we passed in. I was then conducted on 
 through what appeared to be a passage through 
 this mountain, For some time we traveled in
 
 FORTY-EIGHT HOURS IN HELL. 2O3 
 
 Egyptian darkness. I could hear the heavy 
 footfalls of my guide, and thus could follow 
 him. All along the way I could hear deep 
 groans, as of some one dying. Further on, 
 these groans increased, and I could distinctly 
 hear the cry for water, water, water. Coming 
 now to another gateway, and, passing through, 
 I could hear, it seemed, a million voices in the 
 distance, and the cry was for water, water. 
 Presently another large door opened at the 
 knock of my guide, and I found that we had 
 passed through the mountain, and now a broad 
 plain lay out before me. At this place my guide 
 left me to direct other lost spirits to the same 
 destination. I remained in this open plainfor a 
 time, when a being somewhat similar to the first 
 one came to me; but, instead of a spear, he had 
 a huge sword. He came to tell me of my fu- 
 ture doom. He spoke with a voice that struck 
 terror to my soul. ' Thou art in hell/ said he; 
 ' for thee all hope is fled. As thou passed 
 through the mountain on thy journey hither, 
 thou didst hear the groans and shrieks of the 
 lost as they called for water to cool thei* 
 parched tongues. Along that passage tnere \* 
 a door that opens into the lake of fire. This is 
 soon to be thy doom. Before thou art con
 
 204 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 ducted to this place of torment never more to 
 emerge for there is no hope for those who en- 
 ter there thou shalt be permitted to remain in 
 this open plain, where it is granted to all the 
 lost to behold what they might have enjoyed, 
 instead of what they must suffer.' With this 
 I was left alone. Whether the result of 
 the terrible fright through which I had passed 
 I know not, but now I became stupified. A 
 dull languor took full possession of my frame. 
 My strength departed from me. My limbs 
 longer refused to support my body. Overcome, 
 I now sank down a helpless mass. Drowsiness 
 now took control of me. Half awake, half 
 asleep,! seemed to dream. Far above me and 
 in the distance I saw the beautiful city of which 
 we read in the Bible. How wonderfully beau- 
 tiful were its walls of jasper. Stretching out 
 and away in the distance I saw vast plains cov- 
 ered with beautiful flowers. I, too, beheld the 
 river of life and the sea of glass. Vast multi- 
 tudes of angels would pass in and out through 
 the gates of the city, singing, oh, such beautiful 
 songs. Among the number I saw my dear old 
 mother, who died a few years ago of a broken 
 heart because of my wickedness. She looked 
 toward me, and seemed to beckon me to her,
 
 FORTY-HEIGHT HOURS IN HELL. 205 
 
 out I c6ul<J not move. There appeared to be a 
 great weight upon me that held me down. Now 
 a gentle breeze wafted the fragrance of those 
 lovely flowers to me, and I could now, more 
 plainly than ever, hear the sweet melody of 
 angel voices, and I said, oh, that I could be one 
 of them. As I was drinking from this cup of 
 bliss it was suddenly dashed from my lips. I 
 was aroused from my slumbers. I was brought 
 back from happy dreamland by an inmate of 
 my dark abode, who said to me that it was now 
 time to enter upon my future career. He bade 
 me follow him. Retracing my steps I again 
 entered the dark passage way, and followed my 
 guide for a time, when we came to a door that 
 opened in the side of the passage, and, going 
 along this, we finally found ourselves passing 
 through another door, and lo ! I beheld the lake 
 of fire. Just before me I could see, as far as 
 the eye could reach, that literal lake of fire and 
 brimstone. Huge billows of fire would roll 
 over each other, and great waves of fiery flame 
 would dash against each other and leap high in 
 the air like the waves of the sea during a vio- 
 lent storm. On the crest of these waves I 
 could see human beings rise, but soon to be 
 carried down again to the lowest depth of this
 
 2O6 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 awful lake of fire. When borne on the crest 
 of these awful billows for a time their curses 
 against a just God would be appalling, and 
 their pitiful cries for water would be heartrend- 
 ing. This vast region of fire echoed and re- 
 echoed with the wails of these lost spirits. 
 Presently I turned my eyes to the door through 
 which I had a few moments before entered, and 
 I read these awful words: * This is thy doom ; 
 Eternity never ends.' Shortly I began to feel 
 the earth give way beneath my feet, and I soon 
 found myself sinking down into the lake of fire. 
 An indiscribable thirst for water now seized 
 upon me. And calling for water, my eyes 
 opened in the prison hospital. 
 
 " I have never told this experience of mine 
 before, for fear the prison officials would get 
 hold of it, think me insane, and lock me up in 
 the crank-house. I passed through all this, and 
 I am as well satisfied as I am that I live, that 
 there is a Heaven and there is a Hell, and a 
 regular old-fashioned Hell, the kind the Bible 
 tells about. But there is one thing certain, I 
 am never going to that place any more. As 
 soon as I opened my eyes in the hospital, and I 
 found that I was alive and on earth once more, 
 I immediately gave my heart to God, and I am
 
 FORTY-EIGHT HOURS IN HELL. 2O? 
 
 going to live and die a Christian. While the 
 terrible sights of Hell can never be banished 
 from my memory, neither can the beautiful 
 things of Heaven I saw. I am going to meet 
 my dear old mother after awhile. To be per- 
 mitted to sit down on the banks of that beauti- 
 ful river, to wander with those angels across 
 the plains, through the vales and over the hills 
 carpeted with fragrant flowers, the beauty of 
 which far surpasses anything that mortal can 
 imagine; to listen to the songs of the saved 
 all this will more than compensate me for living 
 the life of a Christian here on earth, even if I 
 have to forego many sensual pleasures in 
 which I indulged before coming to this prison. 
 I have abandoned my companions in crime, 
 and am going to associate with good people 
 when I am once more a free man." 
 
 After he got through with this wonderful 
 story I asked him if he was going to tell others 
 of his experience when he got out. His 
 reply was that people would not believe him, 
 and he would keep it to himself. Should this 
 little book fall into his hands, and he should 
 read of his experience while in Hell for forty- 
 eight hours, it will no doubt surprise him.
 
 208 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 We give the account to the reader just as we 
 received it from Lennox. We do not pretend 
 to solve the mystery.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 STOLEN HORSES. 
 
 JUSTICE should be meted out to many who, 
 though guilty, are shrewd enough to evade it. 
 From one of the most notorious horse-thieves 
 in the Kansas penitentiary I learned of the 
 manner in which stolen horses were disposed 
 of. 
 
 This convict's name is John Watkins. He 
 served a term of three years in the Missouri 
 penitentiary, and is now serving out a ten 
 years' sentence in the Kansas State's prison. 
 He is the chief convict steward in the hospital, 
 and an able assistant of the prison physician, 
 by whom his services are highly appreciated. 
 This prisoner has immediate care of all the 
 sick. His heart is tender as that of a woman. 
 To listen to this man, as he sat with tearful 
 eye at the bedside of the dying prisoner, and 
 spoke words of cheer to him, one would 
 scarcely believe him to be the most daring and 
 one of the shrewdest horse-thieves that ever 
 visited our State. In conversation with him 
 one night as I lay on my sick bed in the hos- 
 
 The Twin Hells. 14 209
 
 210 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 pital, he gave me an outline of his life's history 
 that reads much like a romance. 
 
 I said to him, " John, tell me how many 
 horses you have stolen during the time you 
 have been engaged in that line of business?" 
 
 His reply was, that if he had stolen one 
 more he would have been successful in having 
 stolen an even two hundred. 
 
 " What did you do with them after you had 
 stolen them? " 
 
 He told me his headquarters were in Kan- 
 sas City; that he would go up in the neighbor- 
 hood of Omaha and Lincoln and get his horses, 
 and tie them in the woods until he had picked 
 up a number of them, and then he would make 
 his way to the south. Horses stolen in Ne- 
 braska he would run south to sell. Those 
 stolen in Missouri and Kansas he would take 
 to the north. He told me that in Omaha, 
 St. Joseph, Atchison, Leavenworth and Kan- 
 sas City there were dealers, usually keepers 
 of livery stables, who would purchase these 
 stolen horses. He gave me the names of a 
 number of these men, some of whom I know 
 personally. Little would I ever have sus, 
 pected that these men were engaged in such 
 a wicked traffic as knowingly to deal in
 
 STOLEN HORSES. 211 
 
 stolen property. " When I had a number 
 of horses," he continued, " and wished 
 to dispose of them in St. Joseph, for instance, I 
 would ride into the suburbs of the city and send 
 a note to the man who usually purchased my 
 stock. I would never be seen about his barn. 
 After night he would make his way to where I 
 was and purchase my horses, paying me about 
 one-half what they would really bring in the 
 general market. I would get about fifty dollars 
 for an average horse. After purchasing my 
 stolen horses he would not take them to his 
 livery barn, but to a private stable, usually at 
 his residence. When he would pay over the 
 money for this stolen property he would make 
 out a bill of sale for each one, and would step 
 into a store or grocery, and in the presence of 
 some business man he would say to me, ' we 
 will sign the bill of sale for that horse I bought 
 of you, and have this gentleman to witness the 
 transaction. I gave you fifty dollars at the barn, 
 and now here is fifty dollars more, which makes 
 the hundred, the sum I was to pay for the ani- 
 mal.' I would take the money, sign the bill of 
 sale, which would be witnessed by the business 
 man in whose presence the trade was consum- 
 mated. We would then go to another place of
 
 212 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 business and sign a bill of sale for another horse, 
 and have that witnessed by another business 
 man, and wouldcontinue this until all the horses 
 I had sold were paid for. In this manner he 
 would shift all responsibility of crime upon me. 
 Securing my money I would rest for a time un- 
 til ' I went broke,' and then I would make an- 
 other trip. The horse merchant would some- 
 times keep his horses until he had picked up a 
 car load, and then he would ship them out of 
 the country to Chicago, St. Louis or some other 
 horse market. Sometimes the horse I iyer 
 would run stolen property out into the country 
 and exchange it for other property in whi;hhe 
 would have a good title and which he could take 
 to his livery barn and feel safe with it there." 
 
 " What did you do with your money, 
 John? " I inquired. 
 
 To this question he answered that in Kansas 
 City he had a suite of rooms fitted up in elegant 
 style, and kept a mistress. Upon this woman 
 he squandered all his money, obtained hon- 
 estly and dishonestly. In addition to his horse- 
 thieving raids he had several other sources of 
 criminalrevenue. One of these sources he de- 
 scribed as follows: " I kept a horse and wagon, 
 the wheels of which were covered with india
 
 STOLEN HORSES, 213 
 
 rubber.. The feet of the horse were also en- 
 cased in the same material. I could move about 
 the streets of the city in the late hours of the 
 night without making any disturbance, and 
 would pick up anything I could lay my hands 
 on that I could convert into money. I have 
 carried away many a stove and broken it up 
 and sold it for old iron. I would also make my 
 way out into the country and pillage. Often I 
 would enter small towns and load up my noise- 
 less wagon with stolen goods, which I would 
 take out of the stores. All of this money I 
 would foolishly spend on the woman I loved." 
 " How did you happen to get caught?" 
 " One day on the streets of Kansas City I 
 accidentally met an ex-convict whom I knew 
 while in Jefferson City penitentiary. He was 
 penniless and somewhat shabby. He suspected 
 me of crooked work, and wanted to go with me 
 on a ' horse raid. ' At first I refused to take him 
 with me, as it has always been my rule to go 
 alone when in the crooked business. He per- 
 sisted and urged me to let him go along. At 
 last I yielded to his appeals, and we started from 
 Kansas City. I have never been back since. 
 yiy ' pal ' was caught on this trip and offered to 
 turn State's evidence if he could regain his lib-
 
 214 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 erty. He was allowed to do this. I was tried 
 and got a ten years' sentence. He went free." 
 
 "What became of the woman?" I asked. 
 
 " When in jail at Leavenworth and in need 
 of money to pay my lawyer, I wrote her a let- 
 ter informing her of my trouble, and begged 
 her to send me some money. She forgot to 
 answer that letter, and I have never seen or 
 heard from her since that time." 
 
 " I suppose when your time is up you will 
 hunt her up and fit up another suite of rooms, 
 won't you ? " 
 
 " Never," said he. " When I get out I am 
 going to lead an honest life and take care of 
 my money. It does not pay to get money by 
 crookedness. Such money never does one 
 any good." 
 
 Having imparted this information he bade 
 me good night and went over to another part 
 of the ward, where he took his place beside 
 the cot of a dying convict.
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 CANDIDATE FOR THE STATE SENATE. 
 
 THE author of this book has been guilty of 
 a great many bad breaks during the course of 
 his earthly pilgrimage up to the present date. 
 Making the race for State senator from the 
 Atchison district while an inmate of the Kan- 
 sas penitentiary, actually an occupant of a 
 felon's cell, and robed in the livery of dis- 
 grace, probably eelipsed anything that maybe 
 charged to my account in the past. 
 
 One Sunday afternoon, after the usual ex- 
 ercises of the day were over, I was sitting in 
 my little 4x7 of stone. The outside world 
 was in convulsions over the presidential cam- 
 paign. There were no convulsions, however, 
 where I was. It was painfully quiet. Every- 
 where, all over the broad land, except behind 
 prison walls, politics was the all-absorbing 
 topic. As I sat there in my solitude the ques- 
 tion came to my mind as to what part of the 
 great political play I would be engaged in were 
 I a free man. Some months prior to this a pe- 
 tition signed by 5,000 people had been for-
 
 2l6 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 warded to President Cleveland for my pardon. 
 Had I secured my liberty it was my intention to 
 make the race for State senator in my district 
 for vindication. Mr. Cleveland interfered with 
 my plan by refusing my pardon. 
 
 Thinking over the matter in my cell that 
 Sunday afternoon, I determined that while the 
 President had the power of keeping me in 
 prison he should not keep me from making the 
 race for the position I coveted. Immediate 
 action followed my decision. Within thirty 
 minutes I had written a letter for publication, 
 stating my intention of becoming an independ- 
 ent candidate. But how was I to get this letter 
 out of the prison and into the newspapers of 
 my district. 
 
 It is expected of the convict that during 
 Sunday afternoon he will sit quietly in his cell 
 and meditate abouthis past misdeeds. I would 
 be dishonest if I did not state that my thoughts 
 were now more taken up with the probable 
 outcome of the course I had adopted than of 
 lamenting over my past shortcomings. I rea- 
 soned that I was not only pursuing an original, 
 but a safe course. Original, in that no one, so 
 far as my knowledge extended, had ever made 
 the race for office while a convict; safe, in that
 
 CANDIDATE FOR STATE SENATE. 2 I/ 
 
 I had nothing to lose and everything to gain. I 
 will frankly confess that when the thought, 
 suppose I should not get more than a dozen 
 votes, would rush into my mind, I would feel as 
 if I had better not be so fresh while in limbo. 
 Several times during the afternoon and evening 
 I took up the piece of paper, on which was 
 written my announcement, to te".r it into shreds, 
 and as often I would lay it down. I viewed the 
 subject from almost every conceivable stand- 
 point. I reasoned as follows: Priorto this I had 
 decided to write a book on my penitentiary 
 career, as well as to deliver a lecture at various 
 points in the State on the same subject. To be 
 successful in these enterprises I mustbe adver- 
 tised. And I knew that should I annonnce my- 
 self as a candidate for such an important office 
 while in the penitentiary I would get a good 
 ventilation. In this I was not mistaken. When 
 the announcement appeared in the Leaven- 
 worth Times it was quickly copied and com- 
 mented upon by the newspapers all over the 
 country. Some of these newspapers in their 
 comments stated that I had more " cheek " 
 than should be allotted to ordinary mortals. 
 Some said " he is a nervy cuss." Others said 
 " his back isn't broken." Now and then one
 
 2l8 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 could be found that predicted my election. 
 So the matter was discussed, pro and con, for 
 several weeks, not only by the newspapers of 
 Kansas, but whole columns would appear in 
 the St. Louis, Chicago and Denver papers, as 
 well as those of other cities. I was advertised. 
 It would have cost me thousands of dollars to 
 pay for the ventilation I received just for mak- 
 ing that little simple announcement, had I 
 been forced to pay the regular rates of adver- 
 tising. 
 
 But to return. It was at a late hour of the 
 night when I closed my eyes in slumber. Be- 
 fore doing so I had made the final decision; I 
 had crossed the Rubicon; I had looked the 
 ground over, and had my plans well matured. 
 The next morning, after the day's work had 
 commenced, and the warden had come down 
 to his office, I asked permission of my officer 
 to see Captain Smith. The officer wanted to 
 know what my business was with the warden. 
 My reply was, " Official and strictly private." 
 My request was granted. I was soon standing 
 in the presence of the big-hearted Warden 
 Smith, and being asked as to what I wanted, 
 I said, " Captain, I thought I would come in 
 and get your opinion as to whether I was crazy
 
 CANDIDATE FOR STATE SENATE 219 
 
 or not, and if you think I am not beside my- 
 self I would like to make a statement to you 
 and ask your advice." A few days before this 
 I had had several interviews with him as to my 
 pardon, and other business matters, and I sup- 
 pose he thought he was going to get something 
 more along the same line. " Go ahead, John," 
 he said, " and let me know what it is. " I then 
 told him of my intentions and plans. He 
 made no reply until I had gone over the whole 
 subject. Then he said; " You are certainly on 
 the safe side, for you can lose nothing. I always 
 thought," continued he, " that it was practical 
 to engage in any enterprise where all was gain 
 and nothing to lose. And, furthermore, know- 
 ing your standing at home, it would not sur- 
 prise me very much if you would receive more 
 votes than your competitors." 
 
 This was encouraging. I then asked per- 
 mission to write letters to a number of my 
 friends, and also to receive letters from them. 
 He informed me he could not do this, as it 
 vonld be a violation of the rules of the prison, 
 but if any of my friends should come down I 
 could send out anything by them I wished. I 
 then wired a personal friend, A. S. Hall, Esq., 
 of Atchison, who called at the prison, to whom
 
 2 JO THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 I gave my letter of announcement, and severai 
 letters I had written to political friends. 
 
 The news spread rapidly, and in a few days 
 I was squarely before the people as an inde- 
 pendent candidate. Shortly after this announce- 
 ment I wrote an article for the papers, stating 
 my reasons for making the senatorial race. 
 When writing this communication I forgot I 
 was a prisoner, and said some things that re- 
 flected seriously upon some of the warden's 
 personal friends. Here, I made a mistake. 
 The warden, on reading this article, became en- 
 raged, and took away my writing material. At 
 this juncture the senatorial outlook was rather 
 discouraging. My friends championed my 
 cause. Although eight hundred feet under the 
 Kansas penitentiary, and perfectly helpless, so 
 far as aiding myself, yet I proved victorious. 
 When the electron returns came in they 
 showed that I had received twice as many 
 votes as my competitor. He is one of the 
 best men in the senatorial district, one of 
 the old settlers, and a gentleman highly es- 
 teemed. To receive twice as many votes as 
 this man, was highly complimentary to me. I
 
 CANDIDATE FOR STATE SENATE. 221 
 
 certainly felt flattered. When the vote was 
 made known I received an official copy of the 
 returns, and forwarded it to President Cleve- 
 land. My term was then almost ended, and I 
 felt confident that because of the splendid vote I 
 had received, and consequent endorsement of 
 the people who were personally acquainted 
 with me, Mr. Cleveland would certainly grant a 
 pardon. He did not so much as answer my 
 communication. 
 
 No one can imagine the anxiety I felt dur- 
 ing that campaign. Had I received but a 
 small vote it would have required more nerve 
 than I possess to have induced me to return 
 to my old home. But when the vote was 
 counted, and I received the returns, I must 
 write it down as one of the happiest hours of 
 my life. I had many true friends, and they 
 demonstrated that fact by voting for me. 
 Although in the garb of a felon, was not the 
 vote I received a grand vindication? Any 
 person of sense must answer in the affirma- 
 tive. 
 
 Looking over the past, I can now see that 
 I made no mistake in carrying into effect the 
 scheme to which my mind gave birth on that 
 Sunday afternoon as I sat in my little cell.
 
 222 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 That no one may doubt this remarkable state- 
 ment, I herewith append the following certifi- 
 cate. It will certainly convince any one who 
 reads this chapter that I should not have been 
 sent to a penitentiary, and that my severe pun- 
 ishment was the result of bitter persecution. 
 ATCHISON, KAS., Aug. 2, 1890. 
 
 This is to certify: That John N. Reynolds, 
 ivhile an inmate of the Kansas penitentiary, 
 liade the race for State Senator of Atchison 
 county, Kansas, and that the election returns on 
 file in my office show that he received twice as 
 many votes, wanting one, as Hon. George J. 
 Martin, his competitor for the same position. 
 Witness my hand and seal of office, this 2d day 
 
 of August, A. D. 1890. 
 
 CHAS. H. KREBS, 
 
 [SEAL.] County Clerk. 
 
 I will close this chapter by tendering my 
 friends, who voted and worked for me at the 
 time when I so much stood in need of their aid, 
 my heartfelt gratitude.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 A DARK HOUR. 
 
 IT was a bright Sabbath morning. I had 
 been detailed to assist the prison choir in their 
 preparation for the religious services of the 
 day. While engaged in this duty, the deputy 
 warden sent for me. Meeting this official, he 
 said to me, " John, I have sad news for you. 
 Governor Martin has just telephoned from 
 Atchison that your wife is dead, and that it 
 was his wish to have you sent home at once." 
 
 This was a great surprise to me. I had 
 heard from my wife only two days before this. 
 Atthattime she was quite sick, but was thought 
 to be improving. With a heart filled with sad- 
 ness Inowpreparedformy journey home. The 
 warden was absent, and the deputy warden 
 said, " There was no precedent for permitting a 
 prisoner to go home on a visit, as such a thing 
 had never occurred before in the history of the 
 State, but," continued he, " if you will give me 
 your word that you will return to the prison I 
 will let you go. " I told him to set the time for 
 my return and I would be back. Mr. Morgan,
 
 224 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 the turnkey of the prison, was my guard. My 
 journey from the prison was the saddest of my 
 life. It was a bright May morning. Everything 
 around seemed joyful and happy, but to me the 
 world was gloomy. I imagined my wife lying 
 at home a corpse, surrounded by my weeping, 
 motherless little ones. She had passed away 
 without my being at her bedside to go with her 
 to the brink of the dark river. Mr. Morgan, 
 my attendant, had lost his mother but a short 
 time before this, and he could sympathize with 
 me in a manner that aided me in bearing my 
 burdens. 
 
 After riding for a couple of hours we ar- 
 rived at Atchison. The train on reaching the 
 city passes on some two blocks beyond the de- 
 pot; then backs down. As I thus passed by 
 the depot I saw numerous friends who had 
 heard of my coming, and were there waiting to 
 welcome me to my home. They saluted me as 
 I sat in the car at the window and passed on by 
 the depot. I thought they exhibited too much 
 joy in receiving a friend who was coming back 
 to see his dead wife. I wondered at it. When 
 the train stopped to back down to the depot, I 
 got orT and took the nearest cut to my resi- 
 dence. Walking some four blocks I reached
 
 A DARK HOUR. 22$ 
 
 tny home. When nearing the gate, one of my 
 little daughters came bounding across the 
 street, full of joy and gladness, welcoming me 
 home. I thought she acted rather strange for 
 her mother to be lying in the house a corpse. 
 Without saying anything I stepped to the door; 
 it was standing ajar. Looking in, I saw my 
 wife lying in the adjoining room not dead! 
 Thank God! It seemed as if I had stepped 
 into another world. My wife was very sick, 
 but still conscious. Oh! what joy I felt at once 
 more being able to see my wife and to talk with 
 her. All the way from the prison to the door 
 of my residence I was laboring under a false 
 impression. I drank the cup to its very dregs. 
 I could have suffered no more on that journey 
 home if she had been dead. In fact I sup- 
 posed she was. Governor Martin had made 
 a mistake in transmitting the message, or had 
 been wrongly informed. 
 
 I do not know how it came that I was per- 
 mitted to return home. I was a United States' 
 prisoner. As such, Governor Martin had no 
 control over me. No one had authority to 
 send me home on such a furlough except Pres- 
 ident Cleveland. But I care nothing about 
 this. I did not stop to inquire about the 
 
 The Twin Hells i
 
 226 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 authority; when the prison doors came open I 
 left for home. I was furnished a citizen's suit 
 of clothes. I remained at home for nearly a 
 week. Many friends came to see me. This 
 to me was one of the best weeks of my life. 
 
 A little occurrence took place, during this 
 short stay at home, which I will mention here. 
 I have a legal friend at Atchison by the name 
 of Hon. D. C. Arnold. This man, when tested, 
 proves himself true to those who have gained 
 his good will. He conceived the idea that 
 sending me out of the penitentiary, in citizen's 
 clothing, was without warrant in law or prece- 
 dent in fact, and that, by releasing me in that 
 way, they had lost control of me. Unknown to 
 me he had prepared an application in habeas 
 corpus. The judge of the District Court, Hon. 
 W. D. Gilbert, who was on the bench at the 
 time, was a personal friend of his and mine 
 also, as I had something to do in his election, 
 and had the application been presented to him, 
 the judge would have inclined to turn me loose, 
 and I would have been a free man. When 
 Mr. Arnold informed me as to what he was 
 doing, I told him that I had given my word 
 of honor that I would return to the prison, 
 and that I would keep it.
 
 A DARK HOUR. 22/ 
 
 At the expiration of a week I returned to 
 
 my prison cell. A petition, signed by nearly 
 five thousand people, had been forwarded to 
 President Cleveland for my pardon. I had 
 some hopes of securing relief. I bade my wife 
 good-by. I thought sure I would be sent home 
 in a few days. My wife hopefully entertained 
 the same opinion. We were both deceived. 
 When I reached the prison, the deputy warden, 
 Mr. Higgins, when he was informed by the 
 officer, Mr. Morgan, who attended me home, 
 howl refused my chances of liberty by means 
 of the proceedings in habeas corpus, contem- 
 plated by my friends, choosing imprisonment 
 rather than breaking my word, called me into 
 his office, and said that there was not one man 
 in ten placed in my circumstances that would 
 have done as I did. He then said to me: " Rey- 
 nolds, I will see that you have no more hard 
 work to do while you are in the penitentiary; I 
 would give you your liberty if I could, but that 
 is beyond my power. I will make it as agree- 
 able for you as possible in the prison." He 
 got another man to take my place in the mines, 
 and I was given an easy task from that on. I 
 was detailed to make out reports for the prison 
 officials, and was kept busy, and was, as I was
 
 228 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 informed, a very valuable man in that capacity. 
 This kind of work was in keeping with my 
 labors when on the outside, and was not hard 
 on me like digging coal. I was given the lib- 
 erty of the prison ; was allowed to converse 
 with the prisoners, and because of these favors 
 shown me, I was able to secure the material 
 for this book. 
 
 The month following my return to the prison 
 was the darkest, the most desolate, and the 
 most sorrowful portion of my earthly pilgrim- 
 age yet experienced. My wife was at home 
 dying ! I was behind the prison walls! Dur- 
 ing that month I was entirely unfit for any kind 
 of work. The prison officials, knowing my sor- 
 rows, took pity on me and did not insist upon 
 my performing any kind of labor. I was left 
 alone with my grief. None but God and the 
 angels knew what I suffered. During the day 
 I could think of nothing but my dying wife; in 
 the night-time, when the angel Sleep closes the 
 eyelids down to rest, none came to me; in my 
 dreams the pale face of my dear one at home 
 in the]agonies of death was before me. I would 
 but drop sometimes into a dull slumber when I 
 fancied that I could hear her calling for me, and 
 thus aroused, it seemed to me that I must burst
 
 A DARK HOUR. 229 
 
 the prison bars and go to her. Knowing how 
 much deeper and stronger, purer and sweeter 
 the affections and sympathies of woman are than 
 those of man, what must my poor, dead wife 
 have borne! For thirty days and nights I en- 
 dured these torments. At last the hour came 
 whenher sufferings ceased. Reader, doubtless 
 you have lost a loved one. If so, you were per- 
 mitted to go down to the very brink of the 
 River of Death; you were permitted to sit at 
 the bedside and administer words of comfort 
 and cheer. Not so with me. My loved one 
 passed away, her husband kept from her side 
 by prison bolts and bars. And, reader, when 
 you buried your loved one, kind friends con- 
 doled with you, and in some degree assuaged 
 your grief. Not so with me. When the news 
 came that my wife was dead I sat down in my 
 solitary cell and shed my tears alone. The cup 
 that was placed to my lips was indeed a bitter 
 one, and I drank to the dregs. My wife was 
 one of earth's purest and best. We lived to- 
 gether as husband and wife the fifth of a cen- 
 tury. During those twenty years of married 
 life my wife never uttered a cross word to her 
 husband. What greater eulogy could be pro- 
 nounced ! In the sunshine, and as certainly
 
 230 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 amid the storms of life, she was constant and 
 true. Because of her goodness of heart my 
 home was cloudless. Many times during life 
 have the storms and waves swept against my 
 trembling barque, but in that little harbor called 
 home no storms ever came. Oh, how much a 
 man loses when a good wife dies ! So great 
 was my distress that, had it not b^een for the 
 strength imparted by a pitying God, I never 
 could have passed through that long night of 
 suffering. Gone, never to return. 
 
 When my prison days were over, I returned 
 to my old home in Atchison, but how changed 
 it was. My wife in her grave; my motherless 
 children among strangers; my home desolate. 
 As I pen these lines, surrounded by the fogs 
 and mists of time, the question comes to me 
 ever and anon, when the hour shall come for 
 me to close my eyes to the scenes of earth, will 
 I be permitted to greet my sainted wife in the 
 beautiful city above? Yes. I have the faith 
 that the loving Galilean the man of sorrows, 
 who was acquainted with grief will in that 
 hour open the gates of pearl, and let me in. 
 Until that happy hour until we meet in the 
 land where none of life's storms ever reach, 
 my darling wife, farewell!
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 FREEDOM. 
 
 To all things earthly there comes an end. 
 Sixteen long, dreary months of imprison- 
 ment finally passed away. The dark clouds of 
 sadness and gloom that for so long hung above 
 me now parted, and folding themselves together 
 rolled away in the distance. The large iron 
 doors swung upon their hinges, and once more 
 I breathed the air of freedom. Drowsy Nature 
 was just being aroused from her wintry slum- 
 ber by the gentle touch of Spring, as I began 
 life anew. On that, to me, eventful morning 
 the sky appeared brighter than I had ever be- 
 held it before. O liberty! No one can ever ap- 
 preciate thy blessings save him upon whose 
 limbs have pressed the cruel fetters of slavery. 
 The sunlight of freedom falls with its greatest 
 refulgence upon him who has been surrounded 
 for months and years by the baleful mists and 
 darkness of abject bondage. The air of liberty 
 comes doubly surcharged with the fragrance of 
 the rarest flowers to him who has inhaled the 
 ftted breath of serfdom. Grateful to God that
 
 232 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 my life had been spared; retaining all the am- 
 bition of former years; possessed of my man- 
 hood; conscious of no guilt, I felt that, under 
 the guiding hand of Providence, there was for 
 me a bright future. With a determination to 
 succeed, that can never be satisfied short of 
 success, I returned to my home. I concluded 
 that instead of going to some distant place, 
 among strangers, it was best for me to return 
 to the locality where all knew of my misfor- 
 tunes and the true causes that led to them. 
 On my arrival at the depot I was met by a 
 multitude of friends. By the reception that 
 was given me no one, ignorant of the facts, 
 would have for a moment imagined that I had 
 but a few hours before vacated the cell of a 
 criminal. I pen these lines three months from 
 the day when I began life anew, and during 
 that time I have met with no one so base as to 
 " snub " a man, who, having met with misfor- 
 tune, is honestly endeavoring to regain what 
 he lost. 
 
 Is there any hope for the ex-convict? Is it 
 possible for him to be clothed in the garments 
 of respectability who once has been attired in 
 the habiliments of disgrace? Can he ever be a 
 man among men who has for a time been num-
 
 FREEDOM. 233 
 
 bered with the debased of earth? To these 
 questions, with all the powers of my being, I 
 answer, YES! I do not know how the out- 
 look may appear to others who have met a 
 similar misfortune; but as for myself I can 
 truthfully say I was never more hopeful in my 
 life. There may be storms in the future, ob- 
 stacles to meet and overcome, but self reliant, 
 and trusting in Him who observes the strug- 
 gles even of the worm, I hope to soon reach 
 my proper place among men, and in the end 
 reap the golden harvest of success. The 
 world is full of kind-hearted people who are 
 ready to help those who, though unfortunate, 
 are willing to help themselves. Scores of men 
 annually go out from the " Kansas Hell, "hav- 
 ing paid the penalties of their crimes, who are 
 not so highly favored as myself, and whose 
 struggles will have to be greater than mine if 
 they ever secure a foothold of respectability in 
 life. In behalf of these in their efforts to 
 become better men I appeal to the great, lov- 
 ing heart of the true Kansan. Help the fallen 
 in his struggles to rise again. 
 
 Since my return home, several times have 
 I visited the grave of my wife, and often on 
 these occasions would the hot blood go surg-
 
 234 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 ing through my veins, and my baser nature 
 would demand that I avenge the death of her 
 who was so heartlessly sent to an untimely 
 grave. A better judgment has prevailed, and 
 as I drop the tear of affection upon the grave 
 of her who is the mother of my children, I 
 leave the wrongs of the past in the hands of 
 an avenging God. May there fall upon those 
 who were so kind to my sorrowing family and 
 myself while we were passing through the 
 deep waters, the radiant smiles of Him who 
 says, " Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one 
 9f the least of these, ye have done it unto 
 me."
 
 A MISSOURI HELL
 
 A MISSOURI HELL 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE CONVICT'S HOME. 
 
 " JEFFERSON CITY is the next station," called 
 out the train man as the Missouri Pacific rolled 
 into the capital of the great commonwealth of 
 Missouri. It was two o'clock in the morning. 
 From an easy reclining chair, to an omn.ibus, 
 and to a cozy room in the Madison House, was 
 the work of but a few moments. It being 
 rather an unseasonable hour to begin the in- 
 vestigation of a large penal institution, I made 
 a brief journey to the land of dreams, and there 
 remained until a noisy porter knocked at my 
 bed-room door, and shouted, " Nine o'clock, last 
 call for breakfast, old man; if you want any 
 thing to eat you had betterget a move on you. " 
 Being of the opinion this was rather a cheerful 
 morning salutation, I arose, dressed, and soon 
 felt better because of a good breakfast. I 
 am now ready for my work an investigation 
 of the Missouri penitentiary. Before leaving
 
 238 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 my home in Atchison, Kansas, I procured a 
 letter of introduction from Hon. B. P. Wag- 
 gener, mayor of that city, to Governor Fran- 
 cis of Missouri. I found my way to the capi- 
 tol, and to the office of the governor. After a 
 brief delay I was shown into the private apart- 
 ment of the obliging executive, where I pre- 
 sented my letter, stated the object of my visit, 
 and received a letter to the warden of the 
 prison, containing a request that the bearer be 
 shown every thing there was to be seen in and 
 about the penitentiary. 
 
 From the capitol to the prison is a walk of 
 but a few minutes. On my way there I met a 
 one-legged ex-convict who was just leaving 
 the institution. His pale face, shoddy suit of 
 clothes and light-colored felt hat all spoke but 
 too plainly of the fact that he was very recently 
 " let loose," Entering into conversation with 
 him, I found that he had a few moments before 
 completed a term of five years at hard labor. 
 From him I gathered a great deal of impor- 
 tant information as to the treatment of the 
 prisoners, of which he had been an eye-witness 
 for five years. He also gave me his own his- 
 tory. In a saloon brawl, he became involved 
 in a fight with a drunken comrade, half-crazed
 
 THE CONVICT'S HOME 239 
 
 with drink. Pistols were drawn, and shots 
 were exchanged. He received a bullet in his 
 thigh, that caused the amputation of his limb. 
 His antagonist was killed. On a trial for 
 murder he received a sentence for man- 
 slaughter. Said he, " Whisky sent me to 
 prison. Had I not been drunk I would never 
 have taken the life of the man whom I shot. 
 He had been, for years, a good friend of mine. 
 I will never take another drink as long as I 
 live. It has been my ruin." In the conver- 
 sation he informed me that he had left behind 
 him, when sent to prison, a wife and three 
 children. During his confinement they had 
 to depend for the most part on their relatives 
 and public charity for support. On account 
 of their poverty they had not been able to visit 
 him at any time during his imprisonment. 
 They had continued to love him, notwith- 
 standing his misfortune; had been true to him 
 during his days of bondage; and he was now 
 anxious to reach his home to meet them. How 
 true it is that the blow which falls upon the 
 culprit, and which justice intends for him alone, 
 often falls with equal force and effect upon 
 wife, child or other helpless and dependent 
 relative! I asked him how he felt on recover
 
 240 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 ing his liberty after being in prison for five 
 
 years. 
 
 " Oh! " said he, " this is the happiest day of 
 rny life thus far; I never knew the blessings 
 of liberty as I do now. I never saw the sun 
 shine so brightly before. Everything about 
 me seems so beautiful. From this time I will 
 appreciate more than ever I have done, this 
 beautiful world. It almost pays a man to be 
 penned up for a time to enable him to appre- 
 ciate what there is in the world for him. Be- 
 hind the walls, however, banished from the 
 presence of loved ones, it is a veritable hell. 
 I cannot find a term that expresses my views 
 of a prison life that is moresuitable than that 
 word hell. Those long, dreary days of 
 monotonous work the same thing must be 
 gone over, day after day ; the food we eat, 
 the treatment to which we are subjected, our 
 loneliness and solitude, all combined, make 
 prison life almost unbearable." " Do you 
 know," I asked, " of any prisoners who are 
 so satisfied with their condition as to be willing 
 to remain in the penitentiary, did they have 
 an opportunity of obtaining their liberty ? " 
 " There is not a person in that institution," he 
 replied, " who would not hail with joy his re-
 
 THE CONVICT'S HOME. 24 J 
 
 lease. Some of them are physical wrecks, 
 and would have to go to the almshouse to be 
 taken care of in case they should obtain their 
 freedom, yet they would prefer any place to 
 that of a prison cell, deprived of their free- 
 dom." After spending more than an hour in 
 conversation with this ex-convict, and bidding 
 him " good bye," I preceded on my journey 
 to the prison. As I walked along thinking of 
 the poor ex-convict I had just passed, my 
 imagination pictured for him a rather gloomy 
 future. He is a cripple, and has a large 
 family to support; he must bear with him 
 along life's journey the heavy load of disgrace 
 that whisky placed upon him. An ex-convict! 
 Who will give him work to do? Who will lend 
 him a helping hand in his struggle to regain a 
 foothold in the outside world? After a few vain 
 efforts to regain what he has lost, will he not 
 yield to despair, as thousands have done be- 
 fore him, and, becoming a pitiless wreck, 
 pass on down the current of crime until he 
 drifts over Time's last precipice and drops 
 into the arms of Death ? To the average ex- 
 convict there is but little hope for success in 
 this life. 
 
 The painful history of a majority of them is, 
 
 TheTwiaHll*i6
 
 242 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 after they have fallen into the meshes of a 
 criminal life, they never have the moral power 
 to extricate themselves. My musings are now 
 at an end, for I have just reached the entrance 
 to the penitentiary " A Missouri Hell." A 
 prison official on duty at the entrance conducted 
 me into the presence of the warden, Hon. John 
 L. Morrison. This genial gentleman is a res- 
 ident of Howard County, where he was born 
 and spent the greater portion of his life. He 
 is sixty years of age, and by occupation a 
 farmer. For four years he was sheriff of his 
 county. He received his appointment as 
 warden less than one year ago. He is without 
 any prison experience. The reason, no doubt, 
 for his being appointed warden of so great a 
 penal institution is, that outside from his being 
 a man of unimpeachable integrity, he exerts 
 no little political influence in that portion of 
 the State where he resides. We have no cause 
 for criticising the governor's selection. Per- 
 haps he is one of the very best men that could 
 have been procured for the place. At any 
 rate, he is credited with starting out well. But 
 it is not every honest, upright man that makes 
 a good warden. It requires a man with a 
 special fitness to be a success in handling pris*
 
 THE CONVICTS HOME. 243 
 
 oners and making a penal institution beneficial 
 to all interested. After Warden Morrison has 
 been given a fair trial, and it becomes evident 
 that he is a successful prison man, he should 
 be retained many years in that responsible 
 position. For the longer he is kept at the 
 head of the institution the more valuable will 
 his services be to the State. I remained sev- 
 eral days, and through the kindness of the 
 warden and other prison officials, saw every- 
 thing about the institution that was noteworthy. 
 The Missouri penitentiary is located in the 
 southern suburbs of Jefferson City. Its en- 
 trance is from the north. It covers an area of 
 seventeen acres. This tract of ground is sur- 
 rounded by a stone wall twenty feet high and 
 four feet thick. The prison enclosure is rectan- 
 gular in form. At each of the four corners, 
 and at stated intervals, towers arise eight feet, 
 which are occupied by officers on duty. Occu- 
 pying this elevated position, these officers can 
 readily observe all that occurs within the prison 
 walls, outside the buildings. At stated times 
 the officers emerge from the towers and walk 
 along on top of the wall to see if anything un- 
 usual is taking place about the prison. Loose 
 stones are piled on top of portions of the wall
 
 244 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 that surrounds the prison, to prevent the cofc 
 victs from securing a fastening for ladder hooks, 
 should they attempt to escape. A portion of this 
 wall was erected fifty-four years ago, the prison 
 having been established in 1836. Could these 
 towering stones speak, what scenes of misery 
 and wretchedness they might describe! O, 
 ye rocks, that make up this barrier between 
 freedom and the worst form of human slavery, 
 AS you have been occupying your silent posi- 
 tion for the past half hundred years, had your 
 ears been unstopped, what countless groans of 
 despair would you have heard? Could your 
 eyes have opened, when first you took your 
 place in that prison wall fifty years ago, 
 how many indescribable scenes of anguish 
 would you have witnessed? A heavy iron 
 door swings upon its creaking hinges. Bolts 
 fly back into their sockets. I step into a 
 revolving iron cage, which, manipulated by a 
 guard, turns half way round on its axis, and I 
 emerge from this into the prison campus the 
 space surrounded by the walls. What wonder- 
 ful scenes now are discovered ! Many of them, 
 indeed, are heartrending. 
 
 I will describe what I saw and make men- 
 tion of what I heard. There are four large
 
 THE CONVICT'S HOME. 245 
 
 buildings of brick and stone; honeycombed 
 with cells the homes of the prisoners. The 
 cells, in one of these buildings, are large and 
 commodious, and contain four criminals. In 
 dimension they are nine feet wide and thirteen 
 feet long. The remainder of the cells are 
 small and contain but one man in a cell. The 
 large cells are objectionable, for the reason that 
 the men, being locked up together in such 
 small rooms, get to talking, and often quarrels 
 and fights result. A number of convicts have 
 been almost murdered in these larger cells, 
 where there were more than one occupant. 
 Again, if there be three in a cell who desire 
 to have the fourth one removed, they combine 
 against him and render his existence while in 
 the cell unbearable. They abuse him con- 
 stantly. If he reports them to the officer the 
 three stoutly deny all accusations, often bring- 
 ing upon the innocent one punishment which 
 should have been meted out to the three guilty 
 ones. 
 
 It requires but little stretch of the imagina- 
 tion to enable one to see how miserable a 
 prisoner may be rendered in one of these cells 
 when three occupants of the same cell com- 
 bine against him. The large cells are a source
 
 246 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 of great annoyance to prison officials, and are 
 now, after trial, universally condemned. The 
 small cells are about four feet wide, seven feet 
 long, and seven feet high. The doors are very 
 low, and the prisoner has to stoop as he enters. 
 The low door gives to the cell a more gloomy 
 appearance than it would possess if the entrance 
 was higher. On going into one of these cells 
 one has the same feeling as takes hold of him 
 when he crawls into a low, dark hole in the 
 ground. The cells are constructed of stone, 
 with wooden floors. The cells of the Kansas 
 and other penitentiaries are higher and better 
 ventilated. The furniture of the cell consists 
 of an iron rack, on which is placed a straw bed 
 with sufficient covering to keep the convict 
 warm. There are also a bucket, wash-basin 
 and towel. The prisoner washes himself in 
 the cell. He also has a chair to sit on and a 
 Holy Bible to read. This is about all the fur- 
 niture to be found in the cells. Occasionally a 
 carpet covers the floor, but the prisoner fur- 
 nishes this out of his own means. If he has 
 no means he has no carpet. I was much sur- 
 prised to learn that there was no way provided 
 for the convicts to take a plunge bath, and that 
 many of them became very filthy because of
 
 THE CONVICT'S HOME. 247 
 
 their not being compelled to bathe at stated 
 times. Other penitentiaries are supplied with 
 bath-houses, and once each week the inmates 
 are required to take a bath. This certainly is 
 conducive to good health. The cell-houses 
 are lighted by electric lights, and each cell is 
 provided with a lamp. Thus the prisoner has 
 an opportunity of reading during the even- 
 ings, which is a great blessing, and should be 
 highly appreciated. 
 
 The prison is supplied with a large library 
 of choice books to which the inmates have 
 access. They also are allowed to read daily 
 newspapers, if they have money with which to 
 purchase them. The managing officials of the 
 Kansas penitentiary are possessed of a very 
 foolish notion in regard to the reading of daily 
 newspapers. They will not under any circum- 
 stances allow a prisoner to take his home 
 paper, or have access to any political daily. 
 They claim that it excites the prisoner and 
 makes his imprisonment more difficult to 
 bear when he knows what is going on in the 
 outside world. It seems that this custom 
 smacks of barbarism, and the prison directors 
 of the Kansas prison should discard it at once. 
 Imagine the condition of a prisoner who has
 
 248 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 been in confinement for ten years, having no 
 access to the daily or weekly newspapers. He 
 would be an ignoramus of the worst type. 
 Our penal institutions should try and improve 
 their prisoners, instead of rendering them more 
 ignorant and debased. We are glad to note 
 that the Missouri penitentiary is in advance of 
 the Kansas prison in this respect. If the 
 prisoner can take a little pleasure in reading, 
 daily or weekly, what takes place at his own 
 home, why not give him the privilege, since it 
 is evident that such a permission will not be 
 detrimental to prison discipline? There are 
 school books to be found in the prison library, 
 and the prisoners, if they desire, can get these 
 books and study them. A great many do 
 improve these opportunities, and a number 
 have made great advancement in their studies. 
 They are also permitted to have writing 
 materials in their cells, a privilege which is 
 considered very dangerous, and which but 
 few similar institutions grant. Many of the 
 convicts who could not read or write on enter- 
 ing the prison make considerable progress in 
 these studies. 
 
 The Missouri prison does not go far enough 
 in matters of education. It should be pro-
 
 THB CONVICT'S HOME. 249 
 
 vided with a school. In this matter tne Kan- 
 sas and Iowa penitentiaries are far in advance. 
 They have regular graded schools, and many 
 convicts have acquired an education sufficient 
 to enable them to teach when they went out 
 again into the free world. It is to be hoped 
 when the Legislature meets again the mem- 
 bers will see to it that ample provision is made 
 for a first-class school at the prison, with a 
 corps of good teachers. The State will lose 
 nothing by this movement. 
 
 In the Iowa prison at Ft. Madison the con- 
 victs are taught in the evening, after the work 
 of the day is over. In the Kansas prison, in- 
 struction is given Sunday afternoon. These 
 schools are accomplishing great good. The 
 chiefobject of imprisonment should be reforma- 
 tion. Ignorance and reformation do not 
 affiliate. Some will argue that if prisoners are 
 educated and treated so humanely they will 
 have a desire to return to the prison, in fact, 
 make it their home. Experience teaches us 
 that, treat a human being as a prince, and 
 deprive him of his liberty, and the greatest 
 burden of life is placed upon him, and he is 
 rendered a pitiable object of abject misery. 
 There is no punishment to which a human
 
 250 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 being can be subjected which it is possible to 
 endure, that is more to be dreaded than con- 
 finement. Those long, weary, lonely hours 
 that the prisoner spends in his cell are laden 
 with the greatest of all continuous sorrows. 
 There is but little danger of surfeiting him 
 with kindness and advantages, so long as he is 
 deprived of his freedom. If there is any 
 hope for the reformation of the vicious and 
 depraved, no better place can be found 
 to commence that reformation than whild 
 he is an inmate of the prison. While 
 there, he is shut out from the society 
 of his wicked companions; he is not sub- 
 jected to the same temptations in prison as 
 on the outside. Save being deprived of his 
 freedom, he is placed in the most favorable 
 position for reformation that it is possible for 
 one to occupy. If he is not reformed here it 
 is not likely he ever will be. It is to the 
 highest interest of the State that these oppor- 
 tunities should be improved. Every effort 
 should be put forth to make these men better 
 while they are in prison. They are worth 
 saving. It must not be forgotten that one of 
 the essential features in a thorough reforma- 
 tion of a man, is to drive away the mists of
 
 THE CONVICT'S HOME. 2$ I 
 
 ignorance by which he is surrounded. Other 
 things being equal, he is the better prepared 
 to wage successfully life's warfare, who is edu- 
 cated. He will be better able to resist the 
 temptations which he will meet when his days 
 of bondage are over. Yes, by all means, let 
 every prison have its school. It is of the 
 greatest importance to the prisoner, likewise 
 to the State. As I was passing through these 
 cell-houses, reading the names of the convicts, 
 placed above the cell door, I came to one 
 which contained four brothers. Five brothers 
 were convicted of robbery and sent to the 
 prison, but a short time ago one of them was 
 pardoned, and the four now remain. The lib- 
 erated one was on a visit to his brothers while 
 I was at the prison. Reader, is it not a sad 
 thought that these four young men, brothers, 
 should spend ten of the best years of their 
 lives in a prison? Surely the way of the trans- 
 gressor is hard. 
 
 Young man, you who have as yet never been 
 an inmate of a prison, imagine, if possible, the 
 loneliness experienced as one spends his days, 
 weeks, months and years behind these frown- 
 ing prison walls, shut up the greatest portion 
 of the time in these small cells that I have de-
 
 252 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 scribed in this chapter. If you do not wish 
 a life of this nature, shun the company of 
 wicked and vicious associates, and strive with 
 all your power to resist the tempter in what- 
 ever form he may approach you. It is not 
 force he employs to drag you down to the 
 plane of the convict, but he causes the sweet 
 song of the syren to ring in your ear, and in 
 this manner allures you away from the right, 
 and gently leads you down the pathway that 
 ends in a felon cell, disgrace and death.
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE WORK OF THE CONVICT. 
 
 IT is a great blessing to the convict that he 
 can .have the privilege of working. When 
 prisons were first started in this country it was 
 thought best to keep the prisoner in solitary 
 confinement ; have him visited daily by a spir- 
 itual teacher, place the Bible and other good 
 books in his hands, and in this manner reform 
 him, and send him out into the world a better 
 man than he was on entering the prison. The' 
 great penal institution of Auburn, New York,' 
 was for a time conducted in this manner. The 
 plan, at first thought to be a good one, had to 
 be abandoned. The criminal could not endure 
 solitary confinement. He must have work. 
 Many of them became insane, while still others 
 died for want of the open air, out-door exer- 
 cise, and some diversion for the mind. 
 
 In all the penitentiaries of the country, afc 
 the present time, convicts are required to per-' 
 form some kind of useful labor. That is on* 
 point of the prison question that is, doubtless, 
 forever settled. All prison men agree that
 
 254 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 the convict must perform some kind of work. 
 Labor to the prisoners means health of body 
 and mind. Solitary confinement means the 
 reverse. But what kind of labor the prisoner 
 should perform, and what should be done with 
 the results of his labor, is one of the most diffi- 
 cult questions to decide. 
 
 All the prisoners of the Missouri peniten- 
 tiary are let out to contractors, with the 
 exception of those needed to do the work 
 about the prison. The work consists chiefly 
 of making saddle-trees and shoes. Several 
 large three-story buildings are used in furnish- 
 ing room for the convicts while at labor. 
 Those contractors who have been at the prison 
 for some time have grown rich. They get 
 their men for forty-five cents a day, on an 
 average. They have their choice of prison- 
 ers as they come in. Those convicts desig- 
 nated scrubs, do the work for the State. The 
 contractors are charged with controlling the 
 prison. If one of the officials, in the discharge 
 of his duty, happens to do anything displeas- 
 ing to the contractors, they combine against 
 him and have him removed. They are charged 
 with using their combined political influence, 
 and even money, to carry their points. We
 
 THE WORK OF THE CONVICT. 255 
 
 have been told by some of the leading men of 
 the State that it was a notorious fact that the 
 penitentiary was controlled by a political ring, 
 a set of jobbers, and this ring was largely 
 influenced by the contractors. The contract 
 system is wrong, and should not have a place 
 in any of the penal institutions of the country. 
 The contractor assigns the task. The pris- 
 oner must perform that task or be punished. 
 If an avaricious contractor, in his desire to 
 make money, places too great a task upon the 
 prisoner, who is there to take the prisoner's 
 part and shield him from abuse? Fully nine- 
 tenths of the punishments inflicted is the result 
 of the reports and complaints of the con- 
 tractors. See how unjust and how hard this 
 contract system is upon many of the prisoners! 
 Two convicts enter the same day. In outward 
 appearance they are strong, healthy men. 
 The same task is assigned them. One of them 
 being adapted to that line of work, and skilled, 
 performs his task with ease; while the other, 
 equally industrious, cannot get through with 
 his. He is reported for shirking. He states 
 his inability to do the amount of work assigned 
 him. The contractor or his foreman makes a 
 different report. The assertions of the convict
 
 2$6 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 amount to but little, as against the statements 
 of the rich and influential contractor. He is 
 punished and returned to his work. A second 
 time he tries, again fails, and is reported as 
 before. This being the second offense the 
 prisoner is subjected to a more severe punish- 
 ment. This brutal treatment is continued 
 until the officer, growing weary with inflicting 
 punishment upon the poor wretch, concludes 
 he is unable to perform the task assigned him. 
 If this contract system is to continue in Mis- 
 souri, there should be some one whose duty it 
 is to see that the prisoner is humanely treated, 
 and not let a brutal officer decide, who is in 
 league with the contractors. I have it from 
 the lips of a prison official who has been con- 
 nected with the prison for thirty-six years, that 
 the treatment some of the prisoners receive 
 because of the avariciousness of the con- 
 tractors, is simply heartrending. 
 
 After all, is not this contract system a regu- 
 lar jobbing business? If these men can em- 
 ploy the prisoners and pay forty-five cents a 
 day for them, and make money and grow 
 rich, why cannot the State work the convicts 
 and save all these profits? Competent men 
 can be secured as superintendents to carry on
 
 THE WORK OF THE CONVICT. 257 
 
 this work. Some will say, that it will open up 
 too many avenues to jobbery; that the super- 
 intendents will get to stealing from the State, 
 and in the end the State will not get as much 
 benefit as under the present system. This 
 seems like begging the question. If these 
 superintendents, after a time, become thieves, 
 treat them as thieves, and give them a term in 
 the penitentiary. This kind of medicine will 
 soon cure all cases of jobbery. Again, 
 prisoners should be assigned tasks according 
 to their ability. All men are not alike equally 
 skilled in the same kind of labor. All these 
 things should be taken into account. No 
 prisoner should be forced to carry a burden 
 that is oppressive, in order to fill the coffers 
 of avaricious contractors. Again, I ask that 
 there be some humane person, whose duty it 
 is to see that these helpless men, whose lips 
 are sealed, are not oppressed by this damnable 
 contract system. Let us treat these unfortu- 
 nate men humanely, and never forget that, 
 if stern justice was meted out to those who 
 had the control of convicts, as officers, guards, 
 or contractors, many of them would be doing 
 service for the State, clad in a suit of stripes. 
 The penitentiary of Missouri is self-support- 
 
 Thc Twin Hells 17
 
 258 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 ing, with the exception of the officer's pay-roll. 
 At each session of the Legislature, an appro- 
 priation of $140,000 is made for this purpose. 
 There are over one hundred officers on the pay- 
 roll. The records show that it requires nearly 
 a quarter of a million dollars annually to pay 
 the expenses of this institution. 
 
 Crime is an expensive luxury! 
 
 During the past two years $347,000 have 
 been paid into the treasury as the earnings of the 
 prison. The goods manufactured are sold 
 chiefly in the State of Missouri. This brings 
 convict labor, which is very cheap, into com- 
 petition with the labor of the poor, but honest 
 man on the outside. The average labor value 
 of the convict is forty-five cents a day. How 
 is it possible for laboring men on the outside, 
 who have families depending upon them, to 
 support themselves and families on an amount, 
 that will enable business men, for whom they 
 work, to engage in business and compete with 
 this cheap convict labor? This is the great 
 argument against convict labor. The convict 
 must be given work or he will become insane. 
 To bring this cheap labor into conflict with the 
 toil of honest but poor men on the outside, is 
 unjust and cruel. What to do with convic'
 
 THE WORK OF THE CONVICT. 259 
 
 labor is one of the unsolved problems. It is a 
 subject that will furnish ample scope for the 
 thinking mind. 
 
 The prisoner is worked on an average of 
 nine hours each day. He goes about his labor 
 in silence. It is against the regulations for 
 him to exchange a word or a knowing glance 
 with a fellow-workman. When visitors pass 
 through the workshops he is not permitted to 
 lift his eyes from his work to look at them. 
 An officer, perched upon a raised seat, who 
 commands a view of the entire work-room, is 
 constantly on the watch to see that no rule or 
 regulation is violated. The convict cannot 
 take a drink of water, or go from one part of 
 the room to another in the discharge of his 
 duties without permission from the officer. 
 The prisoner is always conscious of being 
 watched. This feeling is no small factor in 
 making the life of a prisoner almost unbear- 
 able. Nearly all of the inmates work in shops, 
 and all the exercise they receive in the open 
 air is what they get in going to and from their 
 meals and cells. It is this sameness of work, 
 this daily and hourly going over the same 
 routine, this monotonous labor, this being sur- 
 rounded by hundreds of busy fellow-workmen,
 
 160 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 and not permitted to exchange a word with 
 any of them, that makes the life of a prisoner 
 to be so much dreaded. Young man, as you 
 read these lines, it is impossible for you to 
 conceive the misery that accompanies this kind 
 of a monotonous life. 
 
 In order to know all that it means, you must 
 pass through it, as I have done. Things are 
 entirely different with you. While you are at 
 work on the outside of prisons, you can carry 
 on conversation with those about you and thus 
 pass the time in a pleasant manner. After the 
 day's work is over, if you so desire, you can 
 spend an hour or so with friends. Not so with 
 the criminal. After his day's work, done in 
 silence, is past, he is locked up in his solitary 
 cell to spend the evening as best he can. 
 
 There is no one to watch you constantly 
 while at your daily toil, to see that you do not 
 violate some insignificant rule or regulation. 
 When you desire a holiday, and wish to take 
 a stroll out into the woods, to look upon the 
 beautiful flowers or admire nature in all her 
 loveliness, to inhale the pure, fresh air which 
 is a stranger to packed workshops to revel 
 in the genial sunlight, there is no one to for- 
 bid you. You are a free man.
 
 THE WORK OF THE CONVICT. 26l 
 
 Oh, what a wonderful difference between 
 the laboring man who is free, and him who is 
 forced to work, clad in the habiliments of dis- 
 grace! He who penned these lines has had 
 to toil as a convict in the coal mines of the 
 Kansas penitentiary, eight hundred feet below 
 the surface, lying stretched out on his side, 
 and he knows what he is talking about when 
 he says, he would rather die and be laid away 
 in his grave than to spend five years as a 
 convict. 
 
 Young man, think of these things when you 
 are tempted to do those things that will send 
 you to a felon's cell. Of course, it is no 
 intention of yours ever to become an inmate 
 of a prison. Permit one who has had ex- 
 perience, to tell you that it is one of the easiest 
 things in the world to get into a prison, and that 
 when once in, it is difficult to secure your 
 liberty, until Time turns the bolt and lets you 
 out, or in other words, until you serve out 
 your term. May you never yield to a tempta- 
 tion that will make you a prisoner.
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE MISSOURI PRISONERS 
 
 THE Missouri penitentiary contains 1,894 
 convicts. This is the most populous penal in- 
 stitution in the United States. Crime is on 
 the increase. The number of prisoners is 
 gradually becoming larger. Reformation is not 
 the success that it should be. A great many 
 of the prisoners return a second, third and many 
 the fourth time. There is one old convict now 
 an inmate who has served nine different terms 
 in this prison. The highest number that was 
 ever at any prior time in this penitentiary; was 
 reached on Thanksgiving Day of 1889. In 
 1836, fifty-four years ago, when this prison was 
 founded, there were eighteen prisoners received 
 the first day. During the year one received a 
 pardon, leaving at the close seventeen pris- 
 oners. At the close of 1889 there were nine- 
 teen hundred inmates. As the population of 
 Missouri increases, she is generous enough to 
 contribute her quota to the felon cells within 
 her borders. The increase of from seventeen 
 
 at the close of the first year to that of nineteen 
 262
 
 THE MISSOURI PRISONERS. 265 
 
 hundred at the close of the last year, speaks 
 volumes. What can be done to lessen this 
 fearful increase of crime ? It is true that the 
 population of the State has increased amazingly 
 since 1836, but crime has increased too rap- 
 idly in proportion to the increase of population. 
 When a man, accused of crime, is convicted 
 and sentenced in any of the courts of the State, 
 a commitment is furnished the sheriff, by the 
 clerk of the court. This document is a writ- 
 ing, giving the name of the prisoner, the crime 
 of which he stands committed, and the term 
 for which he is sentenced. It is the authority 
 given the sheriff to convey to the penitentiary 
 the person named therein, and to deliver him 
 to the warden. As soon as the warden receives 
 the commitment he assumes control of the 
 prisoner, and retains it until his term of service 
 expires, or is liberated by pardon or some 
 court decree. It is curious to note how differ- 
 ently prisoners act on coming to the peniten- 
 tiary. Some of them quake with fear and 
 tremble as the aspen leaf. Others weep like 
 whipped children. While others do not seem 
 to mind it much. This latter class is chiefly 
 made up of those who have served terms be- 
 fore, and have had experience. The officers
 
 264 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 try to crush the spirit of the criminal the firs 
 day he enters. The poor culprit, already quak 
 ing with fear, is spoken to in a cross and 
 harsh manner, as if he was going to be struck 
 over the head with a club the next moment. 
 He is locked up in the reception cell, a low, 
 dark dungeon. To use the expressive language 
 of the prison, he is left in this dungeon to 
 " soak " for an indefinite time, often for a day 
 and a night. In this dreaded spot, in his lone- 
 liness and shame he has an opportunity for 
 meditation. I don't suppose there ever was a 
 person who, in this reception cell for the first 
 time, did not heartily regret the commission 
 of his crime. Here he thinks of his past life. 
 The days of his innocent childhood come flit- 
 ting before him. The faces of loved ones, 
 many of whom now dead, pass in review. It 
 is here he thinks of his loving mother, of his 
 kind old father, of his weeping sisters and sym- 
 pathizing brothers. 
 
 He travels, time and again, the road of his 
 past life. In his reveries of solitude he sits 
 once more in the old school-house of his boy- 
 hood days. It comes to him, now with 
 greater force than ever before, what he might 
 have been, had he taken a different course,
 
 THE MISSOURI PRISONERS 265 
 
 Alas! it is too late. He is forever disgraced. 
 There is but little hope for him now in the 
 future. Reader, behold this unfortunate 
 youth as he sits in his lonely dungeon, his 
 first day in the penitentiary. On a low chair, 
 his elbows resting on his knees, his face 
 buried in his hands, he sits and tries to 
 imagine what is in store for him. He endeav- 
 ors to peer into the future, and all is gloom. 
 That sweet angel we call Hope, has spread her 
 wings, taken her flight and left him comfort- 
 less. The cloud of despair, black as the 
 Egyptian midnight, settles down upon him. 
 He wishes that he was dead. I can never 
 forget my first day in a felon's cell. Of all 
 my eventful life, into which many dark days 
 have crowded themselves, my first day in 
 prison was the darkest. After the " soaking 
 season " is over, an officer advances to the 
 dungeon, throws back the bolts, pulls open 
 the door, and, in a harsh manner, commands 
 the broken-hearted culprit to follow. He is 
 conducted to an apartment, takes a bath, and 
 dons the suit of stripes. Ye angels! did you 
 ever behold such a sight? Is it not a travesty 
 on every thing that is good to dress a human 
 being in such a suit of clothes. A striped
 
 266 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 coat, striped pataloons, striped shirt, striped 
 cap, in fine everything he wears is striped. 
 There is nothing in this world so humiliates a 
 person as being compelled to wear these 
 stripes. No language can describe the feel- 
 ings of horror that took hold upon me the 
 first time I saw myself arrayed in these 
 emblems of disgrace. I passed through all 
 the fiery ordeal of trial, sentence, reception 
 cell, undaunted, but when I made my first 
 toilet in the penitentiary, I must admit, I was 
 " knocked out." Then I felt keenly the sting 
 of disgrace. The prisoner is next introduced to 
 a convict barber, who shaves him and " clips" 
 his hair. By the time the barber gets through 
 with his part of the programme, the prisoner 
 has but little hair either on his face or head. 
 The prison physician examines him and it is de- 
 cided where he is to work. He is next shown 
 the cell he is to occupy, and later on his place 
 of work. Over his cell is placed his name and 
 number. He now enters upon that indescrib- 
 able, desolate, and dreary life of a convict. 
 
 THE TREATMENT OF THE PRISONERS. 
 The inmates of the Missouri penitentiary are 
 well clothed In this respect, this prison has
 
 THE MISSOURI PRISONERS. 267 
 
 no rival. All the prisoners presented the 
 appearance of being cleanly, so far as their 
 clothing is concerned. All are dressed in 
 stripes. None are exempt. Here are nearly 
 two thousand men on an equality. None of 
 them can look down upon others, and say, I am 
 more nicely dressed than you. I never saw a 
 convict dude in the entire lot. The prisoners 
 are well fed. For breakfast, the bill of fare 
 consists of bread, coffee, without milk or sugar, 
 and hash. There is no change of this bill of 
 fare. If the prisoner has been there for ten 
 years, if not in the hospital, he has feasted upon 
 hash every morning. Boiled meat, corn bread, 
 potatoes and water make up the dinner, and 
 for supper the convict has bread, molasses and 
 coffee. The principal objection to this diet is 
 its monotony. Whenever a change of diet 
 becomes a strict necessity, the prisoner is per- 
 mitted to take a few meals in the hospital 
 dining-room. Here he receives a first-class 
 meal. This is a capital idea. A great deal of 
 sickness is prevented by thus permitting the 
 convict to have an occasional change of diet. 
 On holidays, such as Thanksgiving day, Christ* 
 mas, etc., an extra dinner is given, which is 
 keenly relished by all. I have before me a
 
 268 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 statement of the expenses for a Sunday break- 
 fast and dinner. There are only two meals 
 given on Sunday. The hash was made up of 
 612 pounds of beef, 90 pounds of bacon, and 
 30 bushels of potatoes. Fifty-one pounds of 
 coffee were used, and four and a half barrels 
 of flour. The entire meal cost $68.38. 
 
 For dinner, 1,585 pounds of beef, 30 bushels 
 of potatoes, and 4^ barrels of flour, weir 
 used. This meal cost $100.6 1. It costs about 
 ten cents each a day to feed the prisoners. 
 Some of the convicts, after they get their daily 
 tasks performed, do overwork. The contract- 
 ors pay them small sums for this extra labor. 
 With this money the convict is permitted to 
 purchase apples from the commissary depart- 
 ment, which he can take to his cell and eat at 
 his leisure. The commissary keeps these 
 apples on hand at all times in packages, which 
 he sells to the prisoners at twenty cents each. 
 In prison, apples are the most healthful diet 
 the inmate can have. Should friends on the 
 outside desire to send delicacies to any of the 
 prisoners, they are permitted to receive the 
 same, and, taking them to their cells, eat at 
 their leisure. These luxuries are highly appre- 
 ciated by the men in stripes, whose daily food
 
 /HE MISSOURI PRISONER? ^69 
 
 is largely made up of hash and corn bread. 
 The female prisoners must subsist on the same 
 kind of food as the males. In some penal in- 
 stitutions, Kansas for example, the women 
 have better diet than is furnished the men. 
 Not so in this penitentiary. All are treated 
 alike, so far as food is concerned. 
 
 Three times each day the men march into 
 the large dining-hall, which accommodates 
 1,500, and partake of their meals. The table- 
 ware is of tin and somewhat meager. The 
 tables themselves present the appearance of 
 the modern school-desk, being long enough 
 that twenty men may be comfortably seated 
 at each. No table-linen is used. When eat- 
 ing, the convict is not permitted to call for any- 
 thing he may wish. When a dish is empty it 
 is held aloft, and an officer or a convict waiter 
 replenishes it. Ample time is given to eat. 
 All have a sufficiency of food such as it is. 
 Every thing is clean, After the meal is over, 
 the prisoners, in ranks, return to their work- 
 shops, or to their cells in case it is the last 
 meal of the day. It is a very interesting sight 
 to witness 1,500 convicts eating at the same 
 time. 
 
 The officials are to be commended for the
 
 2/O THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 following privileges they grant the prisoners: 
 On all holidays, such as Fourth of July, Christ- 
 mas, etc., they are let out of their cells into a 
 large open square, inside the prison walls, and 
 are allowed to converse with each other, and 
 are given full liberty to do as they wish. 
 These are days of freedom. Officers, of 
 course, are among them to see that no fight- 
 ing occurs, and also to prevent any from 
 effecting their escape by scaling the walls. 
 The prisoners do certainly enjoy these times. 
 They shake hands with each other, run about, 
 shout, leap for joy, and have more real happi- 
 ness than a lot of school-boys who have been 
 shut up in a room all day at their studies and 
 are in the evening turned out for play. The 
 men are very careful not to abuse this privi- 
 lege which they prize very highly. There 
 never have been any disturbances, nor fights, 
 nor attempts at escape during these holidays. 
 These privileges granted the prisoners demon- 
 strate the humaneness of the prison officials. 
 The question often arises, why is it there are 
 no more riots and insurrections in this prison. 
 Here are nearly two thousand men huddled up 
 together. They are prisoners, suffering the 
 worst kind of bondage. Why is it they do
 
 THE MISSOURI PRISONERS. 271 
 
 not make a rush for liberty whenever an oppor- 
 tunity presents itself? Many of them are in 
 for life, and may never again see beyond then 
 prison walls. Why are they so docile? These 
 questions can be easily answered. Many of 
 the men are short-time prisoners, having from 
 one to three years, and cannot afford to get' 
 into trouble, as their time is short. Added to 
 this, if the prisoner behaves himself, and 
 obtains a good prison record, he obtains a 
 pardon and restoration to citizenship when 
 three-fourths of his time has expired. If a 
 man is sent for ten years, by good conduct he 
 will be pardoned at the end of seven and a 
 half years. This is a great inducement to 
 good behavior. The reason the life-men cause 
 but little, if any, disturbance in the prison is, 
 that they all have a hope sometime or other of 
 receiving a pardon, and they know very well 
 that, if they do not have a good prison record, 
 they can never obtain a pardon. A custom 
 also prevails at the prison that has much to do 
 in causing the long-time men to behave them- 
 selves, and be obedient to the regulations of 
 the institution. Every Fourth of July and 
 Christmas the governor of the State grants 
 pardons to two long-time men, so there are
 
 272 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 four chances annually for a man to obtain his 
 freedom. Before the governor will pardon 
 one of these men, he must be satisfied, among 
 other things, that the convict has a good prison 
 record. 
 
 Any one can readily see that this is a great 
 inducement for the prisoner to behave himself. 
 Missouri is the only State, so far as my knowl- 
 edge extends, that has this custom. It should 
 become, not only a custom, but a law, in every 
 State. It is founded on good sense. 
 
 THE PRISONER'S SENTENCE. 
 
 I believe in capital punishment. When a 
 man falls so low as maliciously, willfully and 
 premeditatedly, to take the life of a human 
 being, he should be hung by the neck until he 
 is dead. Before it is just to impose such a 
 sentence as this upon a human being he should 
 have a fair and impartial trial, which many 
 persons charged with crime do not get. If 
 poor and unable to employ the best legal talent, 
 the court should see that it is furnished. Too 
 often is it the case when a poor man, charged 
 with crime, makes affidavit that he is unable 
 to procure counsel, that some young and inex- 
 perienced attorney is selected, in order to give
 
 THE MISSOURI PRISONERS. 2?$ 
 
 him a start in practice. The consequence of 
 this inexperience is that the man charged with 
 crime has to suffer for his lawyer's inability to 
 secure for him his rights. After the jury has 
 brought in a verdict of guilty he should have 
 the privilege of taking his case to the Supreme 
 Court, and have it reviewed by that tribunal at 
 the expense of the State. No human being 
 should be hung on circumstantial evidence, 
 unsupported by positive testimony. If the 
 judgment below is confirmed, then let the 
 murderer be kept in close confinement in the 
 penitentiary for one year, and, if during that 
 time no new evidence or mitigating circum- 
 stances arise let him be hung by the neck 
 until he is dead. 
 
 Let the execution take place in the prison, 
 let it be private and witnessed by but few per- 
 sons, designated by the executive of the State. 
 It is better for the criminal to be hung than to 
 be sent to the penitentiary for life. While 
 serving out a lifetime sentence he suffers ten 
 thousand deaths. Those States where the 
 death penalty is inflicted have the least num- 
 ber of brutal murders, in proportion to their 
 population. The dread of death is a better 
 protection to society than a life of imprison- 
 
 Tl Twin Hells 18
 
 274 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 ment. The fiend with murder in his heart 
 thinks " while there is life, hope remains, "and 
 if he is sent to the penitentiary for life he may 
 get a pardon after a time. But if he is aware 
 of the fact that if he strikes the fatal blow he 
 must atone for his crime on the gallows, he is 
 more liable to think twice before striking his 
 innocent victim once. There should be no 
 such a thing as a life sentence. No criminal 
 should be sent to the penitentiary fo* a term 
 longer than fifteen years. The suffering he 
 endures during this long sentence is enough to 
 atone for any crime he may commit aside from 
 a brutal murder, and for this he should be 
 hung. Fifteen years of imprisonment is suf- 
 ficient to break down almost any constitution. 
 Having spent this length of time behind prison 
 walls a man is a physical wreck, and, having 
 atoned for his crime, let him have the last days 
 of life in the world of freedom. The greatest 
 desire of a life man in our penitentiaries is to 
 die outside of prison walls. No criminal 
 should be sent to the penitentiary for less than 
 five years. After giving him one fourth off 
 for good behavior, he has but little more than 
 three years of actual service. This will give 
 Km plenty of time to learn a trade, so that
 
 THE MISSOURI PRISONERS. 2/5 
 
 when he goes out of prison he can make a liv- 
 ing for himself and for those depending upon 
 him. For crimes that require lighter sentences 
 of imprisonment let jails or reformatories be 
 brought into requistion. In the eyes of the 
 world a jail sentence is not so disgraceful as 
 one in the penitentiary. 
 
 The plumage of a jail-bird is not so black as 
 that of a penitentiary bird. The disgrace of 
 being sent to the penitentiary for one year is 
 as great as being sent for five or ten years. 
 Whether he goes for one or five years, for all 
 the future he is set down as an ex-convict. 
 People do not stop to inquire as to the length 
 of his sentence. The main question is: Was 
 he in the penitentiary? If so, he wears the 
 mark of Cain the stamp of disgrace. Not 
 so, if he simply has been in jail. There are a 
 great many young men, while surrounded by 
 bad company, yield to temptation and commit 
 crime. A dose of jail service will do them as 
 much good as a year in the penitentiary. 
 After they get out they do not feel the dis- 
 grace so keenly, and there is some hope for 
 their reformation. Send them to the peniten- 
 tiary and it will be a miracle if they ever 
 amount to anything in the future. If a jail
 
 2j6 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 sentence of a year does not reform a young, 
 criminal, or a man of older years, who has 
 committed his first offense, then give a term in 
 the penitentiary for five years for the second 
 offense. It is too true that a sentence to the 
 penitentiary for a first term is the irretriev- 
 able ruin of the young offender. This'becomes 
 an obstacle which, during all the future, he 
 cannot surmount. This plan being adopted, 
 let everything be done to reform the youthful 
 offender while in jail. It is much easier to 
 carry forward the work of reformation in a jail 
 or reformatory than in a penitentiary.
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 THE MISSOURI PRISONERS (Continued.) 
 
 DURING the years 1887 and 1888, 1,523 
 prisoners were received into the Missouri pen- 
 itentiary. Of this number 1 ,082 were white 
 males, 398 colored males, 17 white females, 
 and 26 colored females. These figures show 
 that the women of Missouri are a great deal 
 better than the men, or they do not get their 
 share of justice. 
 
 TABLE SHOWING THE AGES OF CONVICTS RE- 
 CEIVED DURING THE YEARS 1887 AND 1888. 
 
 from 16 to 20 320 
 
 20 to 25 441 
 
 25 1030 344 
 
 3 to 35 H3 
 
 35 1040 113 
 
 40 1045 70 
 
 45 t5 34 
 
 50 toss...., 31 
 
 55 to6o 15 
 
 6oto6s 5 
 
 65 1070 4 
 
 70 and upward. , ,. 3 
 
 Total 1,523
 
 2/8 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 There is nothing that should interest the 
 good people of Missouri more than the fore- 
 going table. These appalling figures I copied 
 from the prison records. Of the 1,523 crimi- 
 nals received during the past two years, more 
 than one-fifth of them were mere children. 
 Would it not be better to give these boys a 
 term in the county jails, or in some reformatory, 
 instead of sending them to a penitentiary ? 
 Coming in contact with hardened and vicious 
 criminals, what hope is there for getting these 
 boys into the paths of honesty and upright- 
 ness ? Then there follows the large number 
 of 441, representing the youthful age from 
 twenty to twenty-five years. These are the 
 years most prolific of criminals. Who can say 
 these boys are vicious and hardened criminals? 
 Then follow the young men of from twenty- 
 five to thirty. Three hundred and fourty-four 
 of this age find a home in felon cells. Are 
 these boys and young men not worth saving ? 
 What can be done to snatch them from a ca- 
 reer of crime, and to save them from becoming 
 miserable wrecks ? Father, if one of these 
 boys was a son of yours, you would think seri- 
 ously over this important question. 
 
 Something should be done to save this* large
 
 THE MISSOURI PRISONERS. 279 
 
 army of youth who are annually rinding their 
 way into felon cells. 
 
 Is the penitentiary the proper place to send 
 those youthful offenders ? If so, then they 
 should not come in contact with the older and 
 hardened criminals. One of the most essen- 
 tial things to be done in a prison is the classi- 
 fication of the inmates. This is not done in 
 the Missouri penitentiary. Here the mere 
 youth often cells with a hardened old criminal 
 of the worst description. I would rather a 
 child of mine would be boxed up with a rattle- 
 snake. In this institution there are nearly 
 2,000 criminals huddled up together an in- 
 discriminate mass. The officials are not to 
 blame for this. They realize the terrible con- 
 dition of things at the prison. They have 
 not sufficient room for the classification and 
 proper arrangement of the inmates. They 
 know, perhaps better than anyone else, 
 that the prison is not what it should be. 
 Warden Marmaduke says, in his last report to 
 the prison directors, " This prison is now too 
 much crowded and it becomes a serious ques- 
 tion at once, as to what disposition will bi. 
 made of them in the future. If this prison is 
 to accommodate them, another cell building
 
 28O THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 should be built at once. If another prison is 
 to be the solution, it should be commenced. 
 If a reconstruction of our criminal laws, look- 
 ing to the reduction of crime, it should be 
 done now. And in any event, and whatever 
 may be done, certainly our management of 
 prisons should be so modified or changed 
 that tke practical, not the sentimental system 
 of reform, should be adopted. I believe that 
 our present system is making criminals instead 
 of reforming them, and I believe that it is 
 practicable to so classify, treat, feed, work and 
 uniform these people, as to make better men 
 instead of worse men out of them. I have 
 profound respect for the good purposes of the 
 benevolently disposed men and women, and 
 they are numerous, who are devoting them- 
 selves to the effort of reforming criminals. Yet 
 their efforts must be supplemented by a practi- 
 cal building up and the development of the bet- 
 ter instincts of the man, which cannot be done 
 under our present system. The surroundings 
 are against it. We are constantly devel- 
 oping and stimulating the very ivorst instincts. 
 I believe it practicable to institute methods 
 for this reform, at once creditable to the 
 State." Who can doubt our statements on
 
 THE MISSOURI FRISONERS. 28 1 
 
 this subject when we quote such high authority 
 as the above. The last harden of this reat 
 institution comes out and officially announces 
 that awful fact that our present system of 
 prison treatment is constantly developing and 
 stimulating the very zvorst instincts. Con- 
 stantly making men worse, and when a young 
 man enters the prison he is morally tainted, 
 when he goes out he is completely saturated, 
 with moral pollution. After such statements 
 from so high an authority will the great State 
 of Missouri, so well-known the world over for 
 her numerous acts of benevolence, continue to 
 have an institution within her borders for the 
 complete demoralization and ruin of multitudes 
 of her young men. Should a youth of Missouri, 
 surrounded by influences and temptations 
 which he could not resist, once fall from a 
 position of honor and integrity, although it is 
 his first violation of the law, he will be taken 
 into custody of the State, hurled into a pit, 
 where for a time he will inhale the fetid breath 
 of wickedness, then, later on, to be released 
 and sent out into the free world a moral 
 leper. 
 
 The State should not provide this machine 
 for the moral destruction of her
 
 282 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 youth. If this be the real and true condition 
 of affairs, what can be done to change them? 
 I would suggest the erection, at once, of a re- 
 formatory. Classify the prisoners. Let those 
 who are in for the first offense be separated 
 from those who are professional and debased 
 criminals. Give these youthful offenders the 
 benefit of schools, connected with the reform- 
 atory. Let them have moral instruction, and 
 many of these young men will be reclaimed. 
 However well a criminal is treated, when behind 
 prison walls, however good the advantages 
 granted him, all this will avail but little, if 
 some provision is not made to aid him when he 
 leaves the prison. Many prisoners, at the 
 time of their discharge, may be, in heart, as 
 pure as angels, and resolve to lead good lives, 
 yet they are convicts, and carry out with them 
 the shame and disgrace of such a life. They 
 must live even if they are disgraced. They must 
 have work. Who will employ a convict? 
 Should a man, just from the prison, come to 
 you and frankly inform you that he was recently 
 discharged from a felon's cell, that he had been 
 convicted of horse-stealing, for instance, and 
 wanted employment with you on the farm, how 
 many of you, my readers, would give him
 
 THE MISSOURI PRISONERS. 283 
 
 work? You would be afraid of him. You 
 would decline his services, and who could 
 blame you? But the convict must live, and it 
 is easily seen, how, that after applying to sev- 
 eral for work and being refused each time on 
 account of his past trouble, he would, after a 
 time, become discouraged and return to a life 
 of a criminal. Hunger drives him to deeds of 
 desperation, and more especially is this the 
 case if he have a wife or helpless children de- 
 pending upon him. On his discharge from the 
 prison the State presents him with a shoddy 
 suit of clothes (very cheap), buys him a ticket 
 for the town from which he came, and then lets 
 him shift for himself. Disgraced, penniless, 
 friendless, helpless, how is it possible for anyone 
 of them ever to secure another foothold in life. 
 Something should be done, to help these 
 men to secure work for a time after their 
 discharge from prison. This would prevent a 
 vast majority of criminals from returning to 
 the prison after their first term. That my 
 views on this subject may not be considered 
 visionary, and that I may not be regarded as 
 standing alone in my suggestions, I will give 
 a portion of the report of Rev. J. Gierlow, ex- 
 chaplain of the Missouri penitentiary
 
 284 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 " The increase of crime is necessarily attract- 
 ing the attention of all thinking people, and 
 there is abundant evidence that crime-causes 
 are increasing, for which there seems to be no 
 adequate prevention. It has been said, that 
 nearly all crime originates in the saloon, but 
 this statement requires discrimination. Very 
 few professional thieves are inebriates. That 
 class of criminals are sober men, they could 
 not ply their trade without a clear head, nor 
 do they go with those who drink, for they talk 
 too much. No, intemperance to a considera- 
 ble extent, is only a secondary cause of crime 
 which must be reached by well-ordered, sani- 
 tary, hygienic and educational measures. 
 Diseased bodies and unbalanced minds are 
 largely characteristic of criminals; and these 
 are two factors in producing crime. 
 
 " There is a numerous class in whom crime 
 seems to be hereditary, a taint in the blood. 
 In the same family there are generations of 
 criminals. Prison life adds another large sec- 
 tion to the criminal class. By the congregate 
 system the prison becomes a school of crime, 
 where the young offender is both demoralized 
 by contact with hardened criminals, and initi- 
 ated into the mysteries ef professional villainy.
 
 THE MISSOURI PRISONERS 285 
 
 It is a question whether detention in prison, 
 without remedial influences, is not more of a 
 loss than a gain. The critical time of a pris- 
 oner, desirous of building up a new life, is when 
 he crosses the threshold of the prison and goes 
 out into the world. He is met with distrust 
 wherever his past. is known. He is in con- 
 stant terror of exposure if he tries to keep it 
 secret. And what does the State do to put 
 him on his feet or to give him a chance ? It 
 gives him a few dollars to carry him here or 
 there, and bids him shift for himself. And 
 finding every avenue of honest employment 
 closed against him, he is driven in desperation, 
 however well disposed he may be, to renew 
 his criminal habits and associates. What, then, 
 are the remedies, as far as the prison system is 
 concerned ? Chiefly, classification. Let not 
 one who desires to reform be compelled to 
 associate with those who are almost sure to de- 
 grade and debase him. The neglect of dis- 
 criminating classification of offenders is a dark 
 stain upon civilization. Then, again, I believe 
 it to be the duty of the State to reinstate the 
 penitentiary man in society. This may be 
 secured by a conditional discharge, the finding 
 of work for him, and the obligation to report
 
 286 
 
 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 himself at stated periods to the proper au- 
 thority. 
 
 " I have regarded it as within the province of 
 my office to thus briefly set forth what I have 
 gathered from experience in my intercourse 
 with convicts, as well as from sober conviction, 
 after mature deliberation. Let the State con- 
 sider and act.' 
 
 TABLE SHOWING SENTENCES OF CONVICTS DUR- 
 ING THE YEARS 1887 AND 1888. 
 
 Years. 
 
 Mos. 
 
 
 No. 
 
 Years. 
 
 Mos. 
 
 
 No. 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 1 1 
 
 
 
 -^ 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 14 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 i 
 
 6 
 
 
 I 
 
 1-7 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 74 1 
 
 14 
 
 
 
 j 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 | 
 
 
 1C 
 
 18 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 IO 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 21 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 
 "o 
 
 22 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 86 
 
 2C 
 
 
 
 17 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 
 i 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 164 
 
 |g 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 4.8 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 21 
 
 CQ 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 IO 
 
 
 
 72 
 
 Life 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total.... 
 
 
 I have here inserted the foregoing table to 
 the reader about how the sentences are.
 
 THE MISSOURI PRISONERS. 287 
 
 It will be observed that of the one thousand 
 five hundred and twenty-three prisoners ad- 
 mitted during the past two years, seven hun- 
 dred and forty-five of them, or nearly one- 
 half, have but a two-years' sentence. This 
 shows that the crimes committed were not 
 very " horrible in their nature," or the sen- 
 tences imposed would have been more severe. 
 This is probably the first offense for these 
 offenders. By good conduct in the prison 
 one-fourth of their time will be deducted. 
 This will give them but eighteen months of 
 actual service. What can they accomplish in 
 so short a time? The contractors care but 
 little for them, since their time will expire 
 before they can master a trade and be of any 
 service. Had these youthful offenders been 
 given a term in a county jail or reformatory, 
 would not justice been satisfied, and there 
 would have been more hope for the prisoner 
 as to the future. He would not have been a 
 penitentiary convict, I hope soon to see the 
 day when the great State of Missouri will have 
 a reformatory institution which will receive the 
 wayward youth of that great commonwealth, 
 and, after keeping and training them for a 
 time, will send them out into the world
 
 288 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 stronger and better men than when first 
 received. So far as reformation is concerned, 
 the Missouri penitentiary is a dismal failure.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 PRISON DISCIPLINE. 
 
 THE Missouri penitentiary ranks among the 
 leading penal institutions of the country in 
 matter of discipline. The rules and regula- 
 tions are placed in the hands of the prisoner 
 as soon as he enters. If an inmate obeys 
 these rules and regulations he will be let alone, 
 and will go through his term of service with- 
 out being punished. If he becomes unruly 
 and disobedient he will be punished, and that, 
 too, very severely. 
 
 Each prisoner is allowed one pound of 
 tobacco a month for chewing and smoking 
 purposes. In this prison the inmate is per- 
 mitted to smoke in his cell. This is the only 
 institution with which I am acquainted that 
 permits smoking. The prisoners seem to en- 
 joy their smoke very much, and I do not see 
 but that it is just the thing, for if a person on 
 the outside takes comfort from the use of his 
 pipe, much more will the man who sits in the 
 solitude of a felon's cell. If a prisoner vio- 
 lates a prison rule his tobacco is taken away 
 
 The Twin Hells 19 289
 
 29O THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 from him for a time. The majority of the in- 
 mates will obey the rules of the prison through 
 fear of having their tobacco taken away from 
 them. Each prisoner also has access to the 
 books of the library, and another mode of 
 punishment is to deprive the offender the use 
 of the library for a time. This, also, has a 
 very salutary effect. Another mode of pun- 
 ishment is to place the unruly convict in a 
 dungeon and feed him nothing but bread and 
 water. The prisoner on entering this dreary 
 abode must leave behind him his hat, coat and 
 shoes, and in this condition he is required 
 often to spend days and weeks in solitary con- 
 finement. The dungeon contains no furni- 
 ture of any description save a night bucket. 
 Prisoners do not remain in these dark holes 
 very long until they promise obedience. It 
 is one of the most successful modes of prison 
 punishment. In case of a second or third 
 offense, and sometimes for the first, in case it 
 is a bad one, the offender is liable to receive 
 a flogging. 
 
 This is one of the few penal institutions in 
 our country where the cat-o'-nine-tails is used. 
 When a prisoner's conduct has been such that 
 it is deemed advisable to whip him, he is taken
 
 PRISON DISCIPLINE. 291 
 
 from his cell and led to a post in the rear of 
 one of the large buildings, out of sight of the 
 other convicts. His clothing is then removed, 
 with the exception of his shoes. These are 
 left on his feet to catch the blood that flows 
 down his limbs. In this nude condition he 
 is tightly bound to a post with chains. Stand- 
 ing at the post, in a helpless condition, he 
 receives the lash. The whip consists of sev- 
 eral leather straps, or thongs, at the ends of 
 which small pieces of steel are fastened. 
 Every blow brings the blood. I have been 
 told by reliable persons that, at times, prison- 
 ers have been so severely flogged that the 
 blood, flowing down their limbs into their 
 shoes would fill them and run out over the 
 tops. This seems barbarous in the extreme, 
 and my humane reader at once cries out, " It 
 should not be tolerated." In Missouri this 
 flogging of human beings in prison has been 
 going on for more than fifty years. After the 
 punishment is over, the prisoner, half dead 
 with fright and pain, is led back to his cell, 
 where he remains for a day or two, that he 
 may recuperate. He throws himself down on 
 his " bunk," and remains there for hours, the 
 blood still flowing from his lacerated back.
 
 2Q2 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 Often the blanket on which he ]>es, sticks to 
 his bleeding back, and a fellow convict is asked, 
 often, to assist in removing it. Many a poor 
 fellow carries with him through life the scars 
 which were made while a convict in this prison. 
 One day while I was working in the coal 
 mines of the Kansas penitentiary, a fellow-con- 
 vict showed me his scarred back. He had 
 served a term in the Missouri penitentiary, 
 and while there had been severely whipped. 
 His back told the story too plainly that his 
 whipping had been a severe and cruel one. 
 It would seem that the day of the whipping- 
 post had passed away; that the doors of pur 
 advanced civilization were shut against it. 
 
 Many of the prison officials claim that it is 
 the most healthy mode of inflicting punish- 
 ment; that to place a convict in a dungeon and 
 to feed him on bread and water is far more 
 injurious to his health than to give him a good 
 " paddling," and it don't require so long to do 
 the work. The same results are reached more 
 quickly. Others claim that it is impossible to 
 have good prison discipline without resorting 
 to the lash. This statement is not correct. 
 There is no better discipline to be found in 
 any penal institution, than that in the Kansas
 
 PRISON DISCIPLINE. 2 J 
 
 penitentiary, where no prisoner ever receives a 
 stroke from a whip. The laws of that State 
 forbid it. In our humble judgment it would 
 be the best thing that the Missouri Legislature 
 could do at its next session, to prohibit any 
 further use of the lash. Sometimes a paddle 
 is used, with small holes bored in the end, and 
 every time this paddle strikes the nude flesh, 
 blisters are raised. Again, another instrument 
 of punishment in use is a thick, broad, leather 
 strap, fastened in a wooden handle, at the end 
 of which lateral incisions are made that give it 
 the appearance of a saw. There is no trouble 
 in raising huge blisters " with this engine of 
 warfare. " All these modes are barbarous, and 
 should be forbidden. Whenever severe pun- 
 ishment becomes essential, let the prisoner 
 remain in the dungeon, living on bread and 
 water until he promises, in good faith, to 
 behave himself. A great deal of useless 
 punishment can be avoided if the officer in 
 charge of the prison discipline is a humane 
 man and a good judge of human nature, and 
 no other should be permitted to fill this im- 
 portant position. We must not, however, be 
 too hasty in condemning prison officials for 
 harsh treatment of those under their charge.
 
 294 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 They have some of the most desperate men 
 on the face of the earth to deal with, and at 
 times it becomes a necessity to use harsh 
 measures. Notwithstanding this is all true, 
 there are but very few human beings but what 
 have white spots in their otherwise darkened 
 souls, and often a word of kindness does more 
 than a cruel blow from a merciless officer. 
 
 The excellent discipline of this institution is 
 due, in the main, to Captain Bradbury, the 
 deputy warden. He is beyond doubt, one of 
 the best, and most experienced prison men in 
 the United States. He has been connected 
 with the Missouri prison for thirty-three years. 
 The warden looks after the finances of the 
 institution, and it belongs to Captain Brad- 
 bury to hold in subjection the two thousand 
 criminals that are crowded together in that 
 small prison enclosure. This celebrated dep- 
 uty warden is a Virginian by birth. He is 
 sixty -two years of age. He served in the 
 Mexican war, and now draws a pension from 
 the Government, because of his services 
 there. If a prisoner conducts himself prop- 
 erly, Captain Bradbury will treat him as 
 humanely as he can under the circumstances. 
 If he becomes willful and unruly, the Captain
 
 PRISON DISCIPLINE. 2$$ 
 
 no doubt will take great pleasure in giving the 
 offender "a good paddling, "to use his own 
 forcible expression. This official is a strong 
 advocate of corporal punishment. He claims 
 that a " little loosening up of the hide " of an 
 obstreperous prisoner does the said prisoner a 
 vast amount of good. Among the convicts 
 the deputy warden is austere. He is never 
 seen sauntering about the prison enclosure 
 with his long arms entwined about any of 
 "the boys in stripes." He claims, that too 
 great a familiarity breeds contempt. This 
 seeming harshness when in the presence of 
 the prisoners is only borrowed for the occa- 
 sion, for, away from the convicts, there is not 
 a more social gentleman in the State of Mis- 
 souri. Great credit is due to Captain Brad- 
 bury for his excellent management of this insti- 
 tution, under such unfavorable circumstances. 
 Could he be persuaded to quit the use of the 
 whipping post, and use other measures less 
 barbarous, I think the same discipline could 
 be secured, as now exists. The officers here 
 do not seem to be so exacting as in many 
 other prisons. In the Kansas penitentiary, 
 when prisoners are in ranks going to and from 
 their meals, their cells, or workshops, they are
 
 296 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 required to fold their arms, and keep their 
 eyes fixed upon the back of the one's head 
 just in front. No gazing about is permitted, 
 and should a prisoner speak to one in the front 
 of him and be detected, he would be summarily 
 dealt with. In the Missouri prison I noticed 
 that the convicts while marching would gaze 
 about wherever they wished, and go swinging 
 along with their arms dangling at their sides. 
 In many prisons the inmates are required, 
 while in ranks, to keep their hands on the 
 shoulders of the man in front. This would 
 seem to be the most desirable way of 
 having the prisoners march. In this prison 
 one can detect more of a homelike feeling, not 
 so rigorous and exacting as in many institu- 
 tions of this nature. Captain Todd, assistant 
 deputy warden, is another official of long stand- 
 ing. He has been with this prison for eigh- 
 teen years, and is very popular. In this con- 
 nection we must- not fail to mention Captain 
 Crump, who has been connected with this 
 prison for thirty-six years, but who was dis- 
 charged during the last administration because 
 of his making statements to the effect that the 
 prison was run by a political " rmg." Ma is. 
 now deputy marshal of Jefferson City, and IN
 
 PRISON DISCIPLINE. 297 
 
 a faithful officer. He incurred the displeasure 
 of the contractors because of the grave charges 
 he made against them, because of their in- 
 human demands upon the prisoners, requiring 
 of them more work than they were able to per- 
 form. Because of his humaneness, and be- 
 cause he wanted to see the helpless prisoner 
 treated as he should be, after thirty-six years 
 of faithful service was discharged from the in- 
 stitution. In 1883 there was an investigation 
 made of many serious charges preferred against 
 the contractors and some of the leading offi- 
 cials. The committee made their report to the 
 governor, and some live hundred pamphlets 
 containing this report were printed for distri- 
 bution. When the Legislature met none of 
 these books could be found, and the whole 
 matter was a specimen of whitewash. The 
 report contained some very damaging charges, 
 but nothing was ever done with the matter. I 
 visited the office of the secretary of state and 
 asked to see one of these books, but even his 
 office did not contain a copy of this State docu- 
 ment. The Legislature should keep a watch- 
 ful eye over this penal institution, and, while 
 there should be good discipline maintained,
 
 298 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 the prisoners should not be treated in a bar- 
 barous manner 
 
 A PARDONING BOARD. 
 
 The governor has the pardoning power. 
 He extends executive clemency to a number 
 annually. He has not time to attend to the 
 duties connected with this prerogative. There 
 are 2,000 prisoners. No doubt many of ihem 
 have excessive sentences. If a thorough 
 investigation was made, many would be found 
 innocent. The governor has not the time to 
 attend to these matters. There should be a 
 pardoning board appointed to investigate 
 these cases and advise with the governor. To 
 show the necessity of such a board, I have 
 only to state that during the past year the 
 Pardoning Board of Kansas has advised execu- 
 tive clemency to fifteen crimimals who received 
 their pardons on the grounds of innocency. 
 One of the number being a Mrs. Henrietta 
 Cook, who was sentenced for life, and who 
 had served fifteen years of imprisonment, 
 when, upon an investigation of her case by 
 the Pardoning Board, she was discharged, 
 there being no doubt as to her innocence. 
 The great majority of these prisoners are poor
 
 PRISON DISCIPLINE. 299 
 
 and friendless. They have no one on the out- 
 side to aid them in securing their rights, and 
 unless a pardoning board is appointed to in- 
 vestigate these cases, many a man and woman 
 entirely innocent, will have to serve out a sen- 
 tence in this prison. 
 
 It is but natural for the contractors to use 
 their influence to prevent the men under their 
 control from receiving pardons. If a man is 
 sentenced for ten years, and has been in one 
 of the shops for two or three years, and has 
 learned to do his work well, the contractor 
 will want to keep him instead of letting him 
 go, and will, nft doubt, in an underhanded 
 way, do all against the poor prisoner he can. 
 This strong influence in many cases will have 
 to be counteracted and overcome before the 
 prisoner can receive his pardon and obtain his 
 liberty. A pardoning board, when appointed, 
 should be men who would not be in collusion 
 with the contractors, but be men who would 
 see that the prisoner had justice.
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 NOTED CONVICTS. 
 
 AT the present time there are fifty-six 
 females who find homes in this living tomb. 
 Two-thirds of them are colored. The greater 
 portion are kept busy making underclothing 
 for the prisoners. They are detained, during 
 working hours, in a room, seated at tables, with 
 a lady guard watching them. They are not 
 allowed to converse with each other, only as 
 they get permission from this officer. They 
 are not permitted to see the male prisoners. 
 In fact there is no way of entering the female 
 prison from the male department. The dor- 
 mitory is on the third floor. The female con- 
 victs wear striped calico dresses, the stripes 
 running lengthwise. The female prison is 
 kept scrupulously clean, which reflects great 
 credit upon those having the management of 
 this department. 
 
 In company with Doctor Lewellyn, the 
 prison physician, I passed through the dormi- 
 tory. Here I found a great curiosity. It was 
 a baby prisoner, six months old. The little 
 300
 
 NOTED CONVICTS. 3OI 
 
 convict was born in the penitentiary. It is a 
 colored child its mother being a mulatto, who 
 was sent to prison for fifteen years for murder- 
 ing two of her children. When on the out- 
 side, she lived with her paramour, a white man, 
 and, as fast as children were born to them, she 
 would murder them in cold blood. The white 
 man was tried also as accessory to the murder, 
 but, owing to her refusal to testify against him, 
 there was not sufficient evidence to convict 
 him, and he was set at liberty. He often visits 
 her at the prison, bringing her eatables, which 
 are very much relished in the penitentiary. I 
 saw also the notorious Sadie Hayes, who wa-s 
 sent up from St. Louis for killing a policeman. 
 She was under the influence of strong drink, 
 and, thus crazed with whisky, the officer tried 
 to arrest her. She drew a razor, and began to 
 slash away at the officer, and, in spite of his 
 club and large, muscular frame, she soon cut 
 him to pieces. He expired on the sidewalk, 
 where the engagement took place. She was 
 sent up for ninety-nine years, and has now been 
 in prison about three years. She is one of the 
 most desperate looking women I ever saw, and, 
 when crazed with drink, becomes an infuriated 
 demon. She is an adept in the use of the razor.
 
 3<D2 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 The oldest female prisoner is an aged Ger- 
 man woman by the name of Oldstein, from 
 Gasconade County. She has been in the peni- 
 tentiary thirteen years, and, doubtless, would 
 get a pardon if she had any place where she 
 could make her home after securing her liberty. 
 The old woman is entirely broken down and is 
 a physical wreck. She spends the most of her 
 time knitting. Aside from keeping her own 
 bedding clean she is not required to perform 
 any labor. She was charged with a cold- 
 blooded murder. She, her husband and 
 daughter murdered her daughter's husband. 
 The old man was hung, the daughter was sent 
 up for life, and died in a few months after en- 
 tering prison. The old woman was sentenced 
 to be hung also with her husband, but the gov- 
 ernor commuted her sentence to that of life 
 imprisonment. For thirteen long, dreary years 
 she has lived behind these prison walls. She 
 longs for death, but death refuses, as yet, to 
 claim her as his own. Broken in health, friend- 
 less, penniless, this poor old woman is but 
 another proof that " the way of the trans- 
 gressor is hard." I also saw Anna Brown, 
 another female prisoner, who, with her step- 
 brother, planned and carried into execution a
 
 NOTED CONVICTS. 30$ 
 
 terrible cold-blooded murder. It was none 
 other than the killing of her aged father. The 
 boy was sent to prison for life and the woman 
 received a sentence of forty-nine years. Her 
 sentence might just as well have read " life 
 imprisonment " as forty-nine years, for she 
 cannot live but a few years longer in confine- 
 ment. Nannie Stair is another interesting 
 prisoner. She came from Vernon County. 
 An old and crippled man was driving through 
 the country. Night coming on found him 
 near the house of the Stair family. He 
 stopped and asl^ed for a night's lodging. His 
 request was granted. That was the old man's 
 last night of earth. During the hours of the 
 night Stair and his wife made their way into the 
 bed-chamber where the helpless traveler lay 
 asleep unconscious of his doom. It was not 
 long until the husband sent an axe crush- 
 ing through his brain, his wife standing 
 by, a witness to the fearful deed. Dur- 
 ing the same night they dug his grave in 
 the garden back of the house, and buried him. 
 Next day the husband drove the murdered 
 man's team to a town not far distant, and sold 
 it. In a couple of weeks friends began to in- 
 stitute search for the missing man. He was
 
 304 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 traced to the home of the Stair family. The 
 husband and wife being separated, and the 
 officers telling the wife that she would be let 
 out of the scrape without much punishment in 
 case she would tell all she knew, she informed 
 them of all the details of the bloody deed, 
 where the victim lay buried, and what dispo- 
 sition was made of the murdered man's team 
 and money. The two were arrested, tried and 
 convicted. The husband was hung, and the 
 wife sent to the penitentiary for six years. 
 Her time will now soon be served out, and 
 she will once more be a free woman. The 
 desire of this family to obtain filthy lucre was 
 too great. Of the fifty-six female inmates of 
 of the Missouri penitentiary, fifteen of them 
 were sent for murder. Kansas City has sev- 
 eral female representatives. It is stated, on 
 good authority, that the sentences imposed by 
 the judges of the Kansas City district are far 
 more excessive than in any other portion of 
 the State. I was told that a number of these 
 female convicts were very desperate charac- 
 ters, while others of them, driven to deeds of 
 desperation on account of poverty, committed 
 acts that for a time placed them behind prison 
 bolts and bars. Something should be done to
 
 NOTED CONVICTS. 40$ 
 
 aid these poor women, when their terms empire, 
 to get a start in life. If something is not done 
 for them, it will be but a short time when they 
 will drift back again into crime and prison. 
 
 The author of this book believes that it is 
 all right to send money to India and other 
 remote countries to aid the heathen, but instead 
 of sending it all away to lands beyond the seas, 
 he thinks a portion of it, at least, could be well 
 expended this side the briny deep in helping 
 some of these poor unfortunate convicts to get 
 another start in life, and thus lift them out of a 
 life of crime. 
 
 WHISKY AND CARDS. 
 
 Felix Bagan's history shows the career of 
 many a boy, when thrown into bad company. 
 At an early age Felix was left an orphan. 
 When his parents both died he had not a rela- 
 tive living that cared anything for him. Taken 
 from the grave of his mother, who died shortly 
 after the death and burial of her husband, the 
 unfortunate lad was placed in the orphan's 
 home in St. Louis. Here he remained for 
 several years, and acquired all the education 
 that he possessed. After becoming old enough 
 to do some work, he was given to a farmer, 
 who took him to his home in the country. 
 
 The Twin Hells 20
 
 306 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 Possessed of a genial disposition, he soon made 
 many friends. He was highly esteemed by the 
 lady and gentleman who adopted him. He 
 was honest and industrious. It was on elec- 
 tion day that his down-fall took place. In 
 company with several young men, who resided 
 on neighboring farms, he went to a small town 
 near by to pass the day. Being invited to 
 participate in a game of cards, he and several 
 of his companions found their way into the 
 back part of a saloon, where the day was spent 
 in drinking and gambling. Toward evening a 
 dispute arose about the cards, a drunken fight 
 was the result. Bagan, half crazed with drink, 
 drew his knife and stabbed to the death one of 
 his companions. The young man whom he 
 murdered, prior to this had been one of his 
 best friends. When he saw the life-blood of 
 his companion ebb away, he came to his 
 senses, and was soon sober. He wept like a 
 child when he saw his friend sinking away into 
 the arms of death. The awful deed was done, 
 and nothing was left to the unfortunate youth 
 but to be led away to prison, with the blood 
 of a human being upon his garments. In due 
 time he had his trial, and was sent to the peni- 
 tentiary for thirty years. He was twenty-two
 
 NOTED CONVICTS. 3O/ 
 
 years of age when he received the sentence. 
 He has now been in the prison thirteen years. 
 For seven years he worked in the saddle-tree 
 shop for Sullivan, Hayes & Co., prison con- 
 tractors. At the end of that time his health 
 failing, he refused to work. The prison au- 
 thorities thought he was trying to shirk his 
 work. After being severely flogged, he was 
 placed in the dungeon and kept there in soli- 
 tary confinement for three months. Half 
 dead, he was taken to the hospital and left in 
 the hands of the prison physician. For a time 
 it was thought he would die. After a while 
 he began to recover; large patches of hair fell 
 from his scalp, leaving his head thickly cov- 
 ered with bald spots. When he entered the 
 prison he was a fine-appearing young man, but 
 thirteen years of imprisonment have converted 
 him into a broken-down old man and physical 
 wreck. That was a sad day for that unfortun- 
 ate youth when he entered the saloon to take 
 part in the game of cards. He will not live to 
 the end of his sentence, but will die in the 
 penitentiary, and find his last, long home in 
 the prison grave-yard. Young man, as you 
 read the history of this convict, can you not
 
 308 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 persuade yourself to let whisky and cards alone 
 for the future? 
 
 BILL RYAN. 
 
 Passing through the cell houses, I was shown 
 the room occupied by thenotorous Bill Ryan 
 for seven years. He was a member of the 
 James boys' gang. Being convicted of high- 
 way robbery he was sent -o the prison for 
 twenty years. After Jesse James had been 
 killed by young Ford, and Frank's crimes had 
 been pardoned, Ryan's sentence was com- 
 muted to ten years, and after serving seven he 
 regained his liberty. 
 
 Ryan was accredited with being one of 
 the best prisoners in the penitentiary. On 
 the outside, if reports be true, he was one of 
 the most desperate men in Missouri. His 
 time was spent in drinking, gambling, quarrel- 
 ing, fighting and killing. He is charged with 
 killing a number of men. He was twice tried 
 for murder, but proving an alibi, the jury 
 brought in a verdict of " not guilty. " The 
 prison officials speak in the highest terms of 
 his conduct while an inmate of the penitentiary. 
 He was an obedient and hard-working convict. 
 Now that he is once more a free man it is to
 
 NOTED CONVICTS. 309 
 
 be hoped that he will show himself as good a 
 citizen on the outside, as he was on the inside, 
 cf prison walls. 
 
 WILLIE HILDRUM. 
 
 This youthful convict is but sixteen years of 
 age. He is the youngest prisoner in the 
 penitentiary. He was formely a boot-black on 
 the streets of St. Louis. Getting into a fight 
 one day with one of his boot-black companions 
 over a nickel that they had jointly earned 
 " shining up " a patron's boots, young Hildrum 
 drew an old knife from his pocket, which he 
 had found a few days before, and sent the 
 rusty blade into the heart of the street Arab. 
 The youthful murderer was tried and convicted 
 of manslaughter, and on account of his youth 
 was given but two years in the penitentiary. 
 
 S. D. HENSON. 
 
 This convict was at one time county judge 
 of Stoddard County, and highly respected. 
 He is one of the finest appearing men I ever 
 saw. His finely shaped head bespeaks in- 
 telligence. It is sad to see such grand look- 
 ing specimens dressed in the garb of disgrace. 
 Judge Henson became involved in a quarrel 
 with one of his neighbors over some trivial
 
 JIO THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 matter, and killed him. His sentence is for 
 twenty years, which for him at this advanced 
 age means death in the prison. Great efforts 
 are being put forth for his pardon, but it is a 
 question left entirely with the governor, and 
 no one can tell how he may act. 
 
 Judge Henson is not at heart a criminal. 
 On that open countenance there is no mark of 
 Cain. Thinking of his sad case, more than ever 
 am I convinced that we are creatures of 
 circumstances. How many of my readers, 
 had they in the past, been surrounded by the 
 same circumstances, subject to the same tempta- 
 tions, would not have acted in the same 
 manner, and like Judge Henson found a home 
 in a convict's cell. 
 
 FORTY-EIGHT YEARS A PRISONER. 
 
 John Hicks is the veteran penitentiary con- 
 vict of the United States. Under an alias he 
 served one term in the Missouri penitentiary. 
 Most of his time has been spent in prisons fur- 
 ther east. He is now eighty-four years of age, 
 and quite recently was released from the Mich- 
 igan City penitentiary. Prison authorities 
 have compared notes and find that he has actu- 
 ally served forty-eight years of prison life. He
 
 NOTED CONVICTS. 311 
 
 is the oldest living criminal in this country. 
 He has served ten terms, the greater portion 
 of them being in Indiana. His first crime was 
 committed in 1839. In some way he learned 
 that a man named Bearder had $360 in his 
 house. While the family were at church Hicks 
 rifled the house and stole their money. A 
 marked coin led to his conviction, and he got 
 a three years' sentence. He was never, after- 
 ward, out six months at a time, and was sent 
 up successively for burglary, criminal assault, 
 robbery, larceny, cattle-stealing and horse- 
 stealing. At the expiration of his fifth term, 
 at Michigan City, he made his way to the 
 office, where the directors were in session. He 
 begged them to allow him to build a shanty in 
 a part of the prison in which he could sleep 
 and call his home. All that he asked was that 
 the scraps from the table be given him for 
 food. The board refused to allow him this, 
 and Hicks bade them good-by. He walked 
 to a small town near by, where he soon was 
 arrested for thieving, and was taken to prison 
 to serve what he declared to be his last term. 
 His head is as white as snow, and in keeping 
 with his long, flowing beard, and he looks like 
 a patriarch, yet is not stooped a particle. His
 
 JI2 THE TWIN HELLS 
 
 desire now is to secure honest work, that will 
 guarantee him a home. He wishes to spend 
 the rest of his days a free man. Had this man 
 been assisted just a little at the expiration of 
 his first term, he might have become a useful 
 citizen, but as it was, his life was spent behind 
 the bars. When once the feet find themselves 
 walking in the pathway of crime, it is very 
 difficult for them ever to walk in paths of ho n - 
 esty and uprightness thereafter. 
 
 NINE TIMES. 
 
 As I was walking through the penitential y, 
 in company with Deputy Warden Bradbury, he 
 pointed out an old convict, and said, " There is 
 a fellow that has seen prison life. He is here 
 this time under the name of Gus Loman. He 
 is now serving his ninth term in this prison. 
 At the expiration of one of his sentences he 
 went away and was gone over a year, and when 
 he came back I asked him where he had been 
 so long. His reply was, ' Simply rusticating 
 at Joliet, 111., with some friends.' Every time 
 he is sent to prison he gives in a new and dif- 
 ferent name and, of course, no one but himseli 
 knows what his real name is." When asked 
 why he comes to the prison so often, ht
 
 NOTED CONVICTS. 313 
 
 remarked that, when once in prison itis impos- 
 sible to get work to do on the outside, and he 
 had made up his mind to spend the rest of his 
 days in prison. He claimed that the fates 
 were against him and he could not make a liv- 
 ing on the outside, as no one would employ 
 him; that he had tried it several times and 
 failed, and now he had given up all hope. He 
 is a bold, bad and natural thief. As soon as 
 his term is out he goes a little distance from 
 the prison, gets on a spree, gets into trouble, 
 steals something, and soon finds himself back 
 again in the penitentiary. He is now over 
 seventy years of age, and is both a physical 
 and moral wreck. What an awful warning for 
 the young is the history of such a wasted life. 
 
 DESPERADO JOHNSON. 
 
 This convict is the most daring and des- 
 perate criminal in the Missouri penitentiary. 
 The prison authorities have had more trouble 
 with him than with any other man who ever 
 found a home behind the walls of this great 
 institution. He was sent up from Jackson 
 County, and was charged with murdering two 
 men before he was finally convicted of crime. 
 On trial for these two murders he was success-
 
 314 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 ful in proving an alibi. The last time he was 
 not so successful, and received a sentence of 
 twelve years. Soon after his arrival at the 
 prison he was set to work in one of the shop's. 
 When he became a little acquainted, his innate 
 cussedness induced him to raise a riot in the 
 prison. It was a desperate undertaking, but 
 he was equal to the emergency. For days 
 and weeks he was on the alert, and when a 
 guard was not on the watch he would com- 
 municate with a convict, and enlist his serv- 
 ices, and give him his instructions as to what 
 part he should perform when the signal should 
 be given. 
 
 At last the day came when all was ready for 
 the plans so well laid to be carried into execu- 
 tion. Each of the convicts who were to act 
 in concert with him piled up a lot of kindling 
 in their respective shops and saturated it with 
 kerosene. When the prisoners were being 
 marched out to supper, they threw matches 
 into the piles of kindling-wood, and soon sev- 
 eral buildings were on fire. Intense excite- 
 ment now prevailed among the two thousand 
 convicts. The ranks were quickly broken, and 
 all was confusion. Some of the better dis- 
 posed convicts tried to assist the officers in
 
 NOTED CONVICTS. 31$ 
 
 putting out the fires, and were in turn knocked 
 down and trampled upon by those who were 
 in favor of the riot. In the midst of this 
 great excitement Johnson, the leader, with 
 four of his associates, knocked down one of 
 the guards and stripped him of his clothing. 
 Johnson put on this suit of blue and started to 
 one of the towers. Reaching the same, he 
 asked permission of the officer on duty to let 
 down the ladder and allow him to ascend and 
 assist him in " holding the fort," as this was 
 Captain Bradbury's orders. Johnson's inten- 
 tions were to get on top of the wall and into 
 the tower, where the guard opened the large 
 gate below by the use of a lever. The con- 
 vict, once inside the tower, would knock the 
 officer down, seize his gun, raise the lever, 
 throw open the large gate in the wall, and per- 
 mit the prisoners all to rush out. This was a 
 bold scheme, and it is a wonder, during the 
 great excitement that prevailed, that it was 
 not successful. The officer on duty, when 
 requested by the convict to allow him to 
 ascend the ladder, coolly drew his gun, and 
 told him if he dared to ascend he would send 
 buckshot into his body. 
 
 Foiled in this, the desperado returns to
 
 316 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 where the officials are fighting the flames, and 
 began cutting the hose so as to stop the supply 
 of water. The fire raged furiously. A strong 
 wind sprung up adding intensity to the flames. 
 Over $200,000 worth of property was soon 
 swept away in this direful storm of fire. After 
 a fearful conflict the prisoners were overpow- 
 ered and driven into their cells. 
 
 A number of them were severely wounded. 
 Several died of the injuries received. The 
 prison directors had a called meeting and 
 investigated the riot. The blame fell upon 
 convict Johnson. A criminal charge was pre- 
 ferred against him in the courts, for arson. HQ 
 was convicted and served an additional sen- 
 tence of twelve years. This, added to his 
 former sentence, makes twenty-four years of 
 imprisonment for this desperado. When he 
 was taken out of the penitentiary to stand 
 trial for setting fire to the prison, he was 
 heavily loaded with chains, and in the custody 
 of six prison officials. It was feared he would 
 make a desperate effort to escape during this 
 trial. On his return to the prison he was 
 placed in a dark dungeon, and has been kept 
 caged up ever since, like a wild beast. When 
 he is given exercise he wears a ball and chain
 
 NOTED CONVICTS. 317 
 
 and an officer walks immediately behind him, 
 with a loaded Winchester, ready to shoot him 
 down if he makes any bad breaks. The offi- 
 cials are very careful when they enter his 
 cell for any purpose, as he is liable to kill them. 
 Captain Bradbury, the deputy warden, in 
 speaking of him, says, he is the most desperate 
 criminal he has met during his thirty-three 
 years of prison experience. 
 
 HENRY BUTLER, 
 
 a colored representative of Pettis County, has 
 served the longest consecutive term of any of 
 the male prisoners. Henry killed his man, 
 and for this mistake has been doing service 
 for the State of Missouri " without money 
 and without price " for the past fifteen years. 
 The story of his downfall is very romantic. 
 He was a married man, and the father of 
 an interesting family. There lived near him 
 a young lady of color, very handsome and 
 attractive, so the story goes, and for whom 
 Henry had a great liking. There was noth- 
 ing wrong about all this, perhaps, if Henry 
 had not permitted his affections to go too 
 far. Instead of admiring this dusky maiden 
 at a distance, as he should have done, he
 
 31 8 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 brought her to his home, and cared for her 
 there in a manner too affectionate for the tastes 
 of his colored neighbors. Henry was remon- 
 strated with, but to no purpose. At the close 
 of church services one moonlight Sunday even- 
 ing his neighbors held an indignation meeting, 
 and it was resolved to put a stop to Henry's 
 little love scheme, as it was now very evident 
 that his wife was getting tired of having the 
 maiden about her so much. The meeting ad- 
 journed that evening to have the next one the 
 following night at Henry's front gate. During 
 the ensuing day he was apprised of the inten- 
 tions of his callers, and was urged to let the 
 young lady depart from under his roof. Henry 
 refused, since love is blind. He got his shot- 
 gun in readiness to protect his home and his 
 rights. At the appointed hour some twenty- 
 five or thirty neighbors gathered at the place 
 selected, and demanded of Henry that he 
 should give up the maiden loved, or pull 
 hemp. At this juncture Henry called into 
 requisition his double-barreled shotgun and 
 turned both barrels loose on the excited 
 throng. The result was a stampede, one 
 negro killed and two wounded. For this brave 
 deed he was arrested, tried and sent to prison
 
 NOTED CONVICTS. 319 
 
 for life. In solitude for fifteen years, Henry 
 has had the privilege of thinking of his illicit 
 love, none of his former neighbors daring to 
 molest him or make him afraid. 
 
 The case of a prisoner who was in the 
 Missouri prison under the name of 
 
 GEORGE ELLIS 
 
 is very remarkable. Over in Kansas a cold- 
 blooded murder had been committed. It 
 seemed impossible for the authorities to dis- 
 cover any trace of the murderer. Shortly 
 after this murder had been committed, Ellis 
 was arrested and tried in Missouri on a charge 
 of horse-stealing, and got a two years' sen- 
 tence. He heard of this murder having been 
 committed in Kansas, and, for some reason 
 best known to himself, he went to Deputy 
 Warden Bradbury and confidentially told him 
 that he had committed the offense, and asked 
 him to notify the authorities of Kansas. This 
 was done and a pardon was granted Ellis that 
 he might be taken to Kansas and tried for 
 murder. No doubt, Ellis' motive in stating 
 that he was guilty of this offense was to get 
 out of the penitentiary. He supposed that 
 after getting pardoned out of the Missouri
 
 320 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 prison, he would have no trouble in proving 
 an alibi in the Kansas murder case, and in this 
 way go free. He was taken to Kansas, tried, 
 and failed to establish his alibi, and was found 
 guilty of murder and sentenced to the peniten- 
 tiary for life. If Ellis was guilty of murder, 
 he surely would not have told on himself and 
 exchanged a two years' sentence in the Mis- 
 souri prison for a life sentence in the Kansas 
 penitentiary. He is, no doubt, innocent of 
 this crime, but should serve a few years in the 
 Kansas institution because of his smartness. 
 
 THE SUICIDE. 
 
 A young man by the name of John. Welch 
 was sent from Stoddard County for an hei- 
 nous offense, under a sentence of ten years. 
 His family were among the best people of that 
 county, and highly respected. John proved 
 to be a black lamb of the flock. He had not 
 been in prison but a few weeks when he got 
 enough of that kind of living, and, being un- 
 able to have his resignation accepted, he con- 
 cluded to end his career by committing suicide. 
 It was on a beautiful Sunday morning, and the 
 prisoners having been to religious services, 
 vere on their way back to their cells to spend
 
 NOTED CONVICTS. 321 
 
 the rest of the day in solitude. The chapel 
 where the services were held is in the third 
 story of a large brick structure. An iron 
 stairway is attached to the wall on the outside 
 of the building. It was down this stairway 
 the convicts were marching, one behind the 
 other, when John, stepping out of the door on 
 to the stairway, instead of following his com- 
 rades down and into his cell, as he had done 
 on former occasions, leaped out into space and 
 fell to the ground. When he was picked up, 
 life was extinct. He received his pardon that 
 day, but gave his life as the ransom. No one 
 can imagine how much this youth suffered be- 
 fore he brought himself to that point when he 
 decided to make that leap into eternity. 
 
 The Twin Hells 21
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE EX-CONVICT. 
 
 HEAVY are the burdens which men in prison 
 must bear. They are deprived of liberty, sepa- 
 rated from friends, no social intercourse, and 
 constantly maintaining an unnatural position. 
 The convict's place is lower than the most de- 
 graded menial; he must ask for permission 
 even to get a drink of water. No serf of earth, 
 no slave, however wretched, has a sadder lot. 
 These unhappy mortals have yielded to temp- 
 tation, have fallen, and are paying the penalty 
 of violated law. Who can think of these .de- 
 graded beings, without, to some extent, its 
 calling forth the sympathy of the human heart, 
 for we must not forget that they, too, are chil- 
 dren of one universal Father. However deplor- 
 able the condition of these men while in prison, 
 is it much better when they regain their 
 freedom? 
 
 One morning about a month after my release 
 from prison, as I was getting ready for break- 
 fast, there came a knock at the door. Opening 
 it I saw a young man a tramp who begged
 
 THE EX-CONVICT. 323 
 
 for something to eat. I recognized him imme- 
 diately as a former fellow-convict. He had 
 forgotten me. It has always been a rule in 
 my home, when any one came to my door 
 nungry, he should have something to eat. At 
 times, adhering to this practice has almost con- 
 verted my home into a hotel for tramps. I 
 invited this young man in, and requested him 
 to take a seat with me at the table. He did 
 not wait for a second invitation. He was very 
 hungry. During the meal I inquired as to his 
 past history. He gave me the same old tramp 
 " racket." I had listened to the same story 
 many times. After breakfast was over I asked 
 him if he would have a cigar. With a smile, 
 he said, if I would furnish the cigar, he would 
 be pleased to indulge. I invited him into 
 another room, closed the door and locked it. 
 The turning of the key rather took him by sur- 
 prise. I reached out my hand to him, and said: 
 
 " Charley D , don't you know me? Don't 
 
 you remember the man who worked with you 
 for a couple of weeks in the penitentiary coal 
 mines, room No. 3? Have you forgotten the 
 last day we worked together, when a large 
 piece of slate fell upon your leg, and I had to
 
 324 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 assist you in reaching the foot of the shefr * 
 you were being conveyed to the hospital?** 
 
 " My God ! Reynolds, is this you ? " he ex- 
 claimed. " I would never have known you in 
 your pleasant surroundings. Had I met you 
 in the penitentiary coal mines, dressed in 
 prison stripes, your face and hands covered 
 with coal dust, I would have recognized you." 
 
 I gave him his much coveted cigar and in- 
 vited him to a chair. I was anxious to learn 
 his history since he left the prison. He had 
 regained his liberty almost one year before I 
 was released. 
 
 After he had reached the quiet content- 
 ment which is the inevitable result of a well 
 appreciated breakfast and a good cigar, I said 
 to him : " Charley, just drop your tramp story 
 and tell me your true history since leaving the 
 prison. I am anxious to know just what an 
 ex-convict must meet." 
 
 This young fellow was twenty-five years of 
 age. He served five years in the penitentiary 
 for stealing horses. He had an inferior educa- 
 tion, and might be considered an average ex- 
 convict. His narrative will show what the 
 great majority of these men are called upon to 
 endure.
 
 THE EX-CONVICT. 32$ 
 
 His story revealed the fact that when he 
 left the penitentiary he had thirteen dollars in 
 money and a suit of inferior clothes, such as is 
 furnished the prisoner when discharged. Hav- 
 ing been closely confined for five years, with- 
 out even a newspaper to read, with but few 
 visitors, he was entirely ignorant of what had 
 occurred during his period of incarceration. 
 His parents had been dead for several years, 
 and he had no friends to whom he could apply 
 for aid. The large iron doors swung upon 
 their hinges, and he went forth a free but 
 bewildered man. He had liberty, it is true, 
 but liberty replete with such trials as awaited 
 this young man is certainly little better than 
 prison confinement. Passing under the big 
 stone archway, and out beyond the prison en- 
 closure, he paused for a few moments upon 
 the little eminence on which the prison stands, 
 and viewed the surrounding country, not 
 knowing what to do or where to go. Finally 
 he takes the principal road that leads across 
 the country, and in a half hour's walk reaches 
 a farm house. He asks for work. The farmer 
 needs a hand, but asks the applicant for whom 
 he worked last. 
 
 " I am just out of prison," was the reply.
 
 326 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 " I thought so," said the farmer, " for I have 
 seen so many of these men coming out of that 
 place wearing clothes similar to those you have 
 on. How long were you in prison, and what 
 was your offense? " 
 
 " I served five years, and my crime was 
 horse-stealing." 
 
 At this frank confession the farmer slightly 
 coughed, and stated that a man called the day 
 before, and he had partially promised the place 
 to him, and he did not feel like employing 
 any one until he heard from him. Had the 
 farmer been as frank as the convict he would 
 have said, " I don't want a penitentiary-bird 
 about me, and particularly one that has been 
 a horse-thief. " 
 
 Finding no employment he moved on. For 
 two weeks this friendless ex-convict walked 
 about the country, going from one farm house 
 to another, seeking employment. He practiced 
 greateconomy, but at the expiration of thistime 
 his thirteen dollars were gone. He was now 
 penniless, friendless and almost hopeless. For 
 two weeks he had told the truth, and frankly 
 confessed he was an ex-convict. He had a de- 
 sire to do right. He felt that the first step 
 down the hill toward the penitentiary was lying.
 
 THE EX-CONVICT. 327 
 
 But two weeks squandered in trudging about 
 the country seeking employment and finding 
 none, convinced him that it was impossible to 
 obtain work and tell the truth as to his past his- 
 tory, so he imagined nothing was left but to 
 practice deception, steal or starve. Reader, 
 what would you have done ? He did what you 
 probably would, surrounded by the same 
 circumstances he made up his mind to lie. 
 On making' further inquiries for work, he learns 
 of a farmer living several miles away, who 
 desired hired help. He immediately set out 
 for that place. This farmer, like all the rest, 
 put the question, " For whom did you last 
 work ? " Instead of imparting the information 
 that he was an ex-convict, he invented a little 
 story to the effect that he had worked for a 
 farmer living some miles distant, with whom he 
 had become quite well acquainted, having 
 spent a Sunday at his home, and whose name 
 he gave his inquisitor. He received employ- 
 ment. A bargain was made, and our now 
 happy ex-convict went to work. Three weeks 
 passed away. The employer and the employee 
 were mutually satisfied. The prisoner worked 
 hard. He felt that at last the clouds which 
 had so long obscured his sky were about to
 
 328 THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 break away, and the sunshine of prosperity 
 would soon be his. 
 
 But how mistaken we sometimes are when 
 forecasting the future! One afternoon, at the 
 end of three weeks, the old farmer rode up 
 for whom the ex-convict had stated that he 
 worked. The ex-criminal was recognized. 
 The old farmer had some business with the 
 employer of the prisoner, and in the evening 
 before leaving for his home, thinking to do 
 humanity a great favor, confidentially informed 
 his neighbor that he had an ex-penitentiary 
 convict on his farm at work, and that he was 
 an old, hardened horse-thief, and beyond all 
 hope of redemption. That evening, after 
 supper, the prisoner got the " grand bounce." 
 The small amount of money he received for 
 his three weeks' services on the farm was 
 expended in paying his expenses while con- 
 tinuing his search for work. 
 
 He at length arrives at Kansas City, with 
 but a few cents, and completely discouraged 
 about securing work. At this place he met a 
 criminal, a former acquaintance. He, too, 
 was without money. They talked over their 
 misfortunes, and after duly considering the 
 matter, came to the. collusion that out of
 
 THE EX-CONVICT. 329 
 
 crime there was no chance to get another start. 
 They planned a burglary for the following 
 night. A residence some distance from the 
 central portion of the city was entered. They 
 obtained ten dollars and a silver watch, and 
 concluded to continue their criminal efforts 
 the next evening. During the day, however, 
 the " pal" was arrested on another charge, and 
 locked up in the city prison. He thought it 
 about time to fly, and so took his departure. 
 He spent the rest of his time in Kansas, 
 tramping about and stealing. When he had 
 money he would live well; when his pocket- 
 book was empty he would beg and steal. 
 There was one crime he committed for which 
 he could not be much blamed. The old farmer 
 that went to so much trouble to convey the 
 intelligence to his brother granger that the 
 hero of our story was an ex-convict, was the 
 sufferer. The ex-convict, to get " even," one 
 dark night entered the barn, rode away a beau- 
 tiful riding pony, sold him for fifty dollars in 
 cash, and forgot to mention the fact to the 
 farmer. In stealing, tramping and begging 
 the time had been chiefly taken up from the 
 day he had left the prison, to the morning he
 
 33 - THE TWIN HELLS. 
 
 came to my house for something to eat. He 
 will doubtless continue this course until caught 
 in some criminal act, which will result in 
 another term in the penitentiary. 
 
 The great majority of the criminals in the 
 penitentiary are young men. One dose of 
 prison life is all they desire. Did they but 
 have the least opportunity of living useful lives, 
 and becoming respectable citizens when out of 
 prison, they would improve it, instead of com- 
 mitting crime and being returned to hard labor 
 without compensation. I am now pleading for 
 hundreds of young men who are in prison for 
 the first time, and have all the punishment 
 along this line they desire, who would like to 
 reform and become useful citizens. But how 
 can they accomplish this ? Unaided they will 
 come out of the prison, drift about awhile, and 
 then the current of sin and crime will bear them 
 back again to a felon's cell. In an unguarded 
 hour they succumbed to the tempter's power, 
 and fell. The dark mantle of disgrace has 
 enveloped them . And if there were some kind 
 friend to lend a helping hand, how quickly 
 would they tear it off and put on the robe of 
 useful citizenship. Will not the great State of
 
 THE EX-CONVICT. 331 
 
 Missouri adopt some plan to afford aid to these 
 men who would like to be extricated from this 
 dangerous quagmire into which they have 
 fallen ? 
 
 THE END.
 
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