Evening Star Newspaper, January 26, 1889, Page 7

IN STRIPED SuITS. —_—__ VAGRANTS IN THE WORKHOUSE. ——_ & Star Reporter Gets Arrested as a Tramp and Sent to the Farm. eis BIS NOVEL EXPERIENCE—A NIGHT IN THE STATION- HOUSE—THROUGH THE POLICE COURT—SCENES AND INCIDENTS IN THE WORKHOUSE—HOW THE PRISONERS ARE CLOTHED AND TREATED. ———___ The experiences of a “vag” arrested in the street and sent to the workhouse, was the sub- fect assigned toa Stam reporter to write up. As the statements of ex-members of the chain gang could not be fully trusted because of their tendency to exaggerate small grievances, and as the descriptions given by officials were apt to omit references to matters so trifling as the staleness of the bread served, the thinness of the soup. or the toughness of the beef, the reporter decided to go through the experiences of a “vag” himself—to go by the usual route, the police station, the police van, the Police Court. the van again and the workhouse,—to don the striped suit and to live with the pris- oners in the workhouse. This plan he carried out, and the results are set forth in his own words in the narrative that follows. ‘The bells of St. Aloysius bad just struck 9 o’clock on the night of the 18th of this month when the figure of a man cast its shadow across the chain fence which surrounds the reserva- tion lying immediately north of Providence hospital. A moment later and the figure had followed the shadow over the low-hanging chain, across the moonlit patch of wintry green sward, and sat down on one of the park seats. That figure was mine, but the shadow which it chased looked like a shadow that might have been borrowed from one of those rare antiques which decorate the fields of wav- ing grain when predatory blackbirds display most interest in the crop. It is true that there is alwi more or less of distortion or eccen- trici the movements of a shadow, but in this particular case the shadow did the sub- stance no injustic That would have been impossible. My principal garment was a coat; or rather it had been a coat in those joyous days when my grandfather was a oung man. It was not scant in its material. Its long, loose sleeves had flapped dismally against my chilly hands as I walked toward the park, and its vast expanse of tail had hidden from mortal gaze fully three- fourths of the two legs which were stepping out briskly inan endeavor to keep reu- lation. The wind was trying to pie dre my temperature by whistling through the thin and frequently-patched trousers, whose lower extremities barely reached my ankles. And the wind was succeeding tolerably well. The coat was unbuttoned at the neck—it would not stay shut—and inside the great. greasy, grimy circle of collar the curious might have ob- served a dirty neck start up from a foundation of unwashed flannel shirt. But little of my face was visible. Around my head, and slant- ing 80 as to conceal my left eye and the greater portion of that side of my face, was an oily rag which did duty asa bandage. The other side of my face and the adjacent territory was be- grimed thoroughly, and to complete the dis- guise my shuffy head of hair was crowned with what was probably the vilest specimen of hu- man headgear ever seen in the District of Co- Iumbia, “Look at me from wherever you would; gaze on me in any light; try to deceive yourself in every way possible as to what I might be, there was no doubt as to what I was. Every feature and every garment was labeled “VAGRANT.” Once settled down on the park seat, [ tried to make myself as comfortable as possible. I folded myself in my capacious coat, as an In- dian would wrap himself up in a blanket, and whistled softly while waiting for some one to come along. Three negroes d me by. I made no attempt to stop them, for I knew they had no money to spare. Then came a white tian. and as sqpn as he got within 5 feet of me I “braced him” for a dime, and was rewarded with an oath. Two other white men followed, but they had no cash to give away, and just as I was beginning to compound an eloquent aperient, which would affect the next man’s bowels of compassion, the next man came. He listened with something of impatience to my tale of woe. and he was exceeding sorrowful, and then marched away without giving me the money which I had told him was needed to pay for a night's lodging. I don’t think I was very much to blame because a bitter feeling toward that last man developed itself witkin my now not overwarm breast. He ought to have given me at least a nickel. Under my breath I called him « dude and several other 1 ey of @ like Bature, but my harshness was excusable. THE ARREST. Folding my arms and resting my chin on the dirt-stiffened collar of my coat, I was about to drop off into a doze when I heard the sound of approaching footsteps. They crunched the gravel very audibly for some distance, and then suddenly became lost to my ear. I looked up and saw, stealing across the grass, a police- man, and near bim the dude who been asked to contribute a trifle toward paying fora bed for me. The officer was extremely cautious in his approach. He was evidently afraid that some one would seare me up before he couldreach me, so he moved on tiptoe, hardly daring to breathe. One hand grasped tightly the recently-moistened handle of his club, while the er, with an aj of modesty sometimes seen in nude female statuary, covered the shield that g! bis breast. . i the “That's the man,” sai dude pointing one of his cigarette-stained fingers at me. “All right,” responded the police and then he moved up a little closer to my all but Botionless a ae oe is “Say. young feller,” sai » “SU tome along with me.” re ts “What's the matter?” Iasked. “Why can’t ou let me rest a little bit?” “Haven't you got any home?@ was 4 Vintner that I was a wanderer on the face of the earth he said some- iter, thing about finding me a tem shel in the proper a, turning my one Fey rection, we started for inct sta- walked away ia IX THE CLUTCHES, tion house, while my bet er another direction.” se Progress was very slow, for a sudden sore- mess had seized on my feet and my right leg was afflicted with a limp that, in conjunction with » grand » would have secured fre «pension, of not fom than ¢i6"% mouth, er made no attempt to hurry me, so questions were asked and I was bee mg cg ag shang “Give ® nice warm said the right,” as the key to cell No. 3. Across the little yard we went, the heavy iron door at the entrance to the cells was un- locked and swung back, and then I preceded the policeman into the little building, whigh was to be my al for several hours. The grated door of No. 8 was already open and I ‘was about to step in when the officer stopped me. Some one occupied that cell not long | ee tere and there was evidence of it on the loor in the half-digested contents of a drunken tomach. Mr. Horton procured a broom little while removed the objectionable matter, after which he motioned me in, locked ‘y loor, said “good night,” and then went back to duty, first banging and locking the iron door through which was the only communica- tion with the outer world. IN THE CELL, A couple of gas jets at either end of the row of cells furnished me with all the necessary illu- mination, and J was, therefore, able to survey my limited surroundings. On one side of the narrow cell was along iron bench. That was all the furniture in the apartment. At the inner end of the cell, the corner opposite that which was taken up by the bench, was a trian- gular stone slab, supported by a line of brick work, and through an uncovered circ fice in the slab arose the sewera; which were accumulated and added to in each occupied cell. ‘The atmosphere was warm, and in that particular was comfortable, but it was foul simost beyond description. ' There were but five people in that buildin ,, and what the air would have been hke w'. every cell occupied was a speculation I did not care to indulge in, Sufficient was it to know that its condition then would have been unbearable to any free man. charged with NEIGHBORS. In the cell next adjoining mine was a drunken man, who had been arrested for beating his wife. He was about as thoroughly intoxicated as anyone ever was, and he filled the place with the foolish oaths of a drunkard. Occasionally he would attempt to lie down on the bench,"| but the effort invariably ended in his tumbling on to the stone floor, where he would roll over and groan most lugubriously. So strong was his breath that I involuntarily figured on what if it were only scientifically applied, and the result showed that power was going to waste which could have opened every lock in the building and blown out every jet of io In the next cell beyond him was a little boy, whose mother had had him arrested for steal- ing $5 from her. He was a pretty thoroughly frightened boy, but his principal regret seemed to be that the police had deprived him of the companionship of his “mouth-organ.” If they had only allowed him to take that with him to the cell he would have been able to drown, by superior lung-force, the still small voice of conscience. The young- ster’s regrets were not shared by me. There were only two other men in the pla Both of them were in there simply for the night— their —— for lodging having been successful, DURING THE NIGHT. ‘The oppressiveness of the atmosphere had increased by the time I had completed my sur- vey. and I decided that only in sleep could I forget the non-oxygenous condition of affairs. Taking off my coat and rolling it up for a pil- low I laid down on the bench and composed myself for slumber. How long I struggled with my wakefulness Ido not know. I have only an indistinct recollection of « conglomer- ation of oaths and remarks about “mouth organs,” the former in deep bass tones, the latter piped in a childish treble. Then I fell asleep. Imay have been asleep five minutes when the sound of a fall and a loud cry awoke me. It was only the drunken man rolling off his bench and dropping to the floor. Thena liceman came in and his entrance brought with it little oxygen, but it was speedily used up. The officer put a little more coal in the stove and left us. Then I went asleep once more and would probably have slept until morning had = not =the iron door been banged against the wall by some one coming . It was Lieut. Boteler. The lieutenant showed an utter lack of consideration for other people’s feelings. He did not seem to care whether he disturbed me or not. He was looking for a prisoner who bad been released some time before, but he did not know that the man was gone, so he continued to yell vigorously and numerously at the Eponeee and the lodgers until he wag sat- isfied that the gentleman whem he sought was gone. “I did not go to sleep as easily that time. I had been bentyl aroused and was begin- ning to realize that my bed was rather hard, but after changing my position a little I suc- ceeded in once more Becoming oblivious to the filthy atmosphere.” I AWOKE LONG BEFORE DAYBREAK with a sense of chilliness. The fire in the stove had gone out, and the atmosphere offth cell- building had fallen fully thirty degrees with- out, however, any apparent diminution of its odors. The same old stench was there, but it was cold, and therefore ‘able. I un- rolled my coat-pillow and put it on, and tried once more to go tosleep, The attempt was a fail- ure from the start, for, just asI relaid my bones on the cold iron bench, the drunken man next door awoke to a reali- ToMMY RoBINSON. Zation of the fact that he was thirsty, and with the voice of a stentor he called for water. A dozen times in nick succession did he yell, “ Station-keeper ! lease bring me a drink of water,” and the ap- peal meeting with no response he relapsed into C: followed by a brief silence. Then e commenced again, each request being more noisy than its predecessor. His voice failed to reach the ears of any one ontside of the cells, or if any one did hear there was no sign given. “I'll show this up in the newspapers,” growled the exasperated man. ings have come toa pretty pass when a citizen of the United States and a taxpayer has to shout him- self hoarse when he is dying fora drink of water, and then have no attention paid to him. Tl write about it to the press as soon as I get out of here, and expose the laziness of these keepers. Here I've been Mamie for an hour, and that damn officer’s asleep on his bed, in. stead of being up and attending to the wants of prisoners.” All this liberally interspersed with such curses that had one Shimei, known to fameas the man who cursed King David, been present he would have bowed his head in defeat and retired—vanquished—from the presence of a man who was a past-master in the By this time the two lodgers were up, and as their cell doors were not fastened they were, toacertain extent, at liberty. One of them paraded up and down in front of the cells, and to him the rapidly-sobering man appealed for water. In vain the lodger declared there was none to be had. He was requested to kick the outer iron door, to join with the thirsty one in ayelling duet, and to do many other things which would be calculated to arouse the som- nolent station-keeper, but the young man in- variably refused, and on his head was at onc: showered the profane abuse which had pre- viously been devoted to the Morpheus-stricker station-keeper. None of those things seemed to move the young man, however, for he con- tinued his steady marching up and down. He knew better than to tempt, to anger a police officer, and I doubt not that his own thirst would have had to be very great before he would venture a kick at the sounding door, The boy had been awake for some time, and whenever: be 5 orp occurred he would bewail the loss of his “‘mouth- “ whelmed the lodger wit questions as. to whether the police would ever give it back to A RIDE IN THE MARIA. With daylight came an increased frigidity, and I had to move around as much as possible within the narrow confines of my cell in order tokeep warm. My heating gymnastics were not, however, of long duration, for shortly after é fl : Tp i ecg «te. aggre ene one of the men in the cell knew me well prevented me from taking an active in the conversa- tion which was at once 1 Each captive was anxious to know why the other was there, and in a few minutes mutual confidences had been exchanged and joint maledictions had been hurled at the heads of the police, who were adjudged in almost every instance to have been the canse of all the trouble. Their tyranny, as evidenced in the separation of the boy and his “mouth-organ,” was also commented upon freely, and so much sympathy was expressed for the boy that that youngster wept copionsly. Then the “Maria” came back from her second trip and this time she brought a load, for when all were in the cell we numbered twenty. More than half of ua were colored and_ most of ns were young. There wasone aged excep- tion—a_ veteran soldier, who had tried to dis- pene of aqnarter’s pension all in one night. le bemoaned his fate, not loudly, but with a depth and_a sincerity that could not be ques- tioned. The balance seemed to tally unconcerned with, perhap: of my drunken neighbor of the P 3 he had, unconsciously, he said, assaulted his wife so seriously that she was unable to appear | against him, and as he became more sober the possibie consequences of his brutality com- menced to grow larger and more terrifying. The man who knew me, and whom I will call Walters, was not at all concerned about his sentence; what worried him was the probab: thet his name would appear in the newspapers in connection with his arrest, and that was to him a far more serious affair than either his offense or its punishment. Nearly all of the others in the cell were har- dened by crime to such an extent that their in- carceration was to them nothing more thana re- union of kindred spirits. They chatted freely about the many unlawful things they had done, and more than one of them sampet out the wrongs he would do as soon as he was once more at hberty, FROM BAD TO WORSE, The latest arrivals had hardly been in the cell more than five minutes before there was a decided change for the worse in the atmos- phere. Each man brought with him his own peculiar odor, and with it was combined the smell of tobacco and the fumes of cheap whisky—the whole completing that mysterious “funky” stench which is the property of the vagrant all the world over, je tin cup and water bucket were in frequent use, and the floor was wet with the wasted water. There was a constant slamming of the iron door which was intended to shut out the stench of the water-closet. Every man who chewed tobacco expectorated upon the floor (for there were no spittoons), and every man or boy who had pipe and tobacco or vil- lainous cigar did his utmost to fill the reeking atmosphere with smoke. Occasionally some one would relieve his whisky-burdened stom- ach by throwing up its contents, and the sick- ening additions to the impurities which al- ready covered the concrete floor made the place nauseating in the extreme. There was no ventilation. Fresh air could only come in when the front door was open, and the foul air had no sufficient place through which to make its escape. The front door, with two or three momentary exceptions, remained closed all day. DEGRADED COMPANIONSHIP. Gradually, as the prisoners became more in- timate, the conversation grew more and more disgusting, until at length it sounded the depths of degraded and lascivious speech. Then the place became a veritable hell. Language was used, in the hearing of the officer on duty in the corridor which would have been cause for instantaneous arrest any- where else, but as it was uttered almost in the Police Court itself no attention was paid to it. Pencils, es by unscrupulous fingers and prompted by depraved imaginations, disfig- ured the once whitewashed walls with disgust- ing obscenities of the vilest possible types. It was a glance at the innermost blackness of the beasts who walk this world in the form of man. In several places the walls were stained with blood; spots where the bandaged head of some refractory scoundrel had rested while waiting for the case to be called, and the his- tory of some of these stains was rehearsed ain and again with an npoepesianent of Disp my and profanity that could never be surpassed. I court. As soon as the court was ready for business the bailiff commenced to call the prisoners out. Some came back soon, but the majority of them stayed upstairs for s considerable time. Some of them did not return to the dungeon down stairs, but were liberated and went out to enjoy the wealth of sunshine and pure air that were almost everywhere save in the cell at Police Court. I waited with a good deal of impatience for my turn tocome, I wanted a breath of atmos- here that would not clog my lungs. I did not oe to wait very long. 5 My name was yelled by the bailiff at the head of the ‘stairs and was repeated by the officer in charge of the cell. I waded as enn possible through the liquid mass of filth which covered the floor, and when I got ont into the corridor stopped for a few seconds to get the whiff of better air which I had been longing for. Then I clam- bered slowly up the stairs and shambled awk- wardly into the dock with my bandaged eye toward the audience and holding my ‘shocking bad hat” up against my chin so as to further conceal my features. Without feeling any great amount of concern I listened to Clerk Harper as he informed me, in the most technical terms at his command, that I was charged with being “a vagrant, having no visible means of support. “Are you guilty or not guilty?” he asked. “Guilty,” I replied, and then Judge Miller glanced at me. A momentary survey of my costume convinced him that I had not misstated the facts in my plea, and with a nod of his head I was motioned to return to the place from whence I came. Bailiff Kendig seconded this with a vigorous “Step back!” and I went down-stairs to the Washington edition of the "Black Hole of Calcutta.” My return was not unexpected and my seat had been reserved for me. Everybody wanted to know how much I got, but I had several reasons for not telling them, the principal one being that I did not know myself what my doom was tobe. The sentence was not powerful enough to reach ears. he condition of the dungeon had not im- proved during my brief absence. The tobacco smoke was more dense than before, the obscen- ity and profanity continued without let or hin- drance, the stench from the water-closet con- tinued to iasue forth because the door would not remain closed, the same water-bucket (with what remained of the contaminated and now poisonous water) was in the same place, and the floor was more filthy than ever. SENT TO THE “FARM.” It was nearly 4 o’clock when the voice of some unseen man yelled out the sentences of the occupants of the “black hole,” and then for the first time did I know that I had been sent down to the “farm” for sixty days in de- fault of $20 bonds. A few minutes later and the jail prisoners had been separated from those who were consigned to the workhouse; the jail men being handcuffed in couples while ioe oun te rye = bripoveria to e Wi van. great crowd of spectators had gathered to witness our , and the sympathy for my forlorn ap; }» Visible in a many eyes, was ludicrously touching. Peer Sia Phebe a inside, — otter we had ol for a couple of squares we bei down considerably. jreeping of colored female was the only break in the monotony of the trip through East Washing. ton, and just before the sun went down we “wor! cases” were dumpea out in front ding which we were scanned closely by those of the staff who were around to prevent te aera we might escape. ide , We were motioned to sit down on a long bench placed there for our reception, and we then were catechized by one of the keepers on questions pede ey lecrngener Tf ‘ccnp aver OM and “What is your Then we were and all our val were taken from us. fifteen cents in bathing hour for only a few men had preceded me in that particular bath. The liquid in the tub had not, therefore, become too thick or too sticky to perform its cleansing duties, Another man was In the tub with me and we did not in- terfere with each other’s movements, for the tub was large enough. In’the opposite corner of the same end of the room was another tub, and in this the colored prisoners dipped them- selves and were theoretically made clean, Even as I had been hurried into the bath so I was hurried out, the principal object of the ofticers being to have as many persons as possi- ble go through the dumb show of washing off a week's grime rather than to see how clean the men could make themselves. I stepped out of the warm water on the brick floor and ASKED FOR A TOWEL. It was pointed out to me, and I must confess that had it not been introduced to me I never would have recognized it, It was an old rice sack, of that peculiarly corse dark-brown ma- terial which would naturally unfit it for the uses to which jt had bee plied. Tn additi to its many other disadvantages it w: wet, and instead of drying me it si to my moistness, Without havi advantage from my acquaintance with it I hung it upon its appointed nail and proceeded to scramble into the clothes which were handed tome. The first article was a blue shirt, too short in the body, too long arms, and too thin for winter wear. stout drawers was the next garment I crawled into, and then I put ona pair of socks. The socks were marvels of the workhouse sock- repairer’s art. They were patched and darned until they had lost all semblance of their origi- nal shape and color, Then came the striped pants, upheld by the same strap which had done duty as a part of my “tramp” costume. A vest, a short jacket, and my own shoes com- pleted the tdilet. and then I was marched uj stairs, after having first seen my civilian outfit tied up and taken away to be steamed. The “habitual drunkard,” who had been with me all day and who had been a fellow- passenger in'the van, was nowhere to be secon, and for a little while I wondered where he had gone; then I recollected that he was on terms of at least friendship with Mr. Stoutenburgh, the intendant, so I worried myself no more about him. I subsequently ascertained that he escaped the ordeal of the public mud-bath. IN QUARTERS. We late arrivals sat for some time on the long seat in the hall, and when the bread for supper came in, a piece of it, weighing proba- bly about four ounces, was handed to each of us. Iwas hungry, for neither food nor drink had passed between my lips for more than twenty-four hours, but my appetite was hardly whetted to such an extent that it longed for dry bread. Before any of us had time to make much of an impression on our allowances we were ordered upstairs. The regularsupper hour had not yet arrived, and most of the prisoners were either going to or Antes ‘rom the bath-room. We waited awhile, in the confu- sion on the second floor, and then we were sep- arated—I being assigned to cell No. 12. Here I received a hearty welcome from three of the prisoners already in ssion, They were getting ready for the bath, and in a minute or so after my arrival in their midst they had joined the band of unwashed pil- grims who found their Mecca in the base- nt. The bathing was of the most per- sok description, for the occupants af No. 12 had hardly been gone long enough to fiske the round-trip before they returne ‘ “You didn’t have much of a wash?” said I to the foremost. “Didn't have to,” was hisreply. ‘The kee, ers are in too d—n much hurry to give a fellow achance. I just jumped in and out in; put on the clean rags they gave me, and here I _" “ How do you expect to keep yourself clean?” I queried. “Don’t expect to,” was the ready and care- less response. I must confess to having then and there in- dulged in a little shudder at the thoughts of close association with the dirt that I knew must be in my immediate neighborhood. Supper was a little late on Saturday night. It had to be delayed considerably because sev- eral of the prisoners unreasonably insisted on doing their utmost to cleanse themselves in the bath. It must have been a lamentable failure in most instances, however, for one of the men who was down in the tub after pretty nearly every one else had bathed told me that THE WATER WAS SIMPLY DISGUSTING. A little additional hot water had been turned on once or twice during the bathing hour, but the great bulk of the alleged cleansing fluid had remained in the tub throughout the entire time. More than seventy-five white men had laved their bodies in the same water, while on the opposite side of the room over 120 colored men and boys had succeeded each other with- out a change! HOW SUPPER WAS SERVED. The cry of “all in, men,” sounded through the corridor in which my cell was, and the prisoners scampered in obedience to the com- mand. One of our mess placed four tin quart cups outside the door, and a man came along with a huge tin vessel, through the spout of which he poured out tea. Then the bread was handed around—a colored man carrying it in a basket to each cell door. A keeper followed, and after much rattle and bang he closed each grating and locked the crowd in for the night. It was a strange meal. I sat on the edge of my bunk, as did the others. First I would take a Bite of bread, and then a swallow of tea to moisten it; but the harsh taste of the unsweet- ened and’ coarse, cheap compound was less palatable than the slightly acidulated flavor which marked the bread; so I would indulge in another bite for the impression A pair of | were Beneath the wate: t was a made of lumber, and spot ais feet wide and of the same depth. The length of the trough was the length of the apartment—abont 7 feet. One end of the trough was elevated a few inches so as to give a runway to whatever might be emptie: to it, and at the lower end was a large orifice—the entrance to a waste pipe With water from the spigot I washed my hands and face and then dried them on a yard square of coarse crash, Here again was I fortunate in being one of the first to wash. for subsequent observation and in- quiry developed the fact that MORE THAN THIRTY MEN USED THAT TOWEL every morning. Several prisoners, carrying with both hands large covered buckets, at- tracted my attention, and I watched them when they entered the little apartment where I had washed, There they emptied the buckets of their unsavory contents while two or three men pushed in ‘and endeavored at the same time to reach the spigot. The replies to a couple of questions informed me that that trough was at once TUE WASH BASIN AND THE WATER CLOSET. From it arose a continual odor that at times was sickening in its fetidity, and the effect of the combination of cleanliness and filth was such that I never could prevail upon myself to drink one drop of the water which flowed from that spigot. At about 6 o'clock there was a general ery of “Chuck’up,” and to my uninitiated mind the remark seemed mysterious, The explanation of it was found inthe fact that the food was denominated “chuck” and the oft-repeated an- nouncement meant that the chuck had arrived at the door of the building. Sunday breakfast was supposed to be an improvement on the or- dinary week day morning meal. The quart | cups were filled with coffeg—a trifle more pal- | atable than the tea, though that is not saying | much; it lacked sw ing and milk, of course, and, incidentally, it lacked strength, |but then it must be’ remembered that it was “hot and wet.” The usual ration of bread accompanied it. Ina tin box, and al- most frozen, was an allowance of “mush.” | There was just enough of it to thinly cover two-thirds of the bottom of the box, which was about 10 inches long. 4 inches wide, and 3 r inches deep. A small quantity of molasses in acup was handed in to each cell, and the sweet stuff was to be eaten with the “mush.” The theory was that the mush and molasses should be eaten to- gether out of the box, and I tried to do s0, Unfortunately, the cor- ners of my box yawned considerably,and when- g ever a little molasses was poured in it made Z its escape before I could 2 = we = = =. ge mush, e tas 01 S$ Somiting would have been an easy one if T had had a spoon, but the ry esizau had stopped issuing spoons; iy “only” fostrus ment was, therefore, a crust of bread. One of my _ cell-mates had a _ apoon, though, and when he saw my predicament he produced that valuable piece of silverware, and, after giving it a ‘preliminary polish on his striped jacket. he used it with such effect that the desired com! ion was speedily effected. I can eat cold “mush,” but I don’t hanker after it. IN CHAINS, they were Iuxuries. CLEANING HOUSE. After breakfast came an order to clean up the entire establishment, and most of the men set to with a will to accomplish a much-needed reform. Two of our mess, with the aid of a bucket of water and a fistful each of malodor- ous rags, did their best to clean up the floor, while two more (of which couple I was one) secured rags that were equally dirty, and with them we proceeded to wipe the ironwork on the bunks in our cell, It took some time to do the job completely, and I was priding my- self over the fact that my share had been satisfactorily and quickly done, when one of the keepers ealled me into the corridor and requested me to aid the three or four men who were busily engaged in swabbing up that place. It took some time to complete that Te for my partners gradually forsook me and left me to work out my own salvation; but the end came at last and I re- turned to my cell, confident that I was not in debt to the institution for the provisions which hed thus far been vouchsafed me. The keep- ers were very anxious to have everything ap- clean, externally at least, for it was not improbable that Mr. Stoutenburgh himself might glance at the upper floor that afternoon. Such condescension on his part was by no means a regular thing according to several of the prisoners, who stated that he had not been up there for more than three weeks, and they iso said that he never came until the officers had been notified to have the place cleaned up for the occasion. WEEKLY INSPECTION. At 10 o’clock there was the regular weekly inspection by Assistant Intendent Graff. The men were drawn up in two lines, and between these Mr. Graff marched—pencil and note-book in hand—hearing requests and scrutinizing the the personnel of his charges. Some needed shoes, and Mr. Graff looked at their footgear, and decided whether or not the requestsshould be granted; others, myself among the number, were more moderate in our petitions, and asked for nothing more than a pair of shoe- strings and a postal card. My request for a postal card was gruffly refused. Just as Mr. Graff was about to leave our sec- tion to attend to business elsewhere, one of the men stepped up to him and said without apologetic preface, “I want a pair of shoe: ‘That aroused Mr. Graff's ire—always near the surface—and the stout little Pennsylvanian drew himself up and looked angrily at the shoeless symphony in black and white, who had made the request. “You don't want any shoes,” he snarled. “When you are out on the streets, at liberty, with money in your pockets, then you may want a pair of shoes, and you may go into a store and ask for them in that fashion, but I want you to understand that you can only get shoes here by asking for them in a becoming manner.” And Mr. Graff drew himself to his utmost altitude, puffed himself out, and looked very much as Alexander Se ight have done when he indulged in certain mical reflections, The man got the shoes, however, At 11 o'clock there was ——— service down on the office floor, and about fifty prison- ers, a few of them colored, attended. To the majority of them the service meant nothing, but they were all anxious to secure the news- papers which were distributed to the church- goers after the sermon. There was a great and always unsatisfied thirst for the news of the day, and when s man had read th given him he was ready and anxious to ex- thange it for one he had not seen. Shortly after 12 o’clock dinner arrived, and, locked in our cells, we discussed it. It consisted of a couple of small slices of chilly fresh pork, an allowance of very cold viberwe Freee and the customary wheat “chuck.” It was soon dis- posed of and “‘yet there wasroom.” The in- mate of the workhouse who has no appetite left when his icy Boe preg res of victuals has disap) a the immediate atten- tion of a tor. FORMS OF PUNISHMENT. When the dinner was all gone and the inva- riably empty boxes had been gathered up, the cell doors were unioc! and we were lowed to parade up and down the corridors, and it was while enjoying this innocent and in- expensive recreation that I saw the first man po eal Rape cradt y Ragnar] oor] uilding. He was a colored man, been ca while attem} to pay ther wr his aeaert and although their y weight must —_ Kee phaeryaanenig still he shambled along without any apparent extraor- a exertion. His started a versation on the various: i z ire Eis ae e Es eee " cothes the light dungeon. This is in the basement. e fare given th mer here is the same as in the « room,” but the know- ing ones prefer the @ m in winter time. It is warmer, they say. The most severe panish- ment is consignment’ to the dark dungeon. There it is alw..ys night, and no man cares to f°, so far as to tempt a sentence of twenty-four ours in the blackness of its Cimmerian depths. “CHARACTERS.” A couple of hours of the Sabbath afternoon were pleasantly spent in watching some of the “characters,” always to be found in such a place as the workhouse. The quietest man in all the place was one of the occupants of a cell across the corridor from 1aine. 1 first saw him on Saturday night as he stood inside the barred door, the dim, flickering ht showing up his silvery hair and bear: le was im- mediately christened “the prisoner of Chillon.” For hours he paces up and down the brick floor, always with the same moody look on his face.’ He is a mystery. 4 ly silent, but for another reason, is ‘ Who Pete is or where he came from is unknown to anyone else in the workhouse, save Pete himself. He is a young man and a Swede, and as there are inguists among the crew, he has to content himself with talking to Pete. He is a poor pedestrian, and his shoes have run over to such an extent that 2am when he does walk he is literally upon his up- pers. Pete has the repu- tation of being able to to stand for a longer a time in any one place, parsoxER OF CHILLON. without being able to give a reason for his fixedness, than any other man in Washington, and in the matter of aj petite he is second to none anywhere. appearance excites more pity than does tha of anyone in the whole asylum. Old Tommy Robinson is one of the original eccentricities. Tommy is extremely proud of the fact that he fought in the Mexican war, and when he is in a talkative humor he can some- times be persuaded to relate a few of his expe- riences in the land of the Montezumas. He might claim to have fought in the war of inde- pendence without having his appearance dis- pute his claims. No man in the institution is older than Tommy, and no combination of men could outswear him when be has been pro- voked. He is extremely active. and were it not that he has no teeth he would stilibe a good-looking archwological specimen, A restless man is the young Italian, who tire- lessly tramps around as though in search of something or somebody. He talks almost as little as Pete does, but he is a much more lively fellow. His sense of the ludicrous is keen, and there is often a quiet, happy sort of a smile upon his face as he ‘walks along, apparent deep in thought. Some of the more mischiev- ous prisoners thought he was a good man to torment, and they tried toworry him on Sun- day. They stopped fooling with him after he had thrown a heavy shovel at the rapidly re- treating form of one of the conspirators, misting his head only by a couple of inches. The least popular and the least attractive of the oddities is the man who arrived here re- cently from California, claiming that he had been elected President of the United States. His uncouth appearance earned for him the cognomen of ‘‘Jo-Jo, the dog-taced man,” and by that alone is he known among the prisoners. His disposition is extremely quarrelsome, and he will fight with anyone at any time. He spends most of his in his cell, either lying upon his bunk or looking out of the window toward the White House, which he still claims as his home, SUNDAY EVENING. Once more the cry of “ ‘chuck’ up,” and ev- erybody retires to the cells. The old monotony of more tea than you want and less bread than you can eat was gone through with while most of us watched the rapidly-whitening earth and detated with each other as to whether or not the “gang” would be sent out on the morrow to clean away the snow from around the Capi- tol and the reservations. The evening was filled in with personal reminiscences of a rather interesting de- scription. Had not the weather been so stormy there would have been aservice of song down stairs, but there was too much snow falling and the wind was too keen to permit the la- dies and gentlemen who conduct those services to come from the com- ‘atively warm city lown to that bleak re- ion where jails, work- uses, and cemeteries are the inci; at- we ever, I gained by con- versation with some of my fellow-prisoners. [ involuntarily took a hundred lessons in the art of “How to live without working” and, after hear- ing the testimony of a number of experts, came to the conclusion that the man who tries to beat his way through this life works a great deal harder then he imagines he does, Sleeping on Sunday night was a rather diffi- cult achievement for more than one man in my cell. All through the evening the air had been filled with an almost insufferable stench which roceeded from the trough—the joint wash- Besin and water-closet—and as = | it came on the odor increased until it assumed pestilential proportions. It permeated every corner of every cell in that vicinity and made the opening of windows a stern necessity to all save those who said they were used to the odor. But men would not freeze, and that is what they would have done, in my cell. at least. A strong, piercing wind was blowing in directly from the northwest, and to open the window an inch meant a dangerous change in the temperature for those men in the upper tiers. So we shut the window and filled our lungs with a that 5 cents’ worth of disinfectant SE Monday morning's breakfast of a change from the first meal of the preced- out of the slop barrel and fed it to a cal ee ae In size it Cid ct e Far Hp i i : é é M4 i sé fr f | &: e i i i : H : i # i | : f i i i t it i | : i Hf I i ui | 5 3 f i i E t Ht fl ri! i Bail to in burgh’s “pet,” and the prisoners not favored an he was grumbled the unjust discrimination so openly and brought their appetites with them, too, and they waited impatiently for the “chuck” to come, The dinner consisted of a ot corned beef, a quart of soup, two voiled toes (ice cold), and a ration of corn- i was the best meal I had yet seen in the estabe lishment. The soup was, for that kind of arti- cle, good, and there was enough of it. The meat I saw was of the coarsest ible description, and tough. One man had a piece which consisted of two strips of lean on the outside, joined together by a strip of fat, He gripped one of the lean strips in his left fist, and then, taking hold of the other lean scrap with his right hand, be ‘ded to tear the two apart. Slowly the fat portion stretched itself out until the man's hands were fully 1% inches apart; then the fat d and re- bounded against his left hand with a snap” like that which would be made by a heavy rubber band when stretched and suddenly released. “I can eat that,” said he. “When it breaks anywhere short of eighteen inches I can go it; but when it’s over that I give it up; it's too much for my teeth then.” {fis teat of the ten- sile strength of the beef would have beem amusing had I not reflected on the fact that he had to live and work hard on such food as that, My quota of beef was too tough for me, but I experienced no difficulty in finding a man who would eat it; simply because he had to, The soup was all that saved that meal from utter condemnation. The afternoon was devoid of incident until the vanarrived, bringing its load from the Pohce Court. To the crowd this was the event of the day, and great was the jubila~ tion when one of the old “regulars” made his appearance, OFFICIAL NEGLIGENCE, It was perhaps about quarter of an hour after the departure of the ‘van” for the jail when that vehicle returned to the workhouse. Then [heard my “alias” called out by some one on the lower floor and I went down to the office to be informed that my “release” had ar- rived. I was told, however, that the bonds which had been offered in my case couldsnot be completed until I had appeared in the Police Court. To do that it was n ; return to court in the van, and that been done had it not been for the of some workhonse offic: My release had been handed in when th first stopped, but no attempt had been made to notify me, and instead of my being ready to step into Dick Anderson's cove vebicle, when it returned, Iwas in ignorance of my release. Twice or three times did Dick to know if I was ready, without, however, having the slightest idea as to my real identity. Then he got tired, and, after promising to send for me in the morning, he drove away. I immediately appealed from Dick's arbi- trary decision, and asked Mr. Stoutenburgh when I was to be released. He told me that I could not depart until morning. being detained illegully simply because of somebody's negligence, and stated that I wanted to go out at night, because my clothing was not fit for daylight wear, in # patrol wagon, through thg streets of a city where I several acquaintances and at least one or two friends. He curtly responded to the effect Sr theta eee ly, and then I retired to my cel GOOD-BYE. The supper—bread and tea, or as some of the boys not unjustly called it, “slop”—came at the appointed time, and I ate at it as usual, Two hours later, just as I was crawling into my bunk, a keeper informed me that an order had come from Judge Miller directing my im- Mediate liberation and that I was, therefore, to depart atonce. I did not need a second in- vitation. Without much ceremony I cast off the barred uniform and became once more a tenant of my “vag” suit. I wasin such a hurry to leave that I forgot to ask for the return of my 15 cents. The fresh air never seemed 80 pure, so healthful, as it did when the heavy front door was unbarred, and I stepped out into the starlit night—free, but as hungry as Dr. Tanner after a forty days’ fast. I bade adieu to the overcrowded, unventilated, noi- some prison with only a single regret, and that was that human lives should so thoughtlessly be endangered by wholesale when the simplest sanitary measures, the least complicated and least expensive system of ventilation, and « slight regard for the law of hygiene, would make life within those walls endurable. That men, when discharged from the workhouse, should immediately seek a saloon, and there drink to excess, can hardly be wondered at by any one who knows how their systems must be demoralized and permanently weakened by the condition of affairs which now existe in that instituti: They Did Not Appreciate Literature. From the Chicago Tribune. “This, gentlemen,” said the auctioneer, look- ing at the printed title, “is a complete set of the works of George Eliot. How much "mI of- fered to start ‘em—bow much?” “Dollar and a half,” said aman in the crowd, “Dollar naf—naf—naf. Going at « dollar naf—gentlemen,” ssid the ioneer, his voice in indignation, “ shame! a was anybody 4 gree ge) he went on with increasing wrath, at was accustomed a good — I wens hove tomes complete works of a man like George Eliot at no such insignificant, gol-darned ae dollar naf. — ——_+eo——____. Only Two for Five Cents. From the San Francisco Reporter. Thever believed that story about the little boy who asked his mother to give him a dose of castor oil when he did not need it merely because she was in the habit of giving him 5 cents every time he took a dose, and he wanted 5 cents to buy gum. But yesterday a little boy who ma ee ik es tole undergo the pait operation 0! ving splinter extracted came running to his chine with several slivers, After she had pulled —_s <4~ the little f eeepc ‘and assuage in fel asked. “Were those S-conters?™ ~ “No,” said the sister, “they were only two for 5 cents.” “Well, if they ain't worth more'n that I shan’t get any more in,” was the ————+e+______ Round the World in Seventy-three Days. From the London ‘Times. “A Physician” writes from Hampstead, Deo, 25: “To test the quickest mail route round the world I forwarded two post-cards addressed to myself, to care of afriend in Hong-Kong, send- ing one via Brindisi and Singapore and the other via New York, San Francisco, and Yoko i i it