In March, 1848, the Legislature of Texas, in pursuance of a provision in
the State Constitution, passed an act authorizing the Governor to
appoint three Commissioners to select a location, and report the
details, for the erection of a Penitentiary; the action of the
Commissioners to be subject to the approval of the Governor. After
careful and full consideration of the comparative advantages of the
several sites offered, the town of Huntsville, the county seat of Walker
county, was selected, and the selection approved.
Walker county lies just under the thirty-first degree of north latitude,
and between the eighteenth and nineteenth degrees of longitude west from
Washington; and the Trinity river forms its north-eastern boundary.
Huntsville is very nearly the geographical centre of the county, and is
about one hundred and twenty miles a little west of north from
Galveston; and about one hundred and sixty miles north of west from
Austin, the capital of the State. The town stands upon a low gravelly
ridge, bare of trees, and with deep ravines upon three sides. Some few
scattered houses, as well as Austin College and the Andrew Female
College, are built upon corresponding ridges, which rise on the opposite
sides of these ravines. There is no extended growth of heavy timber in
the immediate vicinity of the town. The approach from the east for some
five or six miles, is through a sandy region covered with a dense growth
of scrub oak and underbrush. Upon the west and south the country is more
open, gradually merging into the rolling prairies of Grimes and
Washington counties. Small streams run through the ravines and find
their way into the lesser branches of the Trinity and San Jacinto
rivers; but the supply of water is irregular and the ravines are often
dry. The situation is a healthy one, the air pure and bracing, and the
climate favorable. The town is regularly incorporated, and has from
sixteen hundred to seventeen hundred inhabitants.
Upon the eastern outskirt of the town, on both sides of the main road
from the lower Red River country, are the buildings and grounds of the
Penitentiary. The main buildings and enclosure are upon the southern
side of the road, and extend back down the slope of the ravine, with a
gradual and slight descent. Upon the opposite side of the road are the
storehouse and warehouse: the storehouse, which includes under the same
roof the offices and residence of the Financial Agent, is sixty feet
front by fifty deep, and two stories high; the warehouse is about forty
feet front by fifty deep, and two stories high. The two buildings are
separated from each other by an open space of some two hundred feet
front; the intervening ground, together with a considerable lot in the
rear extending back of the storehouse and warehouse, is mostly under
cultivation as a vegetable garden for the convicts. The warehouse is
used for storing the wool and cotton for the factory. In the storehouse
are kept the manufactured goods for sale. The front of the Penitentiary
faces north, and extends a distance of some three hundred feet directly
upon the road without any intervening fence or wall. The storehouse and
warehouse are immediately opposite the respective extremities of the
front, the main entrance of the Penitentiary in the centre, facing the
open space above mentioned. The front elevation consists of a centre
building some sixty feet front and three stories high, with two wings,
each one hundred and twenty feet long and two stories high. The entire
front presents one uniform extent of brick wall upon the same line for
the whole distance, unbroken by any recesses or openings except the
large, but plain, arched gateway in the centre and the rows of windows;
and unrelieved by a single projection or attempt at ornamental or
architectural display. The only thing to relieve the monotonous
uniformity of the front is the additional story upon the centre
building. The bricks of which all the Penitentiary buildings are built
are made in the neighborhood, and are coarse and of a dingy red color.
At the main entrance, the large, solid, double leafed door, which mostly
stands wide open in the day time, is stationed a guard, armed with a
six-shooter in his belt, and a double-barreled shot-gun, loaded with
buck-shot and ready capped, in his hands. An admission fee of
twenty-five cents is charged for each visitor, and the amount received
goes into the general accounts of the prison, and very nearly defrays
the expense of the extra guard who is kept for the express purpose of
waiting on visitors through the establishment. Any one, however, who has
a higher motive than mere curiosity, and desires to examine the
condition and management of the Penitentiary through an interest in the
subject of prisons and prison discipline, and will make himself known to
the Superintendent, will always be courteously received and every
facility afforded for his inquiries and observations without charge.
Passing through the archway, the visitor is admitted by the guard
through the large grated iron gate which closes its inner end, into the
yard of the prison. In the middle of the yard is a two story log-house,
used now as the shoemaker’s shop, but built originally as a place of
confinement for the convicts who were employed in the erection of the
Penitentiary. The entire space enclosed within the limits of the prison
walls is about three hundred feet square: the enclosure upon the
northern side is formed by the front or main building; the southern side
of the enclosure and the portions of the eastern and western sides
adjacent thereto, are shut in by substantial brick walls; while the rest
of the eastern and western sides is formed by ranges of buildings
connected with the main edifice. Just within the prison wall upon the
southern side of the yard is the factory, a substantial building of
brick, two stories high and two hundred and seventy feet long by fifty
deep. Both cotton and woolen goods, chiefly of the coarser kind in
demand for plantation wear, are manufactured. The establishment of the
factory was authorized by the Legislature at the session of 1853 and
1854, and an appropriation made for the erection of the building, and
the purchase of the necessary machinery. Carding and spinning were
commenced in June, 1856, and the first loom started late in July of the
same year. Steam power is used to drive the machinery, and the factory
has been kept steadily in operation from the time of its commencement,
the number of looms having been gradually increased as the success of
the undertaking developed itself. The machinery was all made in
Massachusetts.
The results of the employment of convict labor in this department of
manufactures, is regarded by the Directors and officers of the
Penitentiary, as a decided pecuniary success; and the Osnaburgs and
woolens made here bear a high reputation throughout the State, and are
undoubtedly of most excellent quality and finish.
The centre building of the front is about forty feet deep, and is
occupied for the offices and residence of the Superintendent and other
prison officers, except the Financial Agent. The lower story is
curtailed in room by the archway passing through its entire depth, and
affording access for vehicles as well as persons to the prison yard. The
wings are occupied entirely for cells: these are built in three tiers
one above the other from the floor (which is but slightly raised from
the level of the ground) to the roof. The tiers of cells are entirely
separated from the exterior walls of the building by corridors about six
feet wide, which are open from the floor to the roof of the buildings;
access to the cells in the second and third tiers being had from narrow
galleries reached by stairways, one at the end of each wing nearest the
centre building. One of the buildings upon the western side of the
square is also occupied for cells arranged in similar tiers. Each cell
is eight feet long by five wide, and eight feet high. The door of each
is a grating of cross-barred iron, and affords the only means of
ventilation and the only access for light; and as the doors are but five
feet high, with the bottom edge on a level with the floor, the
ventilation is necessarily imperfect. All the air is introduced from the
corridors, and the windows of the corridors which open to the outer air,
are small in size and not very numerous. The corridors, however, are
sufficiently lighted for all ordinary purposes, except perhaps on very
dark days. The interior of the cells and the walls of the corridors are
kept thoroughly whitewashed. There are no water closets in the cells,
but each is furnished with a movable vessel. In addition to the cot with
its bedding, each cell is provided with a small table and stool, and a
few have some one or two other small articles of furniture. There is no
uniformity of neatness or cleanliness in the cells, the care of each
being entrusted to its occupant; and beyond a certain, not very high
standard, no special attention to these matters is enforced.
The buildings upon the eastern and western sides of the prison yard,
afford accommodations for the cook-house or kitchen, blacksmith and
wagon shops, in addition to a range of cells. The meals are all served
to the prisoners in the cells—breakfast before they leave in the
morning, and supper after their return at night. For dinner they are
mustered from their work at the ringing of the bell at noon, marched
back to their cells, and after dinner conducted again to their work. The
provisions are of good quality and well cooked. The rations per day of
each convict are, a pound and a half of beef, or three quarters of a
pound of mess pork or bacon, and a pound and a half of corn-meal.
Sometimes mutton is furnished in place of the beef, and the fresh meat
is given on alternate days. To each hundred rations there are allowed
six pounds of sugar, five pounds of coffee, fourteen pounds of flour,
three pounds of soap, sufficient salt, vinegar and pepper for seasoning,
three gallons of molasses, eight quarts of beans or peas, and vegetables
whenever they can be procured. _Each convict who chews tobacco has one
half plug per week furnished him._
The floors and ceilings of the cells and the roofs of the prison
buildings are of wood, and a few years since the prisoners occupying
three cells one over the other, made their escape by cutting through the
floors and roof, and so getting down upon the outside. Since that
occurrence the prisoners have been searched regularly twice a-day—once
when they return to their cells for dinner, and again at supper time.
There were one hundred and eighty-two convicts in the Penitentiary at
the time of our first visit, and two others were brought in on the day
of our second visit. One cannot but be struck with the number of
Mexicans, easily distinguishable by their dark complexions; long,
straight, jet-black hair, and piercing black eyes. A very large
proportion of the convicts are imprisoned for horse stealing, the most
common form of larceny in this State; and which is very severely
punished, the sentences ranging as high as fifteen years. There were no
negroes in the prison. But very few free negroes are met with in the
State; and for the higher classes of offences for which a white man or
free negro would be sent to the Penitentiary, a slave is hung. The outer
clothing of the convicts consists of a round jacket and pantaloons of
the goods manufactured in the Penitentiary, cotton in summer and woolen
in winter, with black wool hats. The jacket and pantaloons are each
one-half dark and the other half light colored—the dark half of the
jacket and the light half of the pantaloons being on the same side of
the body, and _vice versa_. Osnaburg shirts, brogans, and wool socks
complete the dress, each article of which bears a number corresponding
with the cell occupied by the wearer; the numbers upon the articles of
outer clothing being large and conspicuous.
All convicts who can read are furnished with a copy of the Bible, the
Mexicans with Bibles in the Spanish language. They are also permitted to
read such other religious or moral works as the Chaplain may approve.
They can have but little opportunity for reading except on Sundays, when
they are confined in their cells all day, with the exception of the time
of public worship. The Chaplain preaches regularly on the Sabbath twice
a-day. There is no chapel or hall provided for assembling the convicts.
The convicts are marched out of their cells, each bringing his stool
with him, and ranged along the opposite sides of one of the long narrow
corridors, in no very strict or regular order. The Chaplain stands about
the middle of the corridor, while at each end are the guards fully
armed; the Superintendent is also present.
By a special enactment of the Legislature, the front of the cell of any
prisoner sentenced to solitary confinement for life, is painted black,
and his name and sentence distinctly marked thereon. The object would
seem to be to infuse a salutary dread into the minds of the other
prisoners. Upon the only black-painted cell in the prison was the
following inscription, in distinct white letters: _William Brown, aged
twenty-four years, convicted for murder in Grimes County, spring term,
1858, for which he is now suffering solitary confinement for life_.
Brown himself, however, was in fact at work in the factory with the
other convicts! He entered the Penitentiary in May, 1859, and had been
kept in close confinement in his cell, _without labor_, never being
permitted to leave it for any purpose, until about the first of October,
when his health was found to have suffered so much that, to preserve his
life, he was, under a discretionary power vested in the Directors,
released from the rigor of his sentence, and subjected to only the
ordinary confinement of the prison. His health had since greatly
improved. It is not to be wondered at that his health should decline
under the strict enforcement of such a sentence. The cell in which he
was confined was the same as to size, ventilation, and light as the
rest; and being one of the lower tier of cells, the top of the doorway
was some feet below the lower edge of the windows upon the opposite side
of the corridor in the outside wall. He had even less chance for fresh
air than if his cell had been in almost any other location. It is the
sight and knowledge of such instances of solitary _unemployed_
confinement as this, and a wilful neglect or refusal to inform
themselves upon, and recognize, the very wide distinction between the
terms _separate_ and _solitary_, that renders many persons so violently
prejudiced against, and opposed to the “Separate System.”
There were but three female convicts. One was undergoing a sentence for
arson, and the other two had been convicted of murder. One of these
latter occupied a cell immediately under one in which her husband was
suffering imprisonment, as an accomplice of his wife in the crime for
which she was sentenced. She had murdered her father, to get his money.
The husband of the other woman had died, in prison, but a few weeks
previous to our visit. He, too, had been convicted as an accomplice of
his wife; the victim of their crime being a niece of the wife, who had
excited her jealousy.
Each prisoner occupies his own separate cell at night and during
meal-times. Among the prisoners was a boy of seventeen, who had been
sent there for want of any better place for him: his offence was
stabbing. In consequence of his youth, he was not subjected to the same
strictness of discipline as the other convicts, and was allowed many
privileges, occasionally even being allowed to sleep in the same cell
with another convict. His opportunities of intercourse with the others
must have been frequent, and the association will, in all probability,
prove most disastrous in its consequences. His return to the
Penitentiary, in the course of a few years at most, can be calculated on
with reasonable certainty. Whatever disposition he may show, or whatever
efforts he may make, upon his release, to lead a proper life,—all will
be neutralized, almost inevitably, by the knowledge of the fact that he
has been a convict in the penitentiary; and some of those who have been
his fellow-convicts, of a more hardened experience in crime, will be
constantly on the watch to lead him astray, and with an influence of
great power.
The grades of punishment for refractory convicts are: 1st. Confinement
in the dark cell. 2d. Confinement on bread and water. 3d. Confinement,
and deprivation of tobacco. 4th. Irons, with or without confinement.
5th. Standing in the stocks. Flogging is also permitted, but only by
special order of the Directors, to whom the Superintendent reports any
case he may think deserving of that punishment, and the Directors decide
on the expediency of the infliction. It cannot, however, in any case,
exceed one hundred lashes, and is administered with a leather strap.
In case any of the prisoners escape, one of the guards has some two or
three hounds trained to catch runaways, and used to track the fugitives.
As some of the prisoners are employed outside the prison yard, about the
storehouse and warehouse, and in the garden, the opportunity thus
presented, for attempting an escape, is sometimes improved; and the dogs
are then brought into use. Escape, however, is a matter of difficulty;
and the attempt, even, is hazardous: for, in addition to the armed guard
at the main entrance, the immediate vicinity of the prison premises is
further watched and protected by armed guards, on duty constantly, in
guard-houses a little distance from the walls, outside,—one at each
corner, and one opposite the middle of each side, except the front.
Visitors are not allowed to hold any communication with the convicts,
either by word or sign; nor are the master-workmen allowed to hold any
conversation with them, except in giving necessary information or
direction concerning their work. The master-workmen are also forbidden
to converse, in the hearing of convicts, with other persons on matters
foreign to their work. The convicts are also prohibited from holding any
communication among themselves; but the impossibility of preventing this
entirely, was manifest, and, indeed, was frankly admitted. The friends
and relatives of any convict are permitted to see and converse with him,
in the presence of the Superintendent, at his discretion.
The officers of the Penitentiary are,—a Superintendent, Financial Agent,
and three Directors; all of whom are appointed by the Governor, for four
years. In addition to these, the master-workmen, physician, chaplain,
sergeant of the guard, and steward, are considered as officers of the
prison, and all hold their appointments from the Directors. The salaries
of the Superintendent and Financial Agent are $1,500 per annum, each; of
the Directors, $250 each; of the Physician, $500; and of the Chaplain,
$250.
The present Superintendent is Col. J. H. Murray, who has been in office
some eighteen months. He is a gentleman of liberal and intelligent
views, and feels the responsibilities of his office. To his courtesy and
attention we were indebted for the opportunity of obtaining much of the
foregoing information. The present Chaplain is a Presbyterian; but
ministers of other denominations occasionally supply his place. Any
convict who may wish is allowed to see a clergyman of his own particular
denomination. The Directors are required to visit the Penitentiary at
least twice in each month, and to report to the Legislature biennially.
A few words as to the County Prisons of Texas. The only opportunity
which offered for visiting a county jail was at Brenham, Washington
County. The jail building stands near the court house, a little off from
the public square, in the centre of the town, and is without enclosure
of any kind. It is a plain, two story building, about twenty-five feet
square, built of a double thickness of hewed logs. A narrow corridor
runs around the inside of the lower story, and surrounds the dungeon,
which is the only room upon this story, and has walls of a triple
thickness of logs. The entrance to the dungeon is through a heavy iron
trap-door in the floor of the second story. The single door of the jail
itself opens directly from the street into the corridor. The second
story has but two apartments, which occupy its entire extent; and one of
these is appropriated for female prisoners, when there are any. There
was but one occupant, a man, at the time of our visit. A short time
previous, a prisoner had been confined in the dungeon, awaiting his
trial on a charge of murder, but had succeeded in making his escape, in
which he must have had assistance from the outside. No jailer or other
officer lives at the jail, nor is any special watch kept. The only
furniture was a rude stool or two, and a few bed-clothes, laid upon the
bare floor. There are no windows in the building, and a few narrow,
horizontal openings in the log-walls, secured with iron bars, afford the
only supplies of light and air; no shutters, sashes, or other means of
closing these openings are provided. There is no provision made for
warming the prison, and the cold must sometimes be severe, especially
during the prevalence of the Northers. The jail is in charge of the
Sheriff, and the food of the prisoners depends altogether upon his
discretion. It is possible, that in Galveston, and perhaps in one or two
other places, the County Prisons may be upon a better plan, but in none
of them is the separate system in force. The prisoners, untried as well
as convicts, have an almost unrestrained intercourse. From all that we
could learn, it is to be feared that the jails of many of the Counties
are even less comfortable than the one at Brenham. But very many things
combine to render it peculiarly difficult to awaken the public mind of
Texas to the necessity and importance of a careful consideration of the
subject of Prison Discipline.