In a state prison, almost every action of the prisoners, not
particularly mentioned in the By-Laws, is either a crime or not,
according to the whim that happens to be in the breast of the keeper
at the time it is done. Hence there are many actions punished, and
sometimes very severely, which were not known to have been improper at
the time they were committed, but which, by a very common _post facto_
process, became crimes _afterwards_. Any thing which a prisoner does
or neglects to do, is, if the guard or keeper who notices it, has any
spite to gratify, dressed up in a criminal suit and made a pretext for
punishment. To smile or look sober, to speak or keep silence, to walk
or sit still, is alike criminal when convenience requires.
It is, also, a rule of conduct with the keepers, to punish _all_ for
the crime of _one_. Instances of this are very common. I will mention
some of them.
There was a little upstart dandy among the prisoners, who on one
occasion, had his hair cut by order of his keeper a little shorter
than his vanity desired. Displeased with this, he immediately had all
his hair cut down to one quarter of an inch; and on account of this
criminal vanity and resentment in him, every head in the prison was
scissored down to a quarter of an inch for more than two years.
To make his displeasure fall with full force on one of the prisoners,
the Warden once took every book out of the work shops and ordered that
no prisoner should rest from his work two minutes at a time, from
morning till night.
Because some of the prisoners have pretended that they were sick when
they were not, every sick man is neglected.
Another fact in relation to crimes is, that some of the keepers have
given their countenance and aid to the prisoners in the commission of
them, and shared with them the profits of their wickedness. It is well
known that some of the keepers have assisted the prisoners to get
materials into the cells for weaving suspenders; and when woven, they
have sold them and divided the money. Fine keepers! Fit men to reform
the guilty! Assist the prisoners to steal, and divide the plunder!
But when we come to those crimes which are specified in the By-Laws,
the most frequent grow out of the following sources:--
1. _Defects in the work._ For the smallest defect here, the prisoner
is often made to feel severely. What is so small that none but a
malignant eye would notice it, some variation in the shade, something
that could not have been avoided, is too often carried on to the books
as a great crime, for which only ten days in the solitary cell can
atone.
2. _Not keeping a proper distance in walking._ The laws require the
prisoners to keep six feet apart in going to and returning from their
cells and meals. This requires no small share of practical
_trigonometry_, and if a prisoner should not be pretty good to learn,
before he can possibly keep in the right spot, the guard will have an
opportunity to give him a number of _solitary_ lectures. Many a man,
who thought he was exactly right, not knowing so well as the more
learned guard, has been sent into punishment, and made to feel how sad
a thing it is, not to understand the six feet trigonometry.
3. _Insolence_ is another crime. This is committed very frequently, as
an _accent_ or _emphasis_ is sufficient for this purpose. The keepers
and guard are very tenacious of their dignity, and what the governor
of the state would consider respectful language, if addressed to him,
they consider _insolence_. If one should turn over the pages of the
_black book_, he would find this crime written to the sorrow of many a
prisoner.
4. _Not performing the task._ This crime is generally found against
learners, who have not had time to become masters of their work. This,
however, is no excuse, the task is fixed and must be done. Nor is it
of any avail that the materials have been poor, the complaint
is,--_the work is not done_, and nothing but the _grave_ can hide
from, or avert the penalty.
5. _Speaking together without liberty._ Many are punished for this
crime, and very justly in many instances no doubt, but not in all. If
a prisoner is seen to move his lips this crime is written against him,
and suffer he _must_.
6. The other crimes might be ranged under the heads of "_wasting the
materials_"--"_attempting to escape_"--"_resisting the authority_,"
&c., all of which are frequently found in the books against the
prisoners; and I know not that any criminal of these stamps has had
much reason to complain, that his sufferings have been too severe.
This is the proper place to state the absolute authority of the
keepers and guard over the destinies of the convicts. If one is
_reported_, he _must_ be punished, and that too without a _hearing_,
and often without knowing the crime alleged against him. If he should
ask the officer what his crime is, the answer would be, "_you_ know
what it is." After he finds out the crime, and desires to be released
from punishment, the one who reported him must be consulted; and after
_he_ is willing, the sufferer must avow that he is guilty, and promise
to reform, before he can get out. Innocent or guilty, it makes no
difference, he must say--"_I am guilty_," or he will plead in vain to
be released; and many a one has _lied_ by _compulsion_, in order to
get rid of further suffering. This was his only alternative, he must
spot his soul with falsehood, or die a martyr to truth.
The punishments are of different kinds; the most common is that of
confinement in the solitary cell. This is cruel and dreadful. The want
of food reduces the strength and takes away the flesh, so that when
the sufferer comes out, his face is often pale as death, his frame
only a skeleton, and he unable to walk without reeling. He has only a
small piece of bread once in twenty-four hours, with a pail of water;
and no bed but the rock. In the winter he has a blanket, but such is
the degree of cold to which he is exposed, that he has to keep walking
and stamping _night_ and _day_, to keep from freezing to death. And
having no proper nourishment to sustain him, he becomes, under the
joint influence of cold, fatigue, and hunger, a miracle of suffering,
over which Satan himself might weep. Day after day, and night after
night, he drags along his heavy and burdensome existence, friendless
and unpitied, the sport of his unfeeling keepers, and the victim of an
_eternity_ of torment. I know what this suffering is, for I have
experienced it. Seven days and seven nights, in the dead of winter, I
hung on the frozen mountain of this misery, and died a thousand
deaths. Every day was an eternity, and every night forever and ever;
and all this I endured because I incautiously smiled once in my life,
when I happened to feel less gloomy than usual. But _my_ suffering was
nothing compared with others. Some spend twelve, some twenty, and some
over thirty days there. My heart chills at the thought! If God is not
more merciful than man, what will become of us?
Another kind of punishment is _the block and chain_. This is a log of
wood, weighing from thirty to sixty pounds, to which a long chain is
fastened, the other end of which is fastened around the sufferer's
ancle. This he carries with him wherever he goes, and performs, with
it, his daily task. This is not much used, it being _less severe_
than the solitary cell. Some have carried these for several weeks, and
even months.
The _iron jacket_ is another form of punishment, inflicted only once
in a great while. This is a frame of iron which confines the arms
_down_, and _back_, and prevents the person from lying down with any
comfort. This is generally accompanied with one of the other kinds of
punishment, as it is not considered much inconvenience alone.
Connected with these several kinds of punishment is the putting the
convict down from one of the upper stories if he is up there. The
whole administration of the prison is clothed with terror, and there
is no end to its vengeance. The first _form_ of suffering is only the
first _lash_, and each _additional_ form comes in regular succession.
This is the second lash. The third is this--the number of times that
the prisoner has been in punishment, is always brought up when an
application is made for a pardon. The Reporter of characters takes a
full share of gratification in adverting to these, when a certificate
of the conduct is given. I cannot mention this man's conduct without
indignation. I hope he will find room for repentance, and obtain
pardon from his God for his many vexatious acts in relation to the
prisoners. I know of no man in whose breast so little humanity
prevails. Every prisoner will carry to judgment a charge against him.
One drop of human sympathy never flowed in his veins. A mountain of
ice has frozen around his heart. His acts of inhumanity would fill
volumes, and it would require years to record them. I pity him from my
soul, and though I have felt more than once, the weight of his
_mercy_, I freely pardon him. If he should ever look on this page, I
hope he will remember how unjustly he abused me, because he had the
_power_, and I could not _help_ myself. I wish also that he would
think of Plumley, and the three times convicted sufferer of WOODSTOCK
GREEN.
Besides those already mentioned, it may not be out of place to touch
on a few of what may be called _extra judicial_ inflictions, or those
which are felt by the prisoners without the usual process of a "report
in writing." These are--not sending their letters, nor admitting those
sent to them--adding a yard to the task of a man, who did not feel
like doing more than was _required_ of him, and making him use the
finest and most difficult materials--imposing the _worst_ work, and
allowing only the _poorest_ tools. These, and many other vexatious
practices, are as common as the return of day and night; so that the
prison at Windsor is one of those gloomy and dreadful places, which
image to the mind that house of woe and pain, where are weeping and
wailing, and gnashing of teeth; where the worm dieth not and the fire
is not quenched; and into which the wicked will be turned, and all the
nations that forget God.
That the reader may have a full view of this subject, I shall give in
the next chapter a multitude of cases, which will fully illustrate
this very important and affecting part of my sketches.