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 penitentiary, 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 interested in the following
pages. A large majority of the convicts are young men from sixteen to
twenty-five years of age. They had no idea of the terrible sufferings
of a convict life, or they surely would have resisted temptation 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 becomes entangled in
the meshes of the law, and is compelled to do service for the State
without 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 wish of the author.





A KANSAS HELL



CHAPTER I