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 occupants 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 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 looking-glass
and a towel. Each cell contains one chair and a Holy Bible. There is
no rich Brussels carpet on the floor, although prisoners are allowed
one if they furnish it themselves. No costly upholstered furniture
adorns these safe retreats! Nothing in that line is to be discovered
except one cane-bottomed chair for the accommodation of two prisoners,
so that when one sits on the chair the other stands, or occupies a
seat on the stone floor. There is not room for two chairs, or the
State would furnish another chair. These rooms 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
occupied 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, taking a
seat on the floor in the opposite corner. After I had been locked in,
before going away the officer said, "Now I don't want you fellows 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