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VOL. 14. YOBKYILLE, S. C., THURSDAY, FEBRUARY QO, 1868. ^ JSTO^8.
(Otipiual ftofttg.
For Uie Yorkvllle Enquirer.
SONG OF THE ~ANGEL CHILD.
BY J. FORREST GOWAN.
P* m *
I was wand'ring in the forestIn
the forest all alonePlucking
flowers in my pathway,
Just the sweetest ever grown;
When there came from oat the wild-wood
Strains of beauty?dulcet strains,
'Which?though many years have vanished ?
My memory still retains.
'Twas as if an angel wandered
From its starry home on high,
Where the flowers do not wither,
And the beautiful ne'er die:
And, forgetting man were near it?
With its bosom full of bliss?
? ? Sang a song, composed in heaven,
In so dark a world as this.
As I listened to the musicMusic
sweet as ever fell
'Pon the ear of human being,
Fit a demon's rage to quell?
Just the sweetest little creature,
Thnt .Tphnvsh ever made.
Stepped oat from 'mong the thicket,
And ran by me half afraid.
From that moment to the presentTo
the present, full of care?
I have loved the world more dearly
Since such beings wander here:
I have read of angel-anthems,
Till with joy my heart grew wild,
But 'twas discord to the sweet voice
Of that little angel child.
Mm.
THE MYSTERIOUS ORGANIST.
A LEGEND OF THE RHINE.
"Ktnd hearts are more than coronets,
And simple faith than Norman blood."
Years ago, at a grand old cathedral, overlooking
the Rhine, there appeared a mysterious organist
The great composer who had played the organ so
long had suddenly died, and eveiybody, from the
king to the peasant, was wondering who oould be
found to fill his place, when one bright Sabbath
morning as the sexton entered the Church, he saw
a stranger sitting at the crape-shrouded organ. He
was a tall, graceful man, with a pale but "Strikingly
handsome face, great, black, melancholy eyes, and
hair like the raven's wing for gloss and color sweep
ing in dark waves over his shoulders. He did not
yaeem to notice the sexton, but went on playing, and
auch'mnsic as he drew from the instrument no
words of mine can describe. The astonished listener
declared that the organ seemed to have
grown human?that it wailed and sighed and olamored,
as if a tortured human heart was throbbing
through its pipes.
When the music at length ceased, the sexton
hastened to the stranger and said, "Pray, who are
you, sir?"
"Do not ask my name," he replied. "I have
heard that you are in want of an organist, and I
have come here on trial."
"You'll be sure to get the place," exclaimed the
sexton. "Why, surpass him that's dead and
gone, sir!" "
"No, no; you overrate me," resumed the stranger,
with a sad smile; then, as if disinclined to
conversation, he turned from old Hans and began
to play again. And now the music changed from
a sorrowful strain to a grand old paean, and the
mysterious organist,
"Looking upward full of grace,
Prayed, till from a bnppy place
God'a glory smote hiin in tbe face."
and his coutenancee seemed not unlike that of St
Michael, as portrayed by Guido.
Lost in the harmonies which swelled around
him, he sat with his "far-seeing" eye fixed on the
distant sky, a glimpse of which he caught through
^ the open window, when there was a stir about the
church door, and a royal party came sweeping in.
Among them might be seen a young girl with a
wealth of golden hair, eyes like the violet's hue,
and lips like wild cherries. This was the Princess
Elizabeth, and all eyes were turned to her, as she
seated herself in the velvet-cushioned pew appropriated
to the court. The mysterious organist fix
- " * * i XT
ed his eye3 upon her and went on piayxng. no
sooner bad the music reached her ears than she
started as if a ghost had crossed her path. The
blood faded from her cheek, her lips quivered, and
her whole frame grew tremulous. At last her eyes
met those of the organist, in a long, yearning look,
and the melody lost its joyous notes and once more
wailed, and sighed, and clamored.
"By my faith," whispered the king to his
daughter, "this organist has a master hand. Hark
ye, he shall play at your wedding 1"
The pale lips of the princess parted, but she
could not speak?she was dumb with grief. Like
one in a painful dream, she saw the pale man at
the organ, and heard the melody which filled the
vast edifice. Ay, full well she knew who he was
and why the instrument seemed breathing out the
) agony of a tortured heart
When the service was over, and the royal party
had left the cathedral, he stole away as mysteriously
as he came. He was not seen again by the
sexton till the vesper hour, and then he appeared
in the organ-loft and commenced his task. While
he played, a veiled figure glided in and knelt near
a side shrine. There she remained till the worshippers
dispersed when the sexton touched her on
the shoulder and said:
"Madam, everybody has gone but you and me,
and I wish to close the doors."
"I am not ready to go yet," was the reply;
"leave me?leave me!"
The sexton drew back into a shady niche and
watched and listened. The mysterious'organist
still kept his post, but his head was bowed upon
this instrument, and he could see the lone devotee.
At length she rose from the aisle, and moving to
the organ loft, paused beside the musician.
"Bertram," she murmured.
Quick as thought the. organist raised his head.
There, with the light of a lamp, suspended to the
arch above, falling full upon her, stood the princess
who had graced the royal pew that day. The
^ court dress of velvet, with its soft ermine trimV
mings, the tiara, the necklace; the bracelets, had
been exchanged for a gray serge robe and a long
thick veil, which was now pushed back from the
fair girlish face.
"Oh ! Elizabeth, Elizabeth !" exclaimed the or
ganist, and he sunk at her feet and gazed wistfully
into her troubled eyes.
"Why are you here, Bertram?" asked the
princess.
"I came to bid you farewell; and .is I dared not
i venture into the palace, I gained access to the
cathedral by bribing the hell-ringer, and having
taken the vacant scat of the dead organist, let my
music breathe out the adieu I could not trust my
lips to utter."
A low moan was the only answer, and he continued
:
"You are to be married on the morrow?"
"Yes," sobbed she, "Oh ! Bertram, what a trial
it will be to stand at yonder altar, and take upon
me the vows which will doom me to a living
death!"
"Think of me," rejoined the organist "Yout
royal father has requested me to play at the wed
ding, and I have promised to be there. If I were
your equal, I could be the bridegroom instead of
the organist; but a poor musician must give you
up."
"It is like rending soul and body asunder to part
with you," said the girl. "To-night I may tell
you this?tell you how fondly I love you, but in a
few hours it will be a sin! Go, go, and God bless
yon!"
She waved him from her as if she would banish
him while yet she had the power to do so, and he,
how was it with him? He rose to leave her, then
came back, held her to his heart in along embrace,
and then, with a half-smothered farewell, left her.
The next morning dawned in cloudless splendor,
and at an early hour the cathedral was thrown
open and the sexton began to prepare for the wedding.
Flame-colored flowers nodded by the wayside?flame-colored
leaves came rushing down from
the trees, and lay in liaht heaps upon the ground ;
and the ripe wheat waved like a golden sea, and
berries dropped in red and purple clusters over the
rocks along the Khine.
At length the palace gates were opened, and the
royal party appeared, esoorting the Princess Elizabeth
to the cathedral, where the marriage was to
be solemnized. It was a brave pageant; far
brighter than the untwined foliage and blossoms
were the turfs of plumes which floated from stately
heads, and the festal robes that streamed down
over the housing of the superb steeds. But the
princess, mounted on a snow-white palfrey, aud
clad in snow-white velvet, looked pale and sad;
and when, on nearing the church, she heard a
gush of organ-music, which, though jubilant in
sound, struck on her ear like a funeral knell, she
trembled and would have fallen to the earth had
not a page supported her. A few minutes afterwards
she entered the cathedral. There, with his
retinue, stood the royal bride-groom, whom she
had never before seen. But her glance roved
from him to the organ loft, where she had expected
to see the mysterious organist He was gone, and
she was obliged to return the graceful bow to the
king, to whom she had been betrothed from motives
of policy. Mechanically she knelt at his side
on the altar stone; mechanically listened to the
service and made the responses. Then her husband
drew her to him in convulsive embrace, and
whisDercd:
"Elizabeth, my queen, my wife, look up!"
Trembling in every limb, she obeyed. Why did
those dark eyes thrill her so? Why did that smile
bring a glow on her cheek ? Ah! though the king
wore the royal purple, and many a jeweled order
glittered on his breast, he seemed the humble per- 1
son who had been employed to teach organ music, '
and had taught her lore of love. 1
"Elizabeth," murmured the monarch, "Bertram 1
Hoffman, the mysterious organist, and King Oscar ^
are one. Forgive my stratagem. I wished to marry
you, but I would not drag you to the altar an '
unwilling bride. Your father was in the secret" \
While tears of joy rained from her blue eyes, the
new-made queen returned her husband's fond kiss, '
and for once two hearts were made happy by a roy- *
al marriage.
GENERAL STEPHEN ELLIOTT,
Whose memory is recorded in the shot-torn bat- '
dements of Sumter, gained his reputation as a sol- '
dier, not from a military training at West Point, (
Lut from an mtuitt'ro gomut) tkai ntatapod l\?o owo 1
jy act with success; history must record his name
high upon the sacred roll of Honor, and no monu- 1
ment other than the ragged fortress of Sumter is
needed to remind South Carolina of her cosdy sac- 1
rifice. His exploits are too splendid for my pen, 1
yet as one who was his friend, and served under
him, I proffer a few incidents connected with his '
service. After the fall of Port Royal, Captain Elliott
organized his company (the Beaufort Artillery)
as Infantry, and resolved upon harrassing the
blue coats as often as an opportunity offered. The
game of confiscation was progressing finely on the :
islands, and Uncle Sam's (children's) pockets were
being lined with captured cotton, when behold! 1
one moonless night, the lurid glare which illuminated
the sky?Elliott and a trusty squad had put 1
the torch to scores of barns, and while affrighted 1
Ethiop was telling indignant Jonathan that "Mass
Steben bun up all de cotton," he and his detail
were complacently regarding the wasting light that
showed their work complete. The enemy had
lodged upon an island which commanded an ap- 1
proach to Savannah, and Elliott concluded to visit
them; a reconnoissance was made, but the Yanks
suspected something, and resolved to intercept his
return. Captain Elliott was returning in a fleet
boat rowed by his men, (who were, many of them,
' " v * * i v,?;i
ampniDsj wnen it utvnuic ucwdouij w w??? ???,
the boat was hauled to the marsh, and was being
emptied of the water, when hush! a barge appeared
rowing in the opposite course; a brass howitzer
shone in the moonlight at her bow; muskets
glanced back the raj's of the tell-tale queen, and escape
seemed hopeless; but a stray cloud draped
the moon with its dusky mantle, and hid the boat
in which was our hero and his men, and the barge
glided by. As it passed, the officer in command
bestowed un unflattering compliment on the laggard
barge behind. "Ah!" whispered Elliott,
j "another; now, men, lie close; we may not be so
fortunate again ; every man to his double-barrel
gun, and if they discover us, rake them and let's (
make the affair costly." The stillness was only
broken by the receding strokes of the oars of the
first barge, and was being still, indeed, when the
regular thumps of the oars of the second was ,
heard. Nearer and nearer it drew, till the howitzer
on its bow lifted above the marsh, the barge
was skirting the shore to avoid the current, and
soon its oars must toucli the hidden boat. The
suspense was fearful, but again a cloud veiled the
moon, and ere it escaped, the barge slid by, so near
that the drops of water fell from its oars upon the
persons of the men who lay quietly awaiting the
issue. "Safe, thank God!" was the grateful murmur;
and thus escaped he once when the enemy
were nearest him.
I was once preparing the howitzer, upon which
I served, for inspection, and to facilitate my duty,
pushed it into the water that overflowed the banks
of the Savannah, but being unconscious of the proximity
of the bluff, gave it another push and sent
it to the bottom of the river, (a twenty-four pound
gun, ammunition chest and contents). I looked
vrtin enwed himself off
OH J US Q1U IUU LllOliLUUii II uv k^w.i
the tree, considerably confused, but remembered
the Captain. I fouud him in his tent planning a
torpedo ; told my story, and was entering into explanations,
&c., when he jumped up and started
for the gun, undressing as he went. When he
reached the spot where I committed the faux pas,
he was divested to good swimming costume, and
dove like an otter into the swollen stream. He
soon arose some distance below where the gun was,
having been swept by the tide, but called for a
stout rope; it was procured, and he pluDged again
beneath, carrying the end of the rope, remained
until he had secured it about the carriage, and again
floated to the surface like a cork and struck
out for the shore. We all grasped the rope, and a
stout pull lodged the gun (we thought lost) on the
bank ready for inspection. I saw him a few minutes
later, stretched complacently at full length,
with his chin supported by the left palm, figuring
out a theory that afterwards was put in telling practice,
namely, a torpedo.
It wa? a favorite sport of General Elliott to
gather terrapins from alligator holes, and his men
, well remember his grotesque appearance when he
once returned from such an excursion with both
legs of his unmentionables filled with these hardbacks.
The comrade who attended him on this
excursion stated that the Captain, (his rank then)
had gone into an alligator's den, turned the monster
out, and appropriated the terrapins to bis
own use.
On one occasion, one of his friends (all men
were his friends) was poking into a hole with a stick,
when he discovered something rough,''said he,
"Captain, I think a 'gater is in there."
"I'll see, he replied, and in he went, bearing the
noose of a rope.
The muddy pool was no little disturbed in the
short time he was out of sight; but out he came,
and with the aid of some men about, unearthed
the grim animal and dispatched him.
Captain Elliott was prolific of ruse de guerre.
A picket on Port Royal became an eyesore to him
and he broke up the post in this wise. Manning
a boat with trusty fellows, he bade them row toward
the picket post. Before each rower was his
gun. ' 'Fire,'' said he, ' 'when 1 mention the name
of the Yankee General (Saxon, I think,) upon
the approach of the boat.
It was challenged, "Halt?who comes there?"
'"Tis, me massa, heap o' man and ooman; ran
away, sah; we yerree 'bout massa Saxon?"
A dozen barrels belched their flames of death
upon the unsuspecting picket, and a few minute
later he was quietly appropriating, for himself and
squad, such little nick-nacks as we "rebs" only enjoyed
when thus taken. The post, of course, was
abandoned; but the pools of gore showed that
' 'somebody was hurt''
Again, at the same post, the enemy became unpleasant
to him. It was on the 4th of July when
he thought of stirring them up. He had been ordered
to fire the national salute of thirteen guns;
and concluded, in so doing, to waste no powder.
Away he went with his splendid battery to Port
Royal Ferry; the guns of the .enemy bellowed
forth the "glorious 4tb," and "Hail Columby"
was strained everywhere?Elliott brought his piec<!8
to bear on the picket-house, where a company were
in perfect ignorance of anything except the StarSpangled
Banner, and his salute of thirteen was
fired with precision, as to time and aim. As tbe
last shell crashed through the house, it was too
late to catch a Yank; the company had skedadii
i i mil* ii m i .* J *i.l_ ~
cueo, ana JiUioic wun ms men, crosseu wiui u uma
and burned the house, leaving the site an ashen
pile.
Pinckney Island had been occupied by the enemy.
They established a company snugly, in view
of permanency; but Elliott resolved to disturb
their ease. A detail of the Beaufort Artillery, aj>sisted
by an equal number of Captain Mickler's
eompauy, commanded by their respective officers,
landed near the picket. To gag and secure him
tvas short work; and, while the enemy slept, were
seen the dusky figures of the "rebs," surrounding ,
the house and cutting off escape. Then was heard
Elliott's commanding voice, "Surrender I" It
palsied them with terror. Some attempted to caape;
some made show of fight; but the work was
short aud decisive, and every man was captured,
except such as were slain in the effort to escape.
A heavily armed vessel blockaded St. Helena
She was tended by a cutter. Elliott had seen her
mtil he wearied of her picture. I saw him leave
>n the cars, with his frail skiff and a half dozen
TtPn. find a (Vir> tliot ?** ???
Xight came on ; sent his can on its errand of destruction
towards the cutter, (the nearer of the two
ressels,) and the morning sun shone upon fragments
that strewed the placid bay. The crew were
ill destroyed with the craft.
The gunboat George Washington ventured too
:lose to Chisolm's Island and grounded. Elliott
had beeu idle and was "spoiling for a fight." He
heard the news with gladness. All night the company
marched, and daylight found his battery
trained for the huge hull; the tide rose and she
floated clear, and would have escaped but for the
unerring aim of the gunners. In fifteen minutes
from the time of the first shot, the gunboat was u
mass of flame; and so rapid was the firing kept np,
and deadly the aim of the battery, that she replied
but twice to the attack from her heavy armament.
Her massy bell and deck howitzer were
irjinefarrpd to (vinm. and. until the evacuation of
PocotalifcO, the bell usurped the place of the bugle.
Iu the destruction of this gunboat, the most of her
crew were killed by the shots from our guns or
burned with the vessel.
fpswllawimis ftradwg.
From tlie Charleston News.
THE STATE PENITENTIARY.
How curious is the progress of a thought! Little
more than a year ago, his Excellency Govenor
Orr, in a message to an extra session of the Geneeral
Assembly, wrote as follows:
"There is no proper punishment, under the laws
of this State, for high misdemeanors and petty
felonies. None of the jails of the State are constructed
for work-houses, and convicts sentenced
to imprisonment spend their time in idleness. The
expenses to the State is very great, and, in our
impoverished condition, the people cannot well
bear the heavy taxation necessary to support these
convicts in idleness. There are many convicts who
find themselves comfortably housed and well fed,
and who, exempt from all labor, do not regard imprisonment
as a punishment. They are vicious,
depraved nou-producers; and the effort tp punish
them is really a punishment to the honest taxpayer,
whose labor, in part at least, is given to
support them in indolence. The number of convicts
will hereafter be greatly increased, and, if the
present system of punishments be continued, the
appropriations to jailors, for dieting prisoners, will
be greater than the expenditures for either of the
departments of the State government. To remedy
all these evils, I respectively recommend that you
provide for the establishment of a penitentiary, at
Columbia, aud appropriate not less tban $2U,UUU
to erect a wall around the penitentiary buildings,
and.to make cells for convicts. Much of the labor,
in erecting the necessary buildings, can be performed
by the convicts themselves. If a favorable
site should be selected, convenient to sufficient
water power to drive all the machinery that may
be requisite to carry on manufactures in wood,
leather, iron, yarns and cloth, the penitentiaiy may
be made nearly if not quite self-supporting. Punishments
may then be imposed according to the
enormity of the offence; juries will have no aversion
to convicting the guilty, and convicts, while
under purgation for their crimes, will be compelled
to earn their clothing and subsistence."
TIIE BEGINNING.
On the 21st of September, 1866, seventeen days
after the receipt of the above message, the Legislature
appropriated $20,000 for the purpose above
named.
On the loth of October, Messrs. Wm. Gregg,
W. R. Robertson and Archibald Cameron, Commissioners
appointed by the Governor to supervise
the work, met in Columbia and selected ten acres
of land, at a cost of $6000, immediately on the
Columbia canal, and within half a mile of the depots
of the South Carolina and Columbia and
Greenville Railroads. This is probably the best
location in the State. Easy of access, being only
three-fourths of a mile?as a bird flies?from the
heart of the city, with immense beds of the best
granite in the world adjacent, and water-power at
hand abundant for every purpose, nature herself!
thus made no small contribution to the success (
the undertaking.
Major Thomas B. Leo was now employed as th
architect and engineer, and in accordance with th
instructions of the commissioners, visited the va
rious penitentiaries of Tennessee, Ohio, Pennsy]
vania, Maryland and Virginia, to obtain informs
tion concerning the most approved style and ar
rangement for a penal institution.
On his return, another meeting of the commis
sioners was held in Columbia, and it was then de
termined to make such a commencement as woul<
allow an extension of the plans, from time to time
until five hundred male and female convicts coul<
be accommodated.
Before the 21st of November, Major Lee ha<
commenced work, broken ground, excavated fh<
foundations, and prepared to cany out his plans
A store-house, blacksmiths' shop, carpenters' shop
stone-cutters' shed, and five derricks were con
structed, and a fence, twelve ieet High, thrown a
round the premises. An inclined railway, at ai
angle of about thirty-eight or forty degrees, wa
constructed from the penitentiary tot to the mar
gin of the canal, and so provided with machines
that the caft, loaded with stone at the quarrie
two miles away, and brought thither in boats, could
by the touch of a lever, be discharged directly un
der the derricks designed to lift the immens
masses to their final bed. The 006t of stone thu
obtained and transported is only about fifteen cent
per ton. * Wagon transportation would have in
creased the expense to $1.50 per ton. The labo
of quarrying and dressing this material is perform
ed almost wholly by the convicts. 4
PLAN OP THE PENITENTIARY.
The plans of the arohitect contemplate a build
ing five hundred feet long, fifty-eight and a hal
feet wide, and forty-five and a half feet high, witl
a central building projecting from the main build
ing sixty feet square, the-whole to be built of gran
ite and iron.
There are to be 548 cells, the kitchen, laundry
store-room, chapel, hospital, guard rooms, recep
tion room, office, dispensary, and living rooms, be
ing under the same roof.
The prison is divided by a blank wall into tw<
grand divisions, for male and female convicts. Th<
prison for the latter is comparatively small, but it
? ? ? .1 - r.ii
proportions are nasea upon toe statistics ui utue
prisons. This space, however, may be readily en
larged without interfering with the general plan.
The prison for male convicts is divided into i
north and south wing, separated by the centra
building referred to. The south wing is now ii
course of erection. Each wing will have five tier
of cells, with fifty cells in each tier, and the whole
when completed, will be surmounted by a hug<
cistern containing water, forced to that point by i
a turbine wheel on the river front By this mean!
eveiy cell in the prison can be purified in five min
utes.
These cells open outward into a hall or corridor
fourteen feet wide, the hall being lighted and ven
tilated from two tiers of windows and a circula
ventilator.
The central building is separated from each win/
by a stone wall to the second story, and an iroi
grating from thence extends to the roof Thi
wing is divided into three stories, and subdivide*
as follows: On the first floor is a grand archwa:
through which railway cars may pass. It is ala
vLv iuuiu wtivt oiiij cntnmce to tne pnyun, ou tw
right and left of this entrance are flights of stair
leading to the secoud floor; a kitchen, an apart
mcnt for steam boilers which will furnish steam fo
heating the building, washing, and culinary pur
poses; a laundry, wash-room and store-ropm fo:
supplies.
On the second floor is a large hall to be used a;
a chapel and general hall; an office and receptioi
room for visitors, and two guard rooms. The lat
ter opens into the halls around the cell blocks, ant
are the only entrance thereto.
On the fbird floor is the hospital, dispensary
and physician's office, and a suite of apartments o
five rooms for the superintendent and his aasoci
ates.
THE FEMALE PRISON.
This department consists of three stories, divi
ded as follows: u *
First Floor?An archway, hall, flight of steps
laundry and wash-room, kitchen with steam boilei
and heating apparatus, store-room, and suite o:
four rooms for the matron and her assistants.
Second Floor?Two tiers of cells, thirty-six in i
block, with a hall fourteen feet wide passing arounc
the sides and one end.
Third Floor?A tier of twelve cells, with a hal
fourteen feet wide on two sides, and a room on on<
end twenty-eight feet wide and fifty feet long.?
This room and the hall will be u ed as a worl
room for female convicts.
THE WALL.
The wall around the penitentiary will be twenty
feet high, built of granite, four feet thick at th(
base and two and ono-third feet thick at the top
It will have no other entrance than that which ha.'
been specified. This wall is now being rapidlj
built to take the place of the present wooden fence
Within this enclosure are located the work-shops
adjacent to the canal, power from which will event
ually be used in driving the machinery; also a sub
enclosure for female convicts.
CELLS.
The cells for the male convicts will number fiv<
hundred. There are now finished and occupied
one hundred and four. They are five feet wide
eight feet long, and seven feet high. The outei
wall is granite, two and one-half feet thick; th<
partition eighteen inches thick, of brick. The toj
of the cells is of iron, covered one foot with gran
ite. An iron bedstead will be so arranged in eact
cell that it can be hooked up when notin use, thu;
saving spaoe. Water pipes from the cistern on the
roof, connect with each cell, and the sewerage wil
extend to the river. The cells and building will b<
heated by steam pipes.
Cells for female convicts, forty-eight in number,
are six and a half feet wide, eight feet long, anc
seven feet high, and are built in the same mannei
as those for male convicts. No females have yei
been incarcerated.
The roof of the whole building will be composed
of iron trusses, covered with corrugated sheet iron.
It will be seen, therefore, that the budding is nol
more fire-proof than burglar proof.
THE CONVICTS.
The first convict received was on April 18, 1866,
On the 14th August, less than four months after,
there were upwards of one hundred. At the pres
ent time there are one hundred and ninety, fullj
four-fifths of whom are negroes, whose terms o1
imprisonment vary from twelve months to confinement
for life. The chief crime for which these
prisoners are punished is that of larceny. The
next most common crime is that of assault and bat
tery. The third, arson, burglary and murder.
The rules adopted for the regulation of the motley
crew of convicts are similar to those which ex
ist in other institutions of the kind at the North
The prisoners are required to maintain silence; bui
when engaged in labor they are permitted to asl
such necessary questions as relate thereto. Th<
punishments resulting from the infraction of thes<
rules are the same as those permitted in the armj
and navy of the United States, and yet are only ap
plied in extreme cases when it is found that then
is an exhibition of willful disobedience, insubordi
nation, attempt to escape, or theft from fellow con
victs, which last, by the way, is a common crime
The form of punishment imposed is "bucking am
>f gagging, tying by tbe thumbs, and what is called
the 4 'Blind March.'' The latter is peculiar to this
e institution. A dozen or more convicts who have
e infringed the rules, are arranged in single file, blind
i* folded, and, with their hands upon each others
I- shoulders, compelled to follow their leader at a
r rapid pace over such broken and uneven surfaces
- as are calculated to put them in constant fears of
terrors yet to come. The result is that when one
man tumbles down, the rest follow like a pile of
- bricks, while the crushing of corns, tho barking of
I shins, and the abrasion of the historic heel, is well
i calculated to cause abdominal curses, not loud but
i deep. The spectacle is amusing to the observer,
but no fun to the culprits; and it has been found
1 to be an innocent and effectual mode of checking
3 much disobedience.
The costume of the prisoners consists of a jacket
t and trowsers of heavy woollen material, with late.
ral broad black stripes, and a shirt of coarse cot.
ton, on the back of which are printed the words
* "South Carolina Panitontiarv." and thannmher of
8 the convict. *
On entering the institution, the clothing of the
7 convict is taken from him, washed, numbered and
3 laid away, to be returned to him at the expiration
, of his imprisonment He is then, himself, put
. through a scrubbing process, and donned in the
e prison garb; his hair is cropped, his cell is assigns
ed, and, according to his ability or strength, he is
s appointed to his proper department of labor. Some
. are sent to the quarry, which is two miles distant
r up the canaL These are generally the most frac
tious; and with ball and chain, under guard, they
perform the work of blasting and getting out the
heavy masses of rock, transferring them to the
. canal boats and shipping them to the foot of the
f inclined plane already described, where the cars,
i With their ponderous contents, arc caught up and
- carried under the shed where the leveling, chip.
ping and dressing is done. Others of the convicts
are engaged in shoemaking; clothing is also made
, in the establishment, and arrangements will prob.
ably be made before long, by which the fabrics
. worn by the convicts will be woven in the institution.
D The food consists of bacon, soup, molasses and
1 - A V 1 I _ _ J 1 1_ 1
g corn ana wneaicn Dreaa;?Dreaa wnicn is equai in
3 all respects to that which is supplied in the best
r hotels of the country, the bakery being under the
. supervision of a competent baker, who is specially
employed for the purpose. Coffee is a part of the
x diet of those*who suffer from debility or disease,
j Proper medical attendance is furnished to the
1 convicts; but thus far, the general health of the pen3
itentiary has been good. Only seven deaths have
occurred; although many of the convicts when re[
ceived have been so sick and emaciated that they
x were fit subjects for a hospital. At present the con3
victs are as burly a looking body of men as can bo
. selected.
BAtLY LABOR.
The work of improvement is continually going
' on; and, as far as possible, the convicts are rcquired
to build their own nest, without outside assistance.
Much of the iron work is done by convicts.
Nearly all of the stone cutting, the care of a large
* garden, the charge of a large number of pigs and
hogs, which are destined soon to become pork, and
, the general police of the enclosure?all this devolves
upon the convicts, and the task is well and
^ faithfully done# There is no department which is
? bines, with his skill as an engineer, an unusual amount
of administrative ability.
As soon as practicable, it is proposed to introduce
mechanical power of various kinds, to which the
adjacent water power will be applied; and it is understood
that the machinery now in the State works
at Greenville will bo removed to the penitentiary
j for the purpose. The institution will then be in a
condition to turn out implements of labor, in wood
ttliU 11 IS U J UUli OUV/ll UtJLiCI VTUI& UO U?U UG puu U];vu
the market for sale. It will thus soon become a
self-supporting concern,
p THE RESULT IN DOLLARS.
Already, expenses, by reason of convict labor,
have been materially reduced. This labor is daily
becoming more valuable. Many of the stone-cutters
are now worth $2} per day, while the average
value is one dollar per day. The cost of maintaining
these prisoners is only about forty-eight cents
' a day, of which fifteen cents covers the cost of subp
sistence.
The total outlay thus far for materials, building
t apparatus, temporary structure, &c., has been
j $70,901.70, but the cost to the State isubout$80,000,
so that it may be safely estimated that bej
tween $7000 and $8000 has been absorbed by dis>
count on the State bills, in which most of the pay'
ments were necessarily made.
, From November 17,1866, to December 31,1867,
the cost of provisions was $4,919.80, and of clothing,
shoes and bedding, $3,976.74.
, On July 1, 1868, the convict labor will entirely
, supersede hired labor, and, with the improvements
contemplated by Major Lee, the institution will
j soon become a source of income to the State.
r CONCLUSION.
During the year 1867 there were in confinement
two hundred and twenty-three prisoners, of whom
' eighteen were pardoned by the Governor, five were
discharged at the expiration of their sentences, six
died and three escaped. On January 15th, 1868,
there remained one hundred and eighty-seven prisoners,
of whom twenty-nine are whites and one
hundred and fifty-eight are blacks.
1 With such an array of facts concerning this insti'
tution as we have presented, there can be no ques,
tion thatit is likely to become the most important of
the kind in the Southern country. 1st. Its gene
' ral plan, arrangement and management are based
( upon the best models which the country affords.
} 2. Its location upon the banks of a stream whose
i water power is almost unlimited, affords advantaj
ges for manufacturing purposes certainly not surs
passed by those of any similar institution, and,
therefore, the State is likely to derive benefit from
this hitherto new and untried system of punish|
ment, in the double sense that it; will not only be
self-supporting, but will supply a want that has
^ been experienced ever since the change from the
former condition of affairs.
I What may be the effect of this enterprise, although
penal in its objects, upon the prosperity of
' Columbia is yet to be determined. Possibly the
' development of the remarkable water-power of the
Congaree River and the adjacent canal, in its application
to the manufacturing purposes of the
penitentiary, may direct to that locality the atten1
tion of capitalists abroad, and the consequent imr
provement of that portion of the City of Columbia.
P In the course of time the penitentiary itself may
turn out half the wooden work, thebootsand shoes,
k and implements of agriculture that are used in
, South Carolina. Certainly, up to the present hour,
| the most remarkable success has attended the undertaking.
It is probably the cheapest structure
of the kind in the United States, and bids fair to
be the best I We have only to add that it is popularly
known as the "Governor's Pet," and it is to
' the general supervision and direction of the Governor,
that the State is indebted for this incipient
" "Omnium Gatherum" of incredible wickedness and
' first-class rascality.
7 Morrissey in Congress.?The Washington
- correspondent of the Chicago Tribune gossips a3
bout Morrissey in this wise :
John Morrissey, of New Tork, is put upon the
- rolls as banker?not a faro banker, just simply
. banker. Being asked why he chose that title in1
] stead of gambler or pugilist, by either of which he
is better known, he replied that he was no coward
that he had always been a gambler and alwayi
would be one; that he had also been a prize fight
er; that he had been in the lowest brothels in th<
country; that he had been the companion of thieve.and
cyprians?but that he was never in quite s<
bad company as when he went into Wall-street,
among the bankers and brokers. He said there
was less honesty and more trickery and thieving ii
Wall-street than among his former associates, and
he did not want them to misunderstand him. He
wanted to be taken at his worst, and had, therefore,
chosen the designation of banker.
From the Norfolk Journal.
THE BANKRUPT LAW.
TOE POLICY OP TOE LAW.
Every country is subject to financial crises. These
are the earthquakes of the civil and political world,
and recognizing the fact, into the cause of which il
is needless, for our present purposes, to enquire.
These crises, of course, affect eveiybody, and, oi
themselves, often destroy, suddenly, accumulated
fortunes.
Again, the "best laid schemes of mice and men
gang aglee," and that, too, without any fault in
the schemer, mice or men. A country flourishes
by the energies of individuals. Debts and misfortune
destroy these energies. Therefore, all States
have had Bankrupt Laws. They are designed tc
relieve the unfortunate man of a load of crushing
debt, and to send him into the world again, with
new hopes, new energies, and new credit
Nearly all the States have insolvent laws. Thej
are as different as the States. They only afford relief
from indebtedness in the particular State. A
New York insolvent law does not discharge a New
York citizen from a debt due to a Virginia creditor,
and vice versa. The framers of the Constitution
knew this, and hence they provided for a
Bankrupt Law, which should be general to all the
States. There is henceforth to be no conflict oi
laws upon this subject The country needed the
law. It lias it It is a law, general, wise, politic,
humane, and in "the veiy nick of time," and the
man who can and ought to take advantage of it,
j a?? :n .:? ,1
ouu uuco uut, ffuiuve WJ icgicoiu auu uc ucicuiici
convinced that he had much more morbid sensi
bility than high moral courage and practical good
sense.
THE PEOVISIONS OP THE LAW.
These are too numerous to be enumerated, and
they are not of public interest Suffice it to saj
that they direct that any person who owes ($300)
three hundred dollars, may petition the court tc
be declared a bankrupt The petition must be accompanied
with a full, complete and exact schedu'
rof all his debts, his creditors, and their residenoe,
and an inventory of his property, real or personal,
in possession ^r in action. The petition, schedule
and inventory must be sworn to. The rules of the
Supreme Court of the United States declare that
this petition, inventory and schedule shall be plainly
written, without abbreviation or interlineation,
and this rule ought to be most literally observed,
for petitions have been denied because of the use
of Do., Ditto, and " " "
The most minute and exact care has to be observed'in
the preparation of the necessary papers,
an unprofessional man cannot properly prepare
them, and those prepared by attorneys have to be
amended. ^ ^ ^ ^
nothingVurthcr to do except
TO APPLY FOR IIIS DISCHARGE,
Which he can do in two months, if no assets come
to the hands of the assignee, or if no debts arc
proved against him.
If assets do came to the hands of the assignee,
and if debts are proved against the estate, he cannot
apply until the lapse of six months.
OPPOSITION TO THE DISCHARGE.
Any creditor who has proved his debt can oppose
the discharge either when it is regularly applied
for, or before. The acts which prevent a discharge
arc enumerated in the law, and may be
summed up in one word?any fraud upon his creditors,
either direct or indirect, and some of the acts
will not only defeat the discharge, but will subject
the petitioner to punishment for a misdemeanor,
and if guilty he ''shall be punished by imprisonment,
with or without hard labor, for a term not
exceeding three (3) years."
ADJUDICATION OF BANKRUPTCY
Takes effect as soon as the petition is properly
filed. From pll debts then existing, the bankrupt
is discharged, except those due as a fiduciary or
public officer.
after acquired property.
All after acquired property?that is, all property
of whatsoever degree or character acquired by any
means?is the bankrupt's. This is a very wise
feature, and is the very reverse of the English law.
the costs!1
The law upon this point is conflicting and unintelligible.
The practice of the court is to require
the pre-payment of all the fees, which involves an
outlay of ($50) fifty dollars.
voluntary. involuntary.
Deposit $50 00 Deposit $50 00
Register 1 50 Register 3 00
Clerk 5 00 Clerk. 5 00
Marshal 5 00 Marshal 1Q.00
Thus the immediate cost is $60 or $70, but the
unexpended portion of the ($50) fifty dollar deposit
is refunded, which will make the fund cost, on
an average, about thirty dollars.
the creditors
Choose the assignee and have the right to examine
the bankrupt, his wife, or any person suspected
of knowing anything of the trade, dealings,
condition and affairs of the petitioner, and if they
can detect any species of fraud they defeat the petition.
the assignee
Stands in a position of trustee for the benefit of
both creditors and bankrupt He receives the
debts and the entire assets, and
sets apart the exempted property.
WlycJ^ is?1. That allowed by the State; 2.
The arms and accoutrements of a U. S. soldier
or officer; 3. The entire wearing apparel of bankrupt
and family; and 4. The necessary household
and kitchen furniture, and such other articles and
necessaries as, having reference to the condition
and circumstances, the assignee shall see fit to designate
and allow. If less is allowed than the bank
rupt thinks himself entitled to, he can raise the
question and have it decided, upon full argument,
by the court.
A SPECIAL PROVISION
Is, that if a petition be presented after "one
year from the time that this act shall go into operation,
no discharge shall be granted unless the
"assets pay fifty per centum of the claims against
the estate."
These are the provisions which, disencumbered
of phraseology and of the body of the act, most
immediately concern the public; and if they will
devote an hour to their consideration, they will not
be without that practical knowledge with which
they ought to be familiar. This knowledge and
an intelligent comprehension of the necessity for,
and the spirit, object, intent and scope of the Bankrupt
Law, will enable them to act understandmgly
and to better their fortunes, or else bear the ills
they have with philosophic fortitude.
JSS~In London the houses number more tl?n
350,000, and the streets, if placed in line, would
extend from Liverpool to New York, and are lighted
at night by 660,000 gas lamps, consuming evejy
twenty-four hours about 13,000,000 cubio feet
; of gas. Of the water supply 44,383,328 gallons
9 ore used per day. The traveling public sustains
- 5,000 cabs and 1,500 omnibuses, besides all the
? other sorts of vehicles which human need can resquire
or human wit invent Its hungry population
> devour in the course of eveiy year 1,609,090 quar,
ters of wheat, 249,000 bullocks, 1,700,000 sheep,
i 28,000 calves, 35,000 pigs, 10,000,000head ofgame,
i 3,000,000 salmon and innumerable fish of other
I sorts, and consume 43,209,000 gallons of beer,
! 200,000 gallons of spirits, and 65,900 pipes of
wine. As a consequence, 2,400 doctors find employment
London, finally, supports 852 churches
which are presided over by 930 divines ofgreatef'or
less note. It is also oomputed that the average
extension of London is at the rate of two ,
miles of finished, buildings per day. The needuf*
this rapid construction can be estimated when it is
known that the railroad improvements projected,
and now being constructed, will, during the present
year, necessitate the removal of 20,000 dwelling
houses. A majority of these are inhabited by . >
the industrial classes.
IMPORTANT ORDER- General
Canby has reoently issued the following
order in reference to Jurors and tehants:
1 L It having been represented that, owing to.
certain informalities and nou-complianee with cer'
tain regulations prescribed by the laws of the State,
| and by militaiy orders, for drawing juries in Booth
' Carolina, such drawings have, in some oases, been
1 rendered irregular and invalid, it is ordered :
1. That juries heretofore drawn, or which, previous
to the regular spring terms of the Orrcoit
Courts now approaching, may be drawn for a Cir'
cuit or District Court, in any Judicial District of
South Carolina, whether the provisions of General
Orders No. 32, or No. 89, or No. 100, of the year
1867, from these Headquarters, were regarded in
| the preparation of the list from which any drawing
P was made or may he made, and whether such
drawing was, or may be, at a regular term of any
court, or at an extra court, or by the cleric of a
[ court and the sheriff of a District in the presence
of a magistrate, and whether such extra ooujft or
^ drawing by the officers of any court was ordered
by the Governor of the State, any Judge, Circuit
I Court, or Court of Appeals, are hereby legalised;
and the right of challenge as given by the said *
General Orders No. 89, and the necessary draw*
I ing of tales, arc hereby preserved as heretofore.
r 2. At the next Spring terms of the Circuit and '
l District Courts, respectively, and whensoever there(
after new jury lists are to be made for any District,
juiy lists shall be prepared from the list of all male
citizens therein who shall have paid taxes within
the twelve months next preceding; and challenges
shall be allowed in conformity with General Orders
No. 89.
3. Upon the return of the venires, the presiding
judge of the court shall be authorized, at the em'
paneling of juries so drawn, to set aside any juror
for personal unfitness by reason of intellectual or
moral disqualifications; provided, that race, color
, or former condition of servitude, shah not, of itself,
be a ground of exclusion.
1L The Courts of Common Pleas and General
Sessions in South Carolina, are hereby invested
, with concurrent jurisdiction with the District
[ Courts, in all cases and matters of which the District
Courts have jurisdiction under tho Constitu*
* HHi"^e^rovMons^if the Act of the General
Assembly of the State of Sonth Carolina, entitled
, "An Act to amend the law in relation to tenants,"
[ approved December 19,1866, shall be construed to
extend and apply to all oases of tenancies, whether
at wQl or for a term limited by the act of the
[ parries, or by operation of law, and whether such
tenancies were created by parol or by written leases
or contracts of letting, wherever rent shall be dne
or in arrears, or wherever the tenant shall hold
over after the cessation of his right of occupancy.
Whenever application is made to a magistrate to
remove a tenant for any cause within the intent of
said Act, as hereby construed, it shall be the duty
| of such magistrate, and of the sheriff or constable,
to proceed under the Act herein recited, and to
charge no greater fees than those therein prescribed.
IV. In no criminal case where there is appeal
from any other court to the Court of Appeals,
shall it be necessary for the accused to appear in
person before the court of Appeals, but in a case of
capital felony, the Court of Appeals, at its discretion,
with regard to expediency as to time and
place of sentence, may order a prisoner to be
brought before it
How ElephXnts were Shipped to Abyssinia.?Part
of the outfit of the English expedition
to Abyssinia was a herd of twenty elephants?unwieldy
animals at best, but uncommonly troublesome
as passengers on shipboard. A Bombay paper
describes the shipment: ^ *
"The hoistine tackle required was of immense
strength, and the hoist was formed in this way:
The main yard was supported from the lower masthead
by stay tackles; from the top masthead there
was a strengthening tackle, and from the lower
masthead to the yard there were preventers. From
the fore masthead there was a tackle for hauling
the hoist forward. The elephants were brought
from the place jrhere they were picketed, one by
one, and, on reaching the Compta's side, were
fettered and placed in slings, oonsistingof the stoutest
canvas, secured by thick lashings. The height
to which the animals had to be hoisted before they
were lowered away into the hold was some twenty
or thirty feet, and a small regiment of kallasses
was employed in working the lifting tackle. The
operation was really an extraordinary sight, well
worth witnessing, and it was curious to observe
the different moods in which the unwieldy beasts
submitted to it Some, when tbey found themselves
suspended in mid-air, shed fceare copiously,
and were affected in a remarkable manner; others
became vicious, and roared and plunged about most
alarmingly.
"In the days of Queen Elizabeth some other remarkable
ideas were entertained in England as to
the anatomy of the elephant and Shakspeare says:
"The elephant hath joints, but none for courting ;
his legs are for necessity, not for flexure." Now
nobody in these days, we suppose, holds such an
opinion; but if he does, he would have had a convincing
proof of his error had he witnessed the
surprising agility of some of the elephants hoisted
into the hold of the Compta; for they bent their
legs about, and pawed and kicked with tremendous
violence, and one or two managed to throw their
legs behind them so as to get a footing on the oomtying
of the hatchway. Fortunately no difficulty was
experienced in dislodging their feet, and they were
safely got down below. By about 5 o'clock, p,m.,
nineteen had been embarked, but the twentieth one
was so vicious and 'musty' that it was determined
not to take him; for he would not?'submit to be
slung, and he seemed very much inclined to do as
he pleased. It was said that in an. unamiable mood,
on Friday, he killed one of his unfortunate attendants."
> >
Alleged Insanity op Mrs. Lincoln.?Private
letters reoeived from Chicago state that Mrs.
Lincoln is insane beyond all doubt She recently
sold all the furniture in her house, and has two old
men as body guard, believing she will be robbed
and murdered. Her mania is for selling, and a
dread lest she come to want All her friends are
said to be conscious of her mental conditiflp, but
think, bo long as she is harmless, her removal to a -f
lunatic asylum would increase her denotement.
V