UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 I 
 Of Connect^ 
 
 Its lasiirfefetions 
 
 IMPRISONMENT Of THE 
 
 South View of Newgate Prison. 
 
 ALSO A DESCRIPTION OF THE 
 
 AT AVF, VHKKSFJELJJ, 
 
 By RICHARD II. PIIELPS, East Granby, Ct. 
 
 ^ 
 
 HARTFORD. 
 
 PRESS OF ELIHU GEER, 
 ,844.
 
 NEWGATE 
 
 OF CONNECTICUT: 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE PRISON, 
 
 ITS 
 
 INSURRECTIONS, MASSACRES, &C. 
 
 IMPRISONMENT OF THE 
 
 In the Revolution, 
 THE ANCIENT AND RECENT WORKING OF 
 
 TO WHICH IS APPENDED A DESCRIPTION OF THE 
 
 
 AT WET1IERSFIEL,])* 
 
 BY RICHARD H. PHELPS, EAST GRASBT, CONX. 
 
 THIRD EDITION. 
 
 HARTFORD. 
 
 PRESS OF ELIHU GEER, <&% STATE STREET. 
 1844.
 
 The favor with which the preceding numbers of this 
 work has been received by the public, and the readi- 
 ness of sale, has called for the present edition. Matter 
 of interest has since been collected of several pages, 
 and a good engraving of Newgate has been procured, 
 conveying a correct view of the prison, and the work in 
 its improved appearance is now presented to the public 
 with confidence, by 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 -* 
 Copy -right Secured*
 
 F/04 
 
 NEWGATE PRISON. 
 
 THE main design of the following has been to collect and em- 
 body facts relating to Newgate, the former prison of the State of 
 Connecticut. There are many circumstances respecting the Mines, 
 and also while it was kept as a prison, which are interesting, to 
 those at least, who like the writer, reside in its vicinity, and who 
 have noticed many of its scenes ; and judging from the numbers 
 who travel far to explore its caverns and the works which now 
 cover its grounds, it will continue long to be an object of interest 
 and examination time will wear slowly upon its strength, and age 
 will but add to its interest. Many inquiries are also made about 
 it of those living near it when they travel abroad, and when it is 
 known that they are familiar with its history. When Dr. Frank- 
 lin resided in Philadelphia, having occasion to travel to Boston, and 
 knowing the gift of many of the Yankees in asking questions, in 
 order to satisfy their importunity and save time in his answers, he 
 adopted the expedient of printing a number of cards, stating that 
 he resided in Philadelphia, was a printer by trade, and on his way 
 to Boston; these he gave to his questioners whenever they corn- 
 commenced their attacks upon him. This account, if it serves no 
 general use, may at least, serve to answer many important ques- 
 tions. 
 
 It is useful to record events in their day before they are forgot- 
 ten, or are handed down as tales and traditions. If a record of 
 the eventi connected with some of the monuments, castles and 
 fortresses in Europe, or ruins in Central America, could now be 
 obtained, it would be of vast interest to antiquarians, and would 
 greatly assist historians to substantiate valuable history. 
 
 When the aged in this vicinity are gone, and that soon must be, 
 this prison fortress will doubtless remain; the traveller then will 
 ask Who built these towers 1 Why these huge grates, these 
 trenches and these walls ? How came these spacious caverns to 
 be dug out of solid rocks, and why those rings and those fetters 
 fastened to their massive sides ? Surely the echo of these caverns 
 cannot answer, nor the people who lived cotemporaneous with 
 their use. Therefore, sufficient is said as an apology for these 
 hasty sketches. The materials for the work have been gathered 
 from a variety of sources. A part is statistical, from the ancient colo- 
 nial records and some is taken from the verbal statements kindly 
 
 4G522O
 
 furnished by the aged now living ; much also has been related to 
 the author by the aged who have been for years deceased, and 
 who knew personally of the circumstances and events which are 
 herein recorded, and all may be relied upon as being generally 
 correct. 
 
 NEWGATE is the name by which the prison was called in the days 
 of the Revolution, and was so called after Newgate prison in Eng- 
 land. Our forefathers, in giving names to many of their towns 
 and cities, also copied from those of their ancestral home, doubt- 
 less wishing to make their adopted country wear the familiar as- 
 pect of their native land ; and in christening this prison after a re- 
 ceptacle of rogues in London, they intended to give to it a prison- 
 like appearance, and to comprehend all of hideous name, gloomy, 
 and terrible ! 
 
 The prison situated near the centre of Granby, occupies an 
 eminence at the base, and on the western side of the Green- 
 stone mountain, which here rises to an elevation higher than 
 at any other place in the State, giving to the scenery around, an 
 impression of grandeur and sublimity, seldom surpassed. The 
 site of the prison was formerly included within the limits of the 
 town of Simsbury, and so remained until 1786, when a part of the 
 town including the limits of the prison, was set off and incorpora- 
 ted under the name of Granby; hence the place was at that time 
 known by the name of Simsbury Copper Mines, on Copper HilL 
 The title to the mines was for a longtime disputed in law between 
 individuals, when so early as 1753, the General Court of the Colo- 
 ny appointed a Committee to investigate the subject ; who gave a 
 decision which was afterwards confirmed. The first working of 
 these mines bears a far earlier date, as appears by the following : 
 
 [" Anno Regni Annae Reginae, V Septimo A. D. 1709".] " An act 
 
 relating to the Copper Mines at Simsbury.'' 1 
 
 " Whereas, there hath lately been discovered a copper mine at 
 Simsbury which hath been so improved as to give good satisfaction 
 to conclude that a public benefit may arise therefrom : Now, for 
 the better encouraging, directing and enabling the proprietors and 
 undertakers, or others that are or may be concerned therein, their 
 heirs and assigns, to manage, carry on, and improve said mines to 
 the best advantage," &c. 
 
 In 1714, the records show that the use of the mines were pur- 
 chased by Jonathan Belcher of Boston, (afterwards Governor,) 
 Timothy Woodbridge, Jr. and Wm. Partridge, and in 1721 they 
 had miners from Germany employed, and were expending seventy 
 pounds per month in the work. They were particular in their 
 lease to have it expressly stated, that one fifth of all metals, &c.
 
 which might be procured should go to the crown thus acknowl- 
 edging themselves most loyal and devoted subjects of taxation and 
 revenue to his Majesty. The laws of the colony permitting slav- 
 ery, they employed slaves to a considerable extent in working the 
 mines, owing to the want of capital or of enterprize they did 
 not take sufficient pains in, digging drains or levels to let off the 
 water which entered through the crevices of rock, and they resor- 
 ted to the expedient of pumping it out. Laborers in the vicinity 
 were employed for the purpose, and some of the farmers in the 
 town of Windsor actually were accustomed to ride to the mines, 
 and work at that business in the night, and return to their farms 
 in the morning, and their wages were paid in gold, silver and cop- 
 per coin. The present extent of the excavations prove that the 
 business was prosecuted with some effect, and that immense quan- 
 tities of ore have been taken several stamping mills carried bv 
 water were built in neighboring places, and actively employed in 
 pulverizing the ore furnaces were also constructed for smelting 
 it, and a coin, known by the name of " Higley's coppers," made 
 from the ore, used to pass quite current for change. 
 
 The rage in the Colony upon the business of mining about that 
 period was very brisk, as it would seem from the following peti- 
 tion copied from the records: 
 
 " To the HonncU, The Gov'c Councill and Representatives in Gener- 
 al Court assembled in Ncio Haven, Oct. 16th, A. D. 1733 : 
 "The Prayer of Joseph Whiting of New Haven Humbly 
 Shevveth, That your Suppliant hat Expended a Considerable time 
 and money in Searching after Mines, and has made farther Discov- 
 eries perhaps than any other man in this Colony has before done, 
 and having met with such incourgement as that I am willing to be 
 at farther Expense in the Same Search but ready money being 
 so absolutely necessary therein ; I therefore Humbly pray this as- 
 sembly will be pleased to lease me one thousand pounds of the 
 money Granted last may to be struck, and now to be disposed of 
 by this assembly upon double security in Lands and Bonds, for 
 the payment of the interest every year; the principall to be Re- 
 turned at the Expiration of ten years," &c. 
 
 JOSEPH WHITING." 
 
 A great deal of labor and capital without doubt was expended, 
 as the aforesaid petitioner says, " in searching after mines,' 1 '' and the 
 evidence may be seen in the numerous pits and shafts which have 
 been dug in the whole range of this mountain to New Haven. 
 
 At that day, as in all previous time since the world began, and 
 as is seen at the present day, their chief aim appeared to be to 
 make their fortunes by head-work by speculation, and choosing.
 
 rather to spend their time and risk their fortunes in mining and 
 other uncertain projects, rather than to dig upon the surface of 
 good old mother earth, for a sure and honest living. 
 
 The news of mineral wealth had the effect which it generally 
 does upon British cupidity, and in 1760 a company was formed in 
 England for the purpose of prosecuting the business of mining. 
 They dug wells in several places, one ot which is eighty feet deep, 
 and sunk a shaft through solid rock to the depth of between thirty and 
 forty feet. Through this shaft they lifted many hundred tons of rock 
 and ore, a large quantity of which was deposited about one mile 
 east of the mountain in Turkey Hills, at a place now marked by 
 an entire dearth of vegetation, owing to the poisonous qualities 
 extracted from the ore. From thence it was taken to Hartford by 
 teams, where it was shipped to New York, and two vessels were 
 freighted with it, and sent to England. These vessels were both 
 lost ; one was captured as a prize by the French, being at that 
 time at war with England the other was unfortunately sunk in 
 the English Channel. These disasters, together with the great la- 
 bor expended in digging, and the laws of England prohibiting the 
 smelting of it in this country, disheartened the company, and the 
 further prosecution of the work was abandoned. 
 
 These caverns were first occupied as a place for the confine- 
 ment of Tories about the beginning of the American Revolution. 
 What an astonishing train of events followed and how distant from 
 the minds of the British company of miners, the idea that they 
 were actually hewing out prison cells for the lodgment of their 
 friends, the Tories of the United States ! 
 
 At first the number confined in these caverns did not exceed five 
 or six, but as time developed events, the numbers increased. 
 When the tea was thrown into the sea at Boston in 1773, and that 
 port closed by an act of Parliament, so great was the excitement 
 and so indignant were the people, particularly of Massachusetts 
 and Connecticut, on account of British oppression, that the use of 
 tea and all commodities imported in British vessels and subject 
 to duty, were prohibited. Most of the Tories confined there were 
 guilty of some crime, although several persons it is said were con- 
 fined in the dungeons for the crime of having a small quantity of 
 tea and other articles of British import in their possession ; true 
 the contrast in the times may appear rather curious, for at this day 
 a housekeeper would be judged by common consent, deserving the 
 same puishment for being suspected of not keeping them on hand. 
 Our ancestors knew no half-way policy, and seldom adopted dila- 
 tory measures to carry their points tea vessels if then kept at all 
 were kept out of sight teapots were run into musket balls, and 
 they were the kind of currency with which the people dealt with 
 old England.
 
 Public opinion in some of the colonies against those who favored 
 the mother country was very rigid, authorizing any person even 
 to shoot them if they were found beyond the limits of their own 
 premises; persons now living well remember a tory who was shot 
 in the town of Simsbury. Those who possessed not the hardihord 
 thus summarily to dispatch a neighbor or relative for not choosing to 
 fight for the country, or for purchasing of the British, adopted the 
 more humane expedient of penning them up in the caverns, where 
 they could at least leisurely examine the evidence of British labor, 
 although not allowed the blessed boon of being governed by Brit- 
 ish laws. We cannot for a moment doubt the noble intentions of the 
 American patriots in the severity of those measures, for the results 
 are now universally acknowledged and are generally appreciated. 
 If at the commencement of their struggle for liberty, they had per- 
 mitted those emissaries to raise a question as to the right of inde- 
 pendent government, and had suffered them to prowl about unmo- 
 lested, and to spread the fuel of disaffection, a civil, instead of a 
 national war, must have followed. The proud eagle of Liberty 
 would not so soon have risen over this land of plenty, and the 
 reveille of English soldiery would have told misfortune's tale, of a 
 government offeree. 
 
 Most of those confined were persons of character, property and 
 great influence, they being the ones to do harm rather than those 
 who were mere weathercocks in principle, and vascillating in prac- 
 tice. Their first keeper was Capt. John Viets, who resided near 
 by, and who supplied them daily with food and necessaries which 
 were required. At that time there was no guard kept through the 
 day, but two or three sentinels kept watch during the night. 
 
 There was an ante-room or passage through which to pass be- 
 fore reaching their cell, and the usual practice of Capt. Viets when 
 he carried their food, was to look through the grates into this past 
 sage to observe whether they were near the door, and if not then 
 to enter, lock the door after him, and pass on to the next. The 
 inmates soon learned his custom and accordingly prepared them- 
 selves for an escape. When the Capt. came the next time, some of 
 them had contrived to unbar their cell door, and huddled themselves 
 in a corner behind the door in the passage, where they could not 
 easily be seen, and upon his opening it they sprang upon him, 
 threw him down, pulled him in and taking the key from his pos- 
 session, they locked him up and made good their escape. What 
 were the Captain's reflections on his sudden transition from keep- 
 er to that of prisoner, is not stated, but he probably thought with 
 FallstaiT, that "discretion would have been the better part of val- 
 or," and he must adopt, in future, more cautious measures; his ab- 
 sence was soon discovered by his family, who came to his relief
 
 8 
 
 The inhabitants around rallied immediately and gave chase to the 
 absconding heroes, and finally succeeded in capturing nearly the 
 whole of them ; several were taken in attempting to cross the 
 Tunxis or Farmington river, at Scotland bridge, a few miles south, 
 a guard having been stationed at that place to intercept them. 
 Some Santa Anna-like, took refuge upon trees, and there met 
 with a more certain capture. A respected matron then a child, 
 now states that the news of their escape and capture, spread as 
 much dread or terror among the children in the neighborhood, as 
 if they had been a band of midnight assassins. 
 
 The tories confined in the dungeon, often in the course of the 
 war, amused themselves in making poetry in derision 1 of the meas- 
 ures which were carried on by the patriots against England. The 
 following are a part of some rhymes (referring to the patriots) 
 composed by them and sent to their keeper. 
 
 "Many of them in halters will swing 
 Before John Hancock will ever be king." 
 
 John Hancock being one of the most ardent friends of the Revo- 
 lution, was particularly obnoxious to the British, and a price was 
 set on his head ; this raised the spirit of the colonies, and they at 
 once made him President of Congress, which drew apon him the 
 special odium of the tories. During their imprisonment they fre- 
 quently sent to the keeper for provisions and other articles. The 
 following is from the original, now in the possession of the author. 
 
 "Mr. Viets, 
 
 If you have any meet Cooked, you will much oblidge me by 
 sending me a dinner, for I suffer for want. 
 
 Prison. PETER SACKETT." 
 
 This man was one of the thirty who afterwards were engaged in 
 a bloody contest with the guard, and he made his escape at that 
 time. 
 
 In Oct. 1773 the following Resolution was passed : 
 "Resolved by this Assembly, That the Treasurer of this Colony 
 pay out of the public Treasury to Messrs. Wm. Pitkin, Erastus 
 Wolcott and Jonathan Humphrey, the sum of one Hundred Elev- 
 en Pounds one Shilling and Sixpence lawful money, which is in 
 full of their account exhibited for preparing the Copper Mines at 
 Symsbury for a proper Prison, &c." 
 
 An Act was also passed prescribing the terms of imprisonment. 
 Burglary and Robbery were punished for the 1st offence with im- 
 prisonment not exceeding 10 years, 2d offence for life. For coun- 
 terfeiting and passing counterfeit money, the same terms of sen- 
 tence.
 
 9 
 
 The keeper of the Prison was authorised to punish the convicts 
 for offences by " moderate whipping, not exceeding ten stripes, 
 and by putting shackles and fetters upon them." 
 
 Though the prison was deemed impregnable, yet by the follow- 
 ing it appears that it was not entirely secure. 
 
 To the Honourable the General Assembly now sitting at Hartford : 
 
 We the subscribers, overseers of Newgate Prison, would inform 
 your Honors that Newgate Prison is so strong and secure that we 
 believe it is not posable for any prisoner- put thereto escape, unless 
 by assistance from abroad ; yet it so happens that one John Hin- 
 son, lately sent there by order of the Honourable the Superior 
 Court, has escaped by the help of some evil minded person at pres- 
 ent unknown, who in the night season next after the 9th inst. drew 
 the prisoner out of the shaft; and we believe no place ever was or 
 can be made so secure but that if persons abroad can have free ac- 
 cess to such Prison standing at a distance from any dwelling house, 
 the prisoners will escape; we therefore Recommend it to your 
 Honors that some further security be aded to that prison in order 
 to secure the prisoners : What that security shall be, will be left to 
 your Honors ; yet we would observe to your Honors that the east 
 shaft where the prisoner escaped is about 70 feet to the bottom of 
 the prison, the whole of which is through afirm rock except about 
 10 feet at top which is stoned up like a well ; we therefore propoes 
 that the upper part down to the rock be lock'd up, and stones about 
 15 or 18 inches square and of a suitable length be laid across said 
 shaft about eight inches assunder, fec. and as to the west shaft 
 which is about 25 feet deep and secured with a strong iron gate 
 about six feet below the surface, we propose that a strong log 
 house be built of two or three rooms one of which to stand over 
 this shaft to secure it from persons abroad, and the other rooms to 
 be forthe Miners <fcc. &c. all which is submitted by your Hon- 
 ors' Most obedient Humble Servants. 
 
 {ERASTUS WOLCOTT, 
 JOSIAH BlSSELL, 
 JOII'N HUMPHREY. 
 Hartford Jan'y 17th, 1774. 
 
 30TT, \ 
 EY. j 
 
 For a while previous to the year 1776, the caverns were used in 
 part for the confinement of thieves, burglars and other criminals, 
 and who were kept in the same apartment with the tories. 
 
 Permission was given by the authorities to employ them all in 
 working the mines, and a guard generally superintended their 
 work. In the year 1776, they attempted an escape by burning. 
 A level had been opened from the bottom of the mines through the 
 hill westward, for the purpose of draining off the water, and the 
 
 2
 
 10 
 
 mouth of this level was chiefly closed by a heavy wooden door 
 firmly fastened. They had by degrees collected sufficient com- 
 bustibles, and with a piece of stone and steel they kindled a fire 
 against the door, which burned as fast as damp fuel in a damp 
 dungeon naturally could ; but instead of making their escape from 
 the prison, they all nearly made their final escape from this world, 
 for the dense smoke and blue flame soon filled the apartment and 
 almost suffocated them ; search being made, one of them was found 
 dead, and five others were brought forth senseless but finally re- 
 covered. They were afterwards placed in a strong wooden build- 
 ing erected for the purpose above ground. They soon set this 
 building on fixe, and burned it to the ground nearly all escaped,, 
 but several were afterwards retaken. A few years after the 
 block house, so called, was rebuilt, but prudence by the officers in 
 the management was disregarded. Had they been more careful in 
 adopting safeguards for themselves and the prisoners they might 
 have avoided the dreadful scene which was soon to follow a scene 
 of conflict and blood. 
 
 As the war with England now raged with fury, the animosity 
 between the Whigs and Tories had grown in proportion, and the seal 
 of distinct party was in many places stamped with vivid impres- 
 sion, so that at this period the number doomed to the prison had 
 amounted to thirty, and many of them were tories. They 
 were a desperate set of men, and for their greater security a guard 
 was allotted to each one, the thirty guards being armed with load- 
 ed muskets and fixed bayonets. On the night of the 18th of May 
 1781, the dreadful tragedy occurred which resulted in the escape 
 of all of the prisoners. A prisoner was confined by the name of 
 Young, and his wife wishing to be admitted into the cavern with 
 him, she was searched, and while two officers were in the act of 
 raising the hatch to let her down, the prisoners rushed out, knock- 
 ed down the two officers, and seizing the muskets of nearly all the 
 rest who were asleep, immediately took possession of the works, 
 and thrust most of the guards into the dungeon after a violent con- 
 test. 
 
 One of them Mr. Gad Sheldon, was mortally wounded fighting 
 at his post, and six more wounded severely. Says a venerable old 
 lady now living, " it was a dreadful sight to see the wounded guard 
 as they were brought into our house one after another, and laid 
 upon the floor weltering in their blood ! When I came into the 
 room the faithful Sheldon sat on a bench, his body bent forward, 
 and a bayonet dripping with blood lying before him, which he had 
 just 'drawn out of his breast it was a deadly stab!" Many of 
 the rebels were wounded, some of them were assailed and gash- 
 ed by their own comrades through mistake, while fighting in the
 
 11 
 
 darkness of the conflict. Nearly all made their escape, except 
 ihose who from their wounds were unable to flee. One was taken 
 upon a tree in Turkey Hills, east of the mountain, a few others 
 were found in swamps and barns in the neighboring towns. 
 
 A Committee was appointed by the Assembly then in session, to 
 repair to Newgate and inquire into the facts respecting the insur- 
 rection. They report the evidence in the case, some of which his 
 curious to notice in their own words. " Jacob Southwell was 
 awakened by the tumult, took a gun and run out of the guard- 
 house, and durst riot go back for fear they would hurt him. N. B. 
 A young man more Jit to carry Jish to market, than to keep guard at 
 Newgate." 
 
 " Nathan Phelps was also a sleep wak'd but could do nothing, 
 the prisoners having possession of the guard-house (a small lad just 
 fit to drive Plow with a very gentle Team.) He went to Mr. Vi- 
 ets' and stayed till morning (poor boy!)" 
 
 "Abagail, the wife of Jno. Young Alias Mattick, says that the 
 first night she came to the prison, she gave to her husband 52 silver 
 dollars her hushand told her after he came out that he had given 
 Sergt. Lilly 50 of them in order that he may sufler the prisoners 
 to escape that he told her the Sergt. purposely left the door of 
 the south jail unlocked that Sergt. Lilly was not hurt that she 
 borrowed the money of a pedlar that she heard Lilly say it was 
 a great pity such likely men should live and die in that place." 
 
 The following is too rich in orthography to be omitted. It is re- 
 corded as written in 1783. 
 
 " To the Hon. General assembly, The humble petishen of Able 
 Davis whare as at the honerable supene court houlden in Hart- 
 ford in December last I was confided of mis Deminer on the count 
 of lieu-gate being burnt as I had comand of said gard and was or- 
 ded to bee confind 3 month and pay fourteen pounds for disabaing 
 orders, I cant read riten. but I did all in my power to Distingus 
 the flame, but being very much frited and not the faculty to doe as 
 much in distress as I could another time and that is very smaul, 
 what to do I that it was best to let out the prisners that was in the 
 botams as I had but just time to get the gates lifted before the hous 
 was in flames, and the gard being frited it twant in my power to 
 scape them, I now pray to be Deflehaned from further in pris- 
 ment, and the const of said sute as I haute abel to pay the coust, or 
 give me the liberty of the yard as I am very unwell as your pitish- 
 ner in Duty bound will for ever pray. 
 
 ABEL DAVEIS. 
 
 Hartford Goal January 14th 1783. 
 
 The struggles at this prison to subdue toryism, were doubtless 
 .greater than at any other place in any of the Colonies.
 
 12 
 
 Few tories were ever afterwards kept there, as the cause of lib- 
 erty had now become so popular among all classes, that a person 
 seldom could be found imprudent enough to avow publicly, mo 
 narchial sentiments. 
 
 In 1781 Congress had applied to the Governor of Connecticut 
 for the use of Newgate as a prison for the reception of British 
 captives taken in war, but it appears that the negotiation did not 
 succeed. 
 
 The premises were at this time used by the State for the con- 
 finement of criminals, and they were kept chiefly at work in mak- 
 ing wrought nails. It was not until 1790, that it was established 
 permanently as a State prison. It is said to have been the design 
 to employ the convicts in working the mines, which for a while 
 was practised, but it was soon found that the convicts must neces- 
 sarily have for that work, precisely the right kind of tools for dig- 
 ging out, and they several times used them for that purpose ; this 
 reason with the consequent necessity of keeping so strong a guard 
 both day and night, finally induced them to abandon the employ- 
 ment. In that year, (1790) an act was passed constituting New- 
 gate a permanent prison, and providing for the erection jof the 
 necessary buildings. 
 
 A wooden palisade, mounted with iron spikes was constructed, 
 enclosing half an acre of ground, within which, work-shops and 
 other buildings were placed, and a deep trench was opened on the 
 western side. (The wooden enclosure remained until 1802, when 
 a strong wall was laid in its place, which is now standing.) A 
 brick building was erected in the centre of the yard for the offi- 
 cers and privates, in the rear part of which a stone apartment was 
 afterwards constructed directly over the mouth of the cavern, and 
 in this room the prisoners were occasionally kept. 
 
 Before proceeding further, it may be useful to describe the cav- 
 erns more particularly as being the prison cells, and also to relate 
 the general management and employments of the prisoners, &c. 
 The passage down the shaft into the caverns, is upon a ladder fast- 
 ened upon one side, and resting on the bottom. At the foot of this 
 passage commences a gradual descent for a considerable distance, 
 all around being solid massive rock or ore. The passages extend 
 many rods in different directions, some of them even leading under 
 the cellars of the dwellings in the neighborhood. In two of the 
 passages are wells of deep water, one of which measures eighty 
 feet they serve for a free circulation of air to the inmates of this 
 gloomy place, and were sometimes used for shafts through which 
 to lift the ore, when the business of mining was carried on. On 
 the sides and in the niches of the cavern, rooms were built of 
 boards for the prisoners, in which straw was placed for their beds.
 
 13 
 
 The horrid gloom of this dungeon can be realized only by those 
 who pass among its solitary windings. The impenetrable vastness 
 supporting the awful mass above, impending as if ready to crush 
 one to atoms, the dripping water trickling like tears from its 
 sides, the unearthly echoes responding to the voice, all conspire 
 to strike the beholder aghast with amazement and horror ! These 
 caverns and their precints, from their antiquity, and the dramas 
 which have been performed within and around, will long be con- 
 sidered as a classic place. The caverns have generally been ex- 
 tremelj^ayorable to the health and longevity of the occupants, 
 which is supposed to arise from some medical quality in the mine- 
 ral rock. 
 
 It is a curious fact, that many of the convicts having previously 
 taken the itch or other loathsome diseases while confined in the 
 county jails which were very filthy, on being for a few weeks kept 
 in the caverns at night, entirely recovered ; and it is perhaps still 
 more strange that those who came apparently in health, generally 
 had for a short time cutaneous eruptions which appeared to work 
 out of their blood. 
 
 A writer upon the subject observes, " From the various wind- 
 ings and other causes, it is not cold there, even in the severest weath- 
 er ; and strange as it may seem, it has been satisfactorily ascertain- 
 ed that the mercury ranged 8 degrees lower in the lodging apart- 
 ments of the prisoners in the warmest days of summer, than it 
 does in the coldest in the winter. This phenomenon is attributed 
 to the circumstance of the cavities in the rocks being stopped with 
 snow, ice and frost in the winter, which prevents so free a circula- 
 tion of air as is enjoyed in the summer. On the 18th of January, 
 1811, at eight o'clock, A. M. the mercury stood in the cavern at 
 52 degrees ; and in open air, as soon after as it was practicable for 
 a person to get up from the cavern, (which could not have exceed- 
 ed five minutes,) it fell to one degree below 0." Among the nu- 
 merous visitants at the prison an accident occurred which would 
 seem very dangerous. Mrs. Christia Grisvvold of Poquonock, 
 while standing at the mouth of the shaft leading down into the 
 cavern, accidentally stepped off, and fell the whole depth striking 
 on the rocky bottom. The buoyancy of her clothes or some oth- 
 er cause saved her life, though she received injuries from which 
 she never entirely recovered. A prisoner afterwards fell at the 
 same place, fetters and all, without appearing to injure him it is 
 said, in the least. 
 
 By some, this place has been compared to the ancient Bastile of 
 France, but the comparison is far from being correct, except in 
 the frightful emotions which this dungeon is calculated to inspire. 
 The floors and theroof of the Bastile were made of iron plates riv-
 
 14 
 
 eted upon iron bars. The walls were of stone and iron several 
 feet in thickness the whole being surrounded by walls, and a ditch 
 25 feet deep. The entrance to each cell was through three con- 
 secutive doors secured by double locks. The scanty food, and the 
 silent, unavailing grief endured by the wretched victims of that 
 dreadful abode, often reduced them to entire idiocy ; besides, they 
 were taken from those death-like cells each year, and subjected to 
 the horrible torture of the rack, which often dislocated their joints 
 or crushed their bones, and all this perhaps for merely uttering a 
 sentiment averse to some political party in power ! T^h^loldiers 
 and officers also of the Bastile, except the Governor, were prison- 
 ers in everything but in name. When they entered the walls of 
 that prison, it was for the term of their lives, and a wish expressed 
 even to go out, was instant death. Newgate, in every respect, 
 would bear no similitude to the Bastile. Indeed, the treatment of 
 the prisoners and of the guard was often too lenient, although for 
 disobedience, punishment was sometimes inflicted in the severest 
 manner. 
 
 A description of the daily management of Newgate will, at this 
 day no doubt, be useful. The hatches were opened and the pris- 
 oners called out of their dungeon each morning at daylight, and 
 three were ordered to "heave" up at a time; a guard followed the 
 three to their shops, placing them at their work, and chaining 
 those to the block whose tempers were thought to require it. All 
 were bro't out likewise in squads of three, and each followed by a 
 guard. To those who never saw the operation, their appearance 
 cannot be truly conceived, as they vaulted forth from the dungeon 
 in their blackness, their chains clanking at every step, and their 
 eyes flashing fire upon the bystanders around. It resembled, per- 
 haps more than any thing, the belching from the bottomless pit. 
 After awhile their rations for the day were carried to them in their 
 several shops. They consisted for one day of one pound of beef 
 or three-fourths of a pound of pork, one pound of bread, one 
 bushel of potatoes for each fifty rations, and one pint of cider to 
 every man. Each one divided his own rations for the day to suit 
 himself some cooked over their own mess in a small kettle at 
 their leisure, while others, disregarding ceremonies, seized their 
 allowance and ate it on an anvil or block. The scene was really 
 graphic, and might remind one of a motley company of foreign em- 
 grants on the deck of a canal-boat, during their journey to the 
 " far West." They were allowed to swap rations, exchange com- 
 modities, barter, buy and sell, at their pleasure. Some would swap 
 their rations for cider, and often would get so tipsy they could not 
 work, and would "reel to and fro like a drunken man." Old 
 Guinea was frequently commissioned by them to go abroad and
 
 15 
 
 purchase the " good creature" for them, and would often return 
 laden with two or three gallons. Sometimes, by taking his pay out 
 of the cargo on the road rather freely, his ship would get becalm- 
 ed, when he would cast anchor by the way side for the night, mak- 
 ing the consignees doubly glad upon his safe arrival " in the beau- 
 tiful morning," All were allowed to work for themselves or oth- 
 ers after their daily tasks were finished, and in that way some of 
 them actually laid up considerable sums of money. During the 
 day the guard were changed once in two hours, at the sound of the 
 horn, and in the night a guard entered the caverns every two 
 hours and counted the prisoners. The punishments inflicted for 
 offences and neglect of duty were severe flogging, confinement in 
 stocks in the dungeon, being fed on bread and water during the 
 time, double or treble setts of irons, hanging by the heels, &c. 
 all tending to inflame their revenge and hatred, and seldom were 
 appeals made to their reason or better feelings. From thirty to 
 one hundred were placed together through the night, solitary lodg- 
 ing being regarded asa punishment, ratherthan a blessing to them, 
 as at this day. 
 
 Their employment consisted in making nails, barrels, shoe?, 
 wagons, doing job-work, farming, and working on the tread-mill. 
 
 The following is a relation of some of the Anecdotes, Escapes, 
 and Insurrections, which have occurred at various periods in New- 
 gate prison, which may be relied upon as being in the main, cor- 
 rect. 
 
 In November, 1794, a convict by the name of Newel escaped 
 from the prison by digging out. It was the practice at that time 
 to allow the prisoners the choice of lodging in the stone cellar un- 
 der the guard-room, (generally known by the name of the stone 
 jug,) or of going from thence down into the caverns. During the 
 night a noise below was heard by the guard, and some of them 
 went down among the prisoners to learn the cause, but could dis- 
 cover nothing out of place. In the morning on counting them, as 
 was customary, one was discovered to be missing. It was found 
 that the prisoners, in some unaccountable manner, had contrived 
 to loosen and pull out one of the large cubic stones on the bottom 
 of the cellar. Through the aperture thus made, they hauled out 
 the earth, pouring it down the shaft, and incredible as it may 
 seem, they dug a hole through gravel, earth arid stones, under the 
 floor and wall large enough for a man to crawl out ! It appears 
 that when the guard went down among them in the night, the 
 prisoners could hear their arrangements for descending, and in- 
 stantly replaced the stone and prevented a discovery of their ope- 
 rations. Newel, being a very small man, had succeeded in iiiuk- 
 ing his escape first ; he was never afterwards retaken.
 
 16 
 
 In the year 1802 the prisoners rose upon the guard. The com- 
 mander, Col. Thomas Sheldon was then sick, and soon after died ; 
 all the officers and guard were sick also, except Mr. Dan Forward, 
 a private. With occasional assistance of people in the neighbor- 
 hood, the entire charge of the prisoners, at that time amounting to 
 between thirty arid forty, devolved upon him. They had heard 
 that many of the officers and privates were sick, and observing 
 that one man performed nearly the whole duty their suspicions 
 were confirmed, and their plot strengthened. It is not certain 
 whether there was a fair understanding among them if there 
 was, their courage most miserably failed. While they were pass- 
 ing down into their caverns at the close of the day as usual, and 
 when nearly all of them were going down the ladder,those who re- 
 mained refused to proceed, and began an attack upon Forward who 
 was standing near. He was a robust, stout fellow, over six feet 
 high, and always ready for any contest ; and instead of retreating, 
 he returned their compliments, taking one by the neck and anoth- 
 er by the heels, and dashing them down into the shaft upon the 
 rest who had now begun to come up. The neighbors hearing a 
 scuffle at the prison ran over to his assistance ; but their aid was 
 unnecessary, as Forward had vanquished his foes and turned their 
 course into the dungeon. It is very likely that all could have es- 
 caped if Forward had betrayed the least sign of fear, or had resor- 
 ted to persuasion. At this time a very contagious fever raged at 
 the prison and soon began to spread among the convicts. It was 
 without doubt owing to the filth in and around the prison, and to 
 the want and care and attention to their cleanliness and comfort. 
 The disease was so virulent that in order to arrest its progress, a 
 barn was engaged of Capt. Roswell Phelps, into which they were 
 to be removed people in the vicinity were employed to take 
 care of the sick and perform the duties of guard ; but all the pris- 
 oners except three Irishmen being sick, it was found impractica- 
 ble to remove them, and after some weeks the disease abated. 
 None of the prisoners, however, died, and no other instance of a 
 general contagion among them ever afterwards occurred. 
 
 In 1806, on the 1st of November, a rebellion occurred which for 
 its results deserves notice. About thirty prisoners in the nail shop 
 had procured keys made from the pewter buttons on their clothes, 
 and with those keys they were to unlock their fetters. It was 
 agreed that one of their number should strike a shovel across a 
 chimney, and that was to be the signal for them all to unlock fet- 
 ters, and commence an attack upon the guard, to wrest their weap- 
 ons from them and use them to the best advantage. The signal 
 was given their fetters were unlocked, and two of their number 
 began the attack. Aaron Goomer a negro, and another, seized
 
 17 
 
 an officer by name of Smith, who not having time to draw his 
 sword struck upon them with scabbard and all, and while the scuf- 
 fle was going on, a guard named Roe, ran to the spot with his 
 musket, and levelling it at Goomer, shot him dead on the spot 
 two balls passed through his head his hair was singed, and his 
 brains scattered around the shop. His comrade seeing his fate, 
 returned to his post. The courage of the rest "oozed out at their 
 fingers ends," for not one of them dared to stir from their places, 
 although their shackles were unfastened. Had a well concerted 
 attack been made and sustained by the rebels at this moment, they 
 would have commanded the prison in five minutes, and could have 
 put to death every officer and private in their quarters. 
 
 Three brothers by the name of Barnes, natives of North Haven, 
 were imprisoned together for the crime of burglary, in 1803. 
 These were the most active and the finest looking men in the pris 
 on. They were very ingenious and adroit, and would construct 
 almost any mechanism required of them these were the fellows 
 who planned the insurrection before spoken of, and they made the 
 pewter keys for unlocking the fetters. They were experienced in 
 making keys, and could once, it is said, open any store in New 
 Haven; but their ingenuity at length brought them to an unfortu- 
 nate place. 
 
 The fact is surprising that the same three committed the same 
 offence again, and were convicted and imprisoned again just three 
 years after ! These brothers were regarded by the officers as ex- 
 tremely dangerous, and for various offences in the prison, they were 
 kept bound with two setts of fetters during the day, and also chain- 
 ed to the block, besides being sometimes chained by their necks 
 to a beam over head, and at night they were put into the dungeons 
 and their feet made fast in stocks. 
 
 One of the convicts named Parker, had been famous for coun- 
 terfeiting the character of priest. He had been known to have 
 many violent attacks of pretended piety, generally appropriating 
 to himself the name and office of an unordained minister a part 
 which he managed with a great deal of dexterity, and commonly 
 without suspicion on the part of his "dear hearers" that he was an 
 imposter. His exortations had been terrible to all stoncy hearts, 
 and where his preaching lacked mental light or logic, he always 
 had ready supply of bombast and bodily contortions. 
 
 Another game it is said he performed to admiration. When he 
 could hear of the absence of a long lost friend in a family, he 
 would appear and claim the identical relationship himself, and act 
 all the tragedy or romantic pathos of a joyful return. 
 
 In one instance he claimed to be the husband of a disconsolate 
 widow, and was received by her with all the attachment supposa- 
 
 3
 
 18 
 
 ble at such a happy reunion. How long her paramour managed 
 to cajole her is not certainly stated, but he doubtless appropriated 
 to his own condition the sentiment that "absence tightens the 
 chords which unite friends and lovers." 
 
 How astonishing such adroitness! to be preacher and "steal the 
 livery of Heaven to serve the devil in" to be brother, son, or 
 husband, and appearing more natural so to speak, in a fictitious 
 garb, than in his real character. When his term of service expir- 
 ed, and as he was passing out of the prison gate, one of the con- 
 victs exclaimed " wo to the inhabitants of the earth, for the devil 
 has gone out among them." 
 
 Prince Mortimer, a prisoner lived to a very advanced age. 
 He died at the prison in Wethersfield, in 1834, supposed to be ] 10 
 years old; he commonly went by the name of Guinea, which was 
 probably given to him on account of his native country. His com- 
 plexion did not in the least belie his name, for surely he was the 
 personification of "darkness visible." His life was a tale of mis- 
 fortunes, and his fate won the commiseration of all who knew him. 
 He was captured on the coast of Guinea by a slaver when a boy 
 was transported in a filty slave ship to Connecticut, then a slave 
 colony, and was sold to one of the Mortimer family in Middletown. 
 He was a servant to different officers in the Revolutionary war 
 had been sent on errands by General Washington, and said he had 
 'straddled many a cannon when fired by the Americans at 
 the British troops." For the alledged crime of poisoning his 
 master he was doomed to Newgate prison in 1811 for life. He 
 appeared a harmless, clever old man, and as his age and infirmi- 
 ties rendered him a burden to the keepers, they frequently tried to 
 induce him to quit the prison. Once he took his departure, and af- 
 ter rambling around in search of some one he formerly knew, like the 
 aged prisoner released from the Bastile, he returned to the gates 
 of the prison, and begged to be re-admitted to his dungeon home, 
 and in prison ended his unhappy years ! 
 
 Samuel Smith alias Samuel Corson, a native of New Hampshire, 
 while confined at Newgate for passing counterfeit money, wrote 
 an account of his own life which was published in 1826. He stated 
 many queer circumstances about himself and the various paths of 
 crime which he had followed through life. It appears he had been 
 a recruiting officer in the service and was stationed at Plattsburg, 
 N. Y. One of his pranks is worthy of being recorded in his own 
 words. 
 
 "One evening, I together with a number of other non-commis- 
 sioned officers, took a walk down town for our amusement, and on 
 our return home, I saw by a light through the window of a Mr. 
 I's house, something laying very carefully rolled up, on a table, un-
 
 19 
 
 tier the window. I also perceived that there was no person in the 
 room. I now thinking to get something rare and fresh, in order 
 for our suppers, lifted up the window, and on putting my hand in, 
 felt by its ribs and size, enough to convince me that it was a good 
 roaster, and I of course made it a lawful prize. Putting it under 
 my coat, I said nothing about it to my comrades, until our arrival 
 at my quarters, where I had invited them to accept of some refresh- 
 ment. After striking a light and introducing a good bottle of 
 Brandy, I thought it the most convenient time to uncover my 
 booty, in order to satisfy our craving appetites. At this moment, 
 all eyes were gazing at the mysterious prize, when lo ! to my ut- 
 ter surprise and astonishment, it had turned from a roaster to a 
 colored child. You can hardly imagine dear readers, what were 
 my feelings at this critical moment, not only from exposition 
 among my fellow officers, nor disappointment in my intended and 
 contemplated supper, but also, in the thoughts of robbing some 
 unhappy parents of their darling child. I need not add, that they 
 had a hearty fit of laughter, at my expense, whilst my wits were 
 all to work in order to devise some manner of getting out of the 
 hobble, and restoring the infant undiscovered, to its proper own- 
 ers. This I thought best to do, by returning it immediately to Mr. 
 I's, and in order to accomplish this, I took it again under my coat 
 and repaired to the main guard, to obtain liberty to return to the 
 village. On asking Lieutenant Ellison (who was officer of the 
 guard) he discovered something white hanging below my coat, and 
 insisted on knowing what it was; when I had of course to reveal 
 the whole secret to him ; he also laughed heartily and told me to 
 go on. When I returned to Mr. I's, the house was filled with both 
 men and women, who, having missed the child, did not know what 
 to think of its mysterious flight. I had at first thought of leaving 
 it at the door, but fearing the numerous hogs in the vicinity would 
 destroy it, I altered my mind, and taking it by the heels, threw it 
 into the room among them. At this crisis, how must they have 
 felt, to see it re-appear amongst them, and feeling at the same 
 time, the effects of innumerable particles of glass, which flew in 
 all directions over the room. Their screams were indiscribable 
 by which, in a few moments, not only the house, but the street was 
 filled with astonished spectators ; all anxious to know what was 
 the matter. On my return home, I met many repairing for the 
 house, and on some of them enquiring what was the matter up the 
 street, I told them that I believed there was a crazy man in the 
 house of Mr. I. On arriving at the barracks all was still, and I 
 heard nothing more respecting it for some days." 
 
 A convict, by the name of Newman, was a noted prison breaker. 
 Although he perhaps could not boast of unlocking, scaling, and
 
 20 
 
 digging out of so many prisons as the famous Stephen Burrows, 
 yet his character, as it was written, compared very well. He es- 
 caped in various ways from several prisons in Canada and the Uni- 
 ted States, but this one he said, " was the hardest and most secure 
 prison Fie ever entered." However, he contrived several plans for 
 escaping; once he feigned himself to be dead. He was accor- 
 dingly laid out as a corpse, and preparations made for his inter- 
 ment; but before finding his carcase firmly under ground, he con- 
 cluded it best to have his resurrection, and at length ventured to 
 disclose to his attendants the important fact, that he would feel 
 quite as comfortable in his long home if he could only get the 
 breath out of his body and make his heart stop beating. He of- 
 ten pretended to have fits, requiring medical aid, and what 
 was of more consequence, the aid of a little Brandy or Madeira. 
 He was finally cured of these tricks with the threat of having the 
 brand of Rogue set on his forehead. 
 
 It was frequently customary for farmers and others in the neigh- 
 borhood to employ the prisoners in their fields, being accompan- 
 ied at such times by some of the guard. They also performed a 
 great amount of labor in quarrying stone for the prison buildings 
 and other uses. Six of them on one occasion were sent out a short 
 distance to quarry stone, in charge of one officer and two privates 
 With no fetters, and a fair field before them, they perceived the 
 chance a good one for escape. Their plan was to get their keep- 
 ers near together to employ their attention about some trifle and 
 quickly seize their arms. Accordingly they persuaded their keep- 
 ers to peel off some birch bark and make some caps for them, and 
 while the cap business was going on, and the attention of the cap 
 makers was occupied in their vocation, their weapons were seized 
 in an instant the refugees dividing the spoils and forming them- 
 selves into squads, quickly scampered over the hills. The forlorn 
 guards retreated to the prison told their sad tale to the Captain, 
 and at once received their discharge. The prisoners were all re- 
 taken some in the western part of the State for stealing; the 
 others stole a boat in Connecticut river, and steering down the 
 stream leisurely, were captured in East Hartford meadows. 
 
 The wit of some of the convicts is well illustrated in an anec- 
 dote of one of them, an Irishman, named Dublin. He was at his 
 work making nails, when at one time Maj. Humphrey who then 
 commanded came along, and says to him, "Dublin, your nails are 
 defective the heads are not made alike." "Ah, "said he, "Ma- 
 jor, if our heads had all been made alike, faith, I should not have 
 been caught here." 
 
 Dublin afterwards tried to escape by leaping over the paling. 
 He succeeded in getting upon the top, and in leaping down one of
 
 21 
 
 he iron spikes with which the enclosure was mounted, caught in 
 bis fetters and turned him as he said "tother end up.'* For some 
 time he hung suspended head downwards between heaven and 
 earth, 17 feet high, until at last after tearing off his finger ends and 
 nails in his struggles, he turned himself back sufficiently to disen- 
 tangle his feet, when he fell to the ground and soon scampered 
 among the swamps and bushes. There he remained until aroused 
 by the unwelcome calls of his stomach, when he ventured out in 
 the night, and opening a window in the neighborhood he appro- 
 priated to himself a good loaf of bread and a cheese, and again hid 
 himself for two days. In trying to break his fetters with a stone 
 he was overheard by one of the guard, Michael Holcomb, who 
 called to him "Dublin what are you doing?" "I am driving the 
 sheep out of my pasture," said he. "But Dublin you must come 
 along with me." " Faith rnisthur Holcomb, surely this is not me," 
 replied Dublin. He was taken to the prison where Holcomb re- 
 ceived the reward of 810 which had been offered. 
 
 In the spring of 1822, there was an insurrection of a very seri- 
 ous character. In the fall before between thirty and forty crim- 
 inals were added to the number in the prison, and this reinforce- 
 ment was composed principally of the roughest and hardest char- 
 acters. Their terms of sentence were mostly long which served 
 to fire them with desperation. The same fall a plot was set on 
 foot by them for an outbreak, but it was discovered and defeated. 
 The next spring they perfected their plans of operation in a most 
 masterly manner. The insurgents comprised the whole number in 
 the prison amounting to 130. Their force was stronger than ever 
 before, and the number of guard less, being at the time only 17. 
 The captain (Tuller) was absent through the night, also one ser- 
 geant, one private, and the cook. The intention of the rebels was 
 to rise in all the shops, en masse, at a given signal to knock 
 down the officers, take their weapons, and get possession of 
 the guard house where the arms were kept, and then to take 
 the sole command of the works. The signal was given in the nail 
 shop by a blow from a shovel, and officer Roe was instantly knock- 
 ed down senseless with a bar of iron they seized his cutlass and 
 then attacked a guard, but so many being engaged upon him at 
 once, pulling different ways, that they did not succeed in getting 
 his musket. Officer Case in the meantime stationed a sentinel, at 
 the door of the guard-room, with a loaded musket and bayonet 
 charged, which being noticed by the prisoners in the other shops, 
 prevented their advancing to the attack, and seemed to dishearten 
 them at once. The bold rebels in the nail shop kept up the strug- 
 gle, and sledges, spikes, and other missiles flew in all directions, 
 and confusion and uproar reigned throughout. At this critical mo-
 
 22 
 
 ment officer Griswold arrived at the prison, and proceeded direct- 
 ly to the scuffle at the musket he drew his pistol, fired upon and 
 wounded a prisoner. Roe by this time had come to his senses ; 
 he arose from the ground and shot another, when presently sever- 
 al guard presented their cocked muskets* which immediately 
 quelled the assailants. The general cry of the prisoners was now 
 for quarters " Spare us ! don't kill us ! don't kill us !". The 
 captain soon after arrived and bound the ringleaders in double 
 irons. 
 
 Ephraim Shaylor, one of the guard, was sent oat to accompany 
 two prisoners, an Indian and a white man, about 1 > miles from 
 the prison where they were employed in reaping. At the close of 
 the day, on their return, the prisoners requested permission to 
 gather some apples and carry them home, to which Shaylor con- 
 sented ; he also was engaged in picking them up when they sprang 
 upon his back, crushed him down, and secured his weapons a- 
 cutlass and fowling piece. One of them took a large stone and 
 was about to smash out his brains, but the other dissented, and 
 they concluded best to take him to a copse of bushes near by and 
 there dispatch him. One followed at his back holding him by 
 his sword belt with cutlass in hand, and the other marched at a 
 respectable distance, with musket charged in true military style, 
 and onward they marched towards the fatal spot. Our hero now 
 concluded that his final hour had come, and thought if he must 
 die, there might be at least a choice in the mode; and considering 
 that a shot in the back at such a crisis would be no dishonor, on a 
 sudden he slipped the belt jover his head and made for the prison, 
 while the victors were disputing between themselves which should 
 take the musket and fire upon him, Shaylor reached the prison 
 in safety, rallied several others and pursued them, but they were 
 not to be found. 
 
 After their victory, it appears that the Indian proposed to the 
 white man to break each others fetters, to which the other agreed, 
 and after those of the Indian were broken, the crafty fiar took 
 speedy leave of his comrade without reciprocating the favor, thus 
 proving that the old adage in this instance is not true, " there is 
 honor among -rogues." The white man secreted himself in the 
 mountains through the day, and at night went to a blacksmith's shop 
 in Suffield, and with a chisel cut off bis fetters. Both were after- 
 wards taken for crime and recommitted to Newgate, where their 
 condition and that of their enemy as victor and vanquished was 
 strangely reversed, and Shaylor had an opportunity of enjoying 
 his right of laying upon their bare backs, a few keen lashes. 
 
 Mr. Shaylor afterwards held a commission in the army, was
 
 23 
 
 engaged in the battle of Bridgewater, and was wounded he now 
 draws a pension and is a respected citizen of Green Bay, Mich. 
 
 A Thief by name of James Smith, a native of Groton, Conn., 
 was imprisoned for horse-stealing, in 1822, for the term of six 
 years. He had been a great counterfeiter, and circumstances 
 which have recently come to light are evidence that he had been 
 a barbarous Pirate. The piratical crew had sailed in a French 
 vessel, and after obtaining much plunder, fearing to enter any port 
 without regular papers, they sunk their vessel on the coast of 
 North Carolina, carried their specie in three boats and buried it 
 all except one large trunk full, on the beach in Currituck County. 
 In corroboration of the above it appears that while he was a pris- 
 oner in Newgate, he offered David Foster, a guard, $200 if he 
 would assist him to escape, telling him he had a great quantity of 
 specie buried on the coast of North Carolina. Foster refused but 
 promised to say nothing about it this he testified in court when 
 afterwards called upon as a witness. Smith in a few months after- 
 wards escaped from prison, and as was supposed, by bribery. 
 
 The following respecting him is related by Mr. Benjamin Tay- 
 lor a planter now living in North Carolina. Smith and seven or 
 eight others came to his house in the year 1822, and hired of him 
 a room ; they employed him with four of his slaves to cross Cur- 
 rituck Sound, and obtained a large trunk, very heavy, and return- 
 ed to his house where they all remained about one week. While 
 there he saw them divide a large sum of specie among themselves, 
 and Smith appearing to be at their head took the largest sum 
 they were arrested on suspicion of being robbers, but for want of 
 sufficient evidence discharged. They all then left for Norfolk, 
 Va., except Smith, who remained several weeks, during this 
 time he appeared at times deranged, would talk to himself, and 
 told the servants that he "had made many a man walk the plank 
 overboard." He then went to the north and was imprisoned at 
 Newgate for stealing a horse. After his escape from prison as above 
 stated, he returned to the house of Mr. Taylor and staid about 
 one week while there he employed several men in digging on 
 the beach. Their search was fruitless, for the storms and waves 
 had dashed upon the beach too long, and it is supposed swept the 
 treasures into the ocean. He then went away to some place un- 
 known to Mr. Taylor. It now appears from the prison records, 
 that he came to Connecticut where he was taken and again sen- 
 tenced for twenty-three years on four indictments for horse-steal- 
 ing. His last home on earth was the prison, and there he died 
 in 1836. 
 
 The last tragedy developed at Newgate, took place on the night 
 previous to the removal to Wethersfield. Abel N. Starkey an in- 
 3
 
 24 
 
 genious criminal was the victim. He was a native of Roxbury, 
 Mass. was committed in 1824 for 20 years, for the crime of 
 making counterfeit money. By his ingenuity and industry at the 
 prison he had amassed $100 in cash. On the night of September 
 28th, 1827, he requested permission to lodge in the dungeon, which 
 was granted to him. From some cause which has never been 
 explained, the hatch which covered one of the wells communica- 
 ting with the cavern, was unfastened. During the night he laid 
 hold of the well rope and ascended upon it part of the way up, 
 when it broke and precipitated him into the water and a bucket 
 fell upon his head, the noise was heard above, and he was found 
 dead. His feet were tied together with a handkerchief for the pur- 
 pose, as is supposed of assisting him in climbing the rope. Only 
 $50 were found in his possession ; the balance was probably the 
 price paid for unfastening the hatch. 
 
 It would seem that Newgate prison in the course of its duration, 
 had contained all which was various in character, determined in 
 crime and deep in degradation. It compassed all ages from 
 boyhood to extreme old age ; both sexes, colors, and different oc- 
 cupations students from college, and others unable to read or 
 write. Those skilled in Phrenology might have had a rich treat 
 in exploring the bumps on some of those hard heads, and the solving 
 of their characteristics would have afforded amusement and perhaps 
 instruction. 
 
 Seriously, it is difficult to account for the wayward inclination 
 of some of them, especially those who were imprisoned a number 
 of times and for the same kind of offence each term, unless it can 
 be accounted for on phrenological principles. It may be said to 
 indicate only a depraved heart, but a depraved heart must have a 
 strange kind of head to run repeatedly into the same crime and get 
 back to the same prison. But I leave it to those who understand 
 the science to defend the ground, presuming that the truth of their 
 cause will insure them a triunphant issue. 
 
 When the number and difference of characters kept in that pris- 
 on is considered, and the treatment which they received is appre- 
 ciated, it will at once be seen how unaviling the system must have 
 been for their security or their reformation. The custom of fas- 
 tening their feet to bars of iron to which chains were attached from 
 their necks, chaining them to the block, and likewise to a beam 
 above, while at their work, scourging their bodies like beasts, &c. 
 taught them to look upon themselves in a measure as they were 
 looked upon by others, objects of dread and possessing characters 
 more like fiends than men. With such treatment, reformation must 
 have been, and was entirely out of the question. The system was 
 very well suited to make men into devils, but it could never make
 
 25 
 
 devils into men. Instead of putting them in cells separate at night 
 where they might have opportunity for reflection, they were suf- 
 fered to congregate together, good and bad, young and old, to 
 brew mischief, and to teach new vices to those unpractised. Their 
 midnight revels as may be supposed, were often like the howling 
 inn pandemonium of tigers, banishing sleep and forbidding rest. 
 
 It is not desired that these remarks, however, should be constru- 
 ed as imputing blame to the officers or guard of the prison far 
 from it. Although they were many times in fault, still as the pris- 
 on was constructed, and in the way that service was required of 
 them, it was impossible to preserve that degree of order and disci- 
 pline so essential to success. They had no approved system of 
 prison discipline to study, no correct views of punishment connec- 
 ted with reformation were at that day generally known, and but 
 few branches of business were thought of, which would yield a 
 fair compensation and save the State frorr. cost. 
 
 The old prison buildings, with five acres of land, were sold to 
 a company in New York, for $1200 dollars a sum probably far 
 below their real value. A few years since, this company again 
 commenced working the mines. They expended many thousands 
 of dollars in beginning extensive levels, building furnace?, and in a 
 steam engine to facilitate their operations. They also raised a 
 considerable quantity of ore, some of which they smelted at their 
 works, and some was sent to England. But owing to a reverse in 
 business affairs and to the want of skill in those employed, the busi- 
 ness was for the time again abandoned. The ore is said by ex- 
 perienced judges to be of excellent quality, yielding from 10 to 15 
 per cent, of pure copper, and samples of it have been assryed 
 which yielded 40 per cent., while the mines of England are work- 
 ed profitably which yield 4 to 7 per cent, of copper. One thing is 
 quite certain the work has been carried on by a variety of 
 labor, by slares, by free labor, by private individuals, and by 
 chartered companies and which of the kinds has succeeded best 
 is left to the operators to decide. Too much time and money 
 have now been expended in those mines to justify their abandon- 
 ment, and it is hoped that a thorough trial will yet be made by 
 those who are not deficient in capital and energy, upon their pro- 
 ductiveness, and the question forever settled as to their intrinsic 
 value.
 
 26 
 
 SONG, 
 
 Composed by DR. BUCK, and sung on the occasion of completing the 
 walls of Newgate Prison. 
 
 Attend, all ye villains, that live in the State, 
 , Consider the walls that encircle Newgate ; 
 
 Your place of abode, if justice were done, 
 The Assembly in Wisdom, when they did behold 
 The first wooden pickets, grown ruined and old, 
 They granted a sum to the wise Overseers, 
 Which, amply sufficient to make the repairs, 
 And they did decide to repair with hewn stone. 
 
 In the year one thousand eight hundred and two, 
 
 A party collected, to split and to hew, 
 Their names in my song, shall last with the wall ; 
 First Lieutenant Barber the job undertakes, 
 Beneath his strong labor, old copper-hill shakes, 
 With his workmen in order, the stone for to square, 
 And others strong burdens with cheerfulness bear, 
 
 While each one delights to attend to his call. 
 
 The next in the column is sage Pettibone, 
 Whose skill in the work is exceeded by none. 
 
 To handle the gavel, or poise the great maul, 
 With him senior Jared an equal part bears, 
 And in the hard labor he equally shares ; 
 While Gillett, and Holcomb, and Cosset appear 
 And Hillyer, all anxious the fabric to rear, 
 
 To lay the foundation to strengthen the Wall. 
 
 Bold Harrington, Goddard, and Lieutenant Reed, 
 Each lend their assistance the work to proceed, 
 
 Perhaps there are others, whose names I don't call, 
 With hammers, and chizzels, and crowbars, and gads, 
 And Wanyax, with other poor prisoner lads, 
 To hand up the mortar, or carry the hod ; 
 Which may, to some strangers appear very odd, 
 To think the poor culprits help build their own Wall. 
 
 November the tenth, for the good of the State, 
 They finished the wall and completed the gate, 
 Which for numerous years may awing and not fell. 
 
 Then each one returns to his sweetheart or wife, 
 With plenty of cash to support them in life ; 
 With joy and with gladness for what they had done, 
 In hewing and squaring, and laying the stone, 
 
 Not wholly unmindful of building the Wall.
 
 27 
 
 Now here 'B to the Landlord, beforethat we go, 
 We wish him success, and his lady also 
 
 For their kind assistance to great and to small, 
 For the benefit had from his plentiful bar; 
 And the free intercourse which produces no jar, 
 To him and his neighbors, and every good man, 
 Who always we 've wanted to lend us a hand 
 
 To drive on the work, and finish the Wall. 
 
 Now last, to the prisoners, we make this remark, 
 Who are left to the keeping of Commodore Clark 
 
 It may be of service, to one and to all, 
 Repine not too much, though your lot may seem hard, 
 You've a judicious keeper, and well-disposed guard ; 
 If you behav well you have nothing to dread 
 You 've beef, pork, and sauce, and a plenty of bread, 
 
 So behave well, and get the outside of the Wall. 
 
 Some of the prisoners were made to assist in building the wall, 
 and it appears that they were permitted to participate in the jolli- 
 fication after it was completed. An Irish prisoner, named Patrick, 
 offered upon the occasion the following toast : 
 
 " Hert 's to Lieut. Barber's great wall May it be like the walls 
 of Jericho, and ' tumble down at the sound of the rani's horn.' ' 
 
 The toast given by Dublin was equally sarcastic, viz : 
 
 " Here 's health to the Captain and all the rest of the prisoners." 
 
 The present State Prison, of Connecticut, situated on the margin 
 of a beautiful cove in the town of Wethersfield, is considered by 
 all as a penitentiary of the first order. Its location, its construc- 
 tion, its management and discipline have won the admiration of 
 every State in the Union. It has proved to the world, that crimi- 
 nal punishment can be made a safeguard to society, a reward to 
 the honesty and industry of a people, and also a benefit to the 
 moral and physical condition of the criminals. The prison limits 
 comprise about one acre of ground, which is enclosed by a wall of 
 hard sand stone, 18 feet high, 3 feet thick at its base, and inclining 
 to 1 \ feet at the top. Within, and adjoining tliia wall, are build- 
 ings of the eame material, for work-shops and cells. In the yard 
 i a cistern under ground, containing 100 hogsheads of water, and 
 a fire engine is attached to the premises. A steam engine of 20 
 horse power, is connected with the shops for propelling machinery 
 necessary to carry on the various branches of business. In one 
 apartment is a place where the convicts are allowed to bathe at 
 suitable seasons of the year. A portion of the cell building is 
 whitewashed each day, which purifies the air, and gives to the 
 lodging apartments an appearance of neatness ; each one enjoys
 
 28 
 
 that blessing of punishment, a separate cell at night, and no one is 
 allowed through the day to look at any visitor, or to catch the (fye 
 of his fellow, but all are intent on the business before them. The 
 whole cost of the establishment, including 17 acres of land, and in 
 eluding all the improvements to the present time, is $56,908 36 
 
 The numbei ol male convicts, April 1st, 1844, was 170 
 " female, " " 22 
 
 Total, 192 
 
 The males are employed in making and finishing Chairs, Table 
 
 Cutlery, Rules and Shoes. 
 
 The females in making Chair-seats, reeling Silk, Cooking and 
 
 Washing, and Mending Clothes. 
 
 Daily routine of duty performed at the Connecticut State Prison by 
 
 its officers. 
 
 At daylight the bell is rung for the officers, who immediately re- 
 pair to the guard-room. When it is sufficiently light, the Deputy 
 Warden gives the signal for manning the walls, and the Overseers 
 take their keys, go to their several divisions, and again wait the 
 signal, when they unlock, and march their men, with the lock step, to 
 their respective shops. The convicts immediately commence work, 
 and also begin at a given point in the shop to wash, which each 
 man docs in regular order before the breakfast hour. 
 
 O 
 
 At 7 o'clock the bell is rung for breakfast, the convicts stop 
 work, form into a line in their shops, and wait the signal of the bell, 
 tvhen they are marched into the prison yard, and form a line in 
 front of their buckets. At the word right, each man turns to the 
 right; the word up is given, and each man takes his bucket upon 
 his left arm, when they form into sections in close order, as march- 
 ed from the shops ; and at the word forward, they march in the 
 same manner to the hall, where they are seated to hear the read- 
 ing of the Bible and attend prayers. From thence they are march- 
 ed around the cells, take their kids containing their breakfast as 
 they pass the kitchen, and are immediately locked up. Each 
 officer then reports the number of men in his charge to the deputy 
 Warden, who, finding it right, gives the signal of "all's well ;" 
 the Watchmen leave the wall and repair to the guard-room ; all 
 the officers then go. to their meal, except one in the hall, and one 
 in the guard-room, who are relieved in turn. 
 
 From half to three quarters of an hour is allowed, when they 
 are again, as above, marched to their work, and there remain till 
 12 o'clock ; the signal is again given, they are again marched up-
 
 29 
 
 on a line, and in the same manner marched into and around the 
 hall, the same as at breakfast, with the exception of " service." 
 Time allowed for dinner, one hour. At one o'clock they are again 
 marched to their shops, and work till six P. M., when they again 
 form a line in front of their buckets ; when the word is given, "one 
 pace in the rear, march," each convict steps one pace back, when 
 the officer having charge of each division commences searching, 
 by passing his hands over the arms, body, and legs of the prison- 
 er, and as each man is searched he steps to the front. When all are 
 again in aline, the word is given touncover, and each convict takes 
 the cover from his night bucket ; the officers pass and examine 
 them; the words, cover right up forward; and they march 
 to the hall, attend prayers, and to their cells, as in the morning. 
 The officer then in the hall lights up, examines each lock and 
 door, recounts the convicts, and reports the number to the Warden 
 or Deputy Warden. At half past 7 the signal is given, and each 
 convict retires to his bed ; the officer again examines the doors, 
 sees that all are abed, and is then relieved by the Overseer, taking 
 the first tour, which continues from half past 7 to 11 o'clock. He 
 is then relieved by a Watchman, who takes what is called the mid- 
 dle tour, from 11 o'clock to half past 2; the Watchman taking the 
 morning tour, or from half past 2 till light, relieves him. The 
 above officers are required, while doing duty to be constantly on 
 their feet, marching around the cells and upon the galleries to see 
 that all is quiet and in good order. If any sickness or disorder 
 takes place, he calls the watchman who acquaintance the Warden 
 or Deputy Warden who immediately repair to the hall, and take the 
 necessary measures for relief of the sick or the suppression of dis- 
 order. 
 
 Duties of the subordinate officers. 
 
 Deputy Warden takes the principal charge of the internal af- 
 fairs, under the direction of the Warden ; spends the whole day in 
 visiting the several shops and departments; sees that every officer 
 performs his duty ; attends to the wants and complaints of the 
 convicts ; and has a constant supervision of all the internal opera- 
 tions. 
 
 The Clerk assists the Warden in keeping the books and other 
 writing ; attends generally to the transportation of convicts from 
 the county gaols ; and when not thus engaged, performs such other 
 duties as is required of him by the Warden or Deputy Warden. 
 
 The Overseers. After performing the duty of marching the 
 convicts as above described, to their shops, it is the duty of the 
 Overseers to remain constantly in their shops and with their men. 
 They are not allowed to sit down, but must not only remain on 
 their feet, but also exercise the utmost vigilance in seeing that
 
 30 
 
 their men work diligently, in order and silence. In case of sick- 
 ness or disobedience,' they are required to send immediately for the 
 Warden or his Deputy ; they also report in writing, before nine 
 o'clock, A. M., all who express a wish to see the Physician. 
 
 The Matron and her Assistant have the charge of the Female 
 Department, of convicts. Those employed in the cooking are un- 
 locked by the Matron at 4 o'clock A. M., all seasons of the year, 
 and are employed in cooking and washing, under the constant and 
 immediate supervision and direction of the Matron, who attends 
 personally to the weighing, measuring, and dividing of the daily 
 rations. The Assistant Matron has charge of the work-room, 
 where the females are employed in making and mending clothes 
 for prison use, and in the manufacturing of palm-leaf hats, &c. 
 After the labors of the day, they are assembled for religious ser- 
 vice and instruction ; immediately after which they return to their 
 cells, and are locked in by the Matron. 
 
 The Watchmen are employed, all the time, in duty upon the 
 walls, in the guard-room and hall, hospital, and in waiting upon 
 spectators who visit the Prison ; they are not allowed to sit, read 
 or write, while upon any post of duty. 
 
 The Gate-keeper has the care of the gate leading into the yard, 
 and takes charge of the out door hands and work. 
 
 The convicts have at all times free and unrestrained access to 
 the Warden, and can, whenever they wish, see and converse with 
 the Directors, or Director, when they visit the Prison. All pun- 
 ishments are inflicted by the Warden or his Deputy. No subor- 
 dinate officer is allowed to leave the Prison, day or night, withou* 
 permission of the Warden, or in his absence, the Deputy Warden. 
 
 Daily Rations. 
 
 One pound of Salt Beef three days in the week. 
 
 Three-quarters of a pound of Pork one day in the week. 
 
 Three-quarters of a pound of Fish one day in the week. 
 
 One pound of fresh meat with vegetables, made into a soup, one 
 day in the week. 
 
 One pound of bread made of rye flour and corn meal for break- 
 fast and dinner. Five bushels potatoes to each hundred rations. 
 
 Thirty-five pounds of corn meal and six quarts of molasses made 
 into mush for supper, to each hundred rations. 
 
 One gill of vinegar and a sufficient quantity of salt and pepper 
 per week.
 
 31 
 
 Tht, following ia a Statement respecting the Convicts from official Documents. 
 
 Where born. 
 
 Where convicted. Crimes. [Term of sentence. 
 
 Connecticut, 116 
 
 New Haven Co. 
 
 37 Burglary, 64 Life, 17 
 
 New- York, 18 
 
 New London 
 
 24 Theft, 28 15 yrs. $100 fine 7 
 
 Massachusetts, 19 
 
 Fairfield, 
 
 38 Horse stealing, 1310 500 1 
 
 Rhode Island, 11 
 
 Hartford, 
 
 28 Attempt to kill, 10 10 100 " 1 
 
 Maine, 2 
 
 Litchfield, 
 
 29 Arson, 11 
 
 4 50 " 1 
 
 New Jersey, 2 
 
 Tolland, 
 
 10 Attempt rape, 
 
 2 100 " 1 
 
 Vermont, 2 
 
 Windham, " 
 
 11 Rape, 610 300 " 1 
 
 Delaware, 1 
 
 Middlesex, " 
 
 15 Breaking jail, 1 
 
 2 10 " 1 
 
 Virginia, 1 
 
 
 Manslaughter, 1C 
 
 3 100 1 
 
 Pennsylvania, 3 
 
 
 Forgery, S 
 
 3 50 " 1 
 
 Ireland, 8 
 
 
 Passing counter- 
 
 20 3 
 
 England, 3 
 
 
 feit money, 2 
 
 16 1 
 
 Canada, 1 
 
 
 Adultery, 11 
 
 15 5 
 
 Germany, 2 
 
 
 Robbery, 2 14 2 
 
 France, 2 
 
 
 Murder, 512 2 
 
 Isle of Maderia, 1 
 
 
 Bigamy, 1 10 2 
 
 
 
 Attempt to mur- 
 
 9 7 
 
 
 
 der, 10 
 
 8 9 
 
 
 
 Stealing, 37 9 
 
 
 
 Exposing child, 1 1 6 12 
 
 
 
 Mayhem, 15 17 
 
 
 
 Decoying child, 1 
 
 4 22 
 
 
 
 Insanity, 1 
 
 3 28 
 
 
 
 
 2 40 
 
 
 
 
 2 6 months, 1 
 
 
 
 
 16" 2 
 
 
 
 
 13" 1 
 
 
 
 
 1 2 
 
 _ 
 
 
 _ 
 
 During insanity I 
 
 192 
 
 192 
 
 192 
 
 1J2 
 
 It also appears that 76 of the whole number of males, have been 
 married, and those 76 have 186 children, who unfortunately bear 
 the odium of their fathers guilt. 125 confess that they almost 
 daily used intoxicating drinks, and 38 could not read at all when 
 they came into the prison, most of them have since learned to 
 read. The condition of the sick, and the instruction of the illite- 
 rate, are well attended to by the efficient physician and chaplain. 
 
 An intelligent convict of Wethersfield who came from Newgate, 
 was requested to state the difference in the management at the two 
 prisons, if there was any difference when he replied as follows : 
 " In Newgate it was hale fellows well met ; but here the last thing at 
 night is prayer, then retirement, where we see no one and hear no 
 one during the evening; then we goto bed but cannot go to sleep; 
 but think, think. If we get to sleep and awake in the night we see 
 no one and hear no one, but think, think. When the morning comes 
 and we go out, the first thing is prayer. We see our fellows but say 
 nothing ; at night again after prayer we go alone and THINK, THINK. 
 This is the difference. 
 
 The following is considered as worthy of record from the noto- 
 riety of the characters described.
 
 32 
 
 The first female convict ever sentenced to state prison in Con- 
 necticut, is Thirza Mansfield. She was convicted in New Haven, 
 in 1825 of the crime of murder, and was sentenced to be hung, 
 but the sentence was commuted to imprisonment for life at New- 
 gate. She is now suffering her tentence ia prison at Wethersfield. 
 
 Augustino Robdlo an insane Spaniard, is now enclosed in a cell 
 for the crime of murder. The victim was a boy whom he hewed 
 to pieces in a most barbarous manner while in a fit of passion. 
 He was committed in in 1836 for the term of his insanity, and he 
 now lies on his cot a frightful spectacle a wreck of man, bereft 
 of reason. 
 
 Daniel Bennett, a native of Maine, is now in prison for the second 
 offence his first crime was Burglary, and his second was Bur- 
 glary witji intent to kill. He stabbed the officer Ripley, who took 
 him, and in June of the present year, he attempted to kill an officer 
 of the prison. This man is one of the most desperate fellows con- 
 fined in the prison. He is now forty-six years of age, about six 
 feet high and well proportioned. Twenty years since he was a 
 convict in the New Hampshire prison, and has eince been confined 
 in Maine and Sing Sing prisons. While at Sing Sing, he attempt- 
 ed to excite an insurrection in that prison. With a stone axe in 
 hand, he made a rush, with the cry of "Come on boys liberty 
 or death !" Captain Lyndes met him however, and soon quieted 
 him. He made a violent attempt to escape while at the New 
 Hampshire prison, but was met by the Warden on the top of the 
 wall, and driven back. He also attempted to take the life of the 
 Warden, with a large sledge hammer during his first term at Weth- 
 ersfield. A permanent home will doubtless be assigned to him by 
 the next court. 
 
 Harvey Griswold, a native of Suffield, was committed in Janua- 
 ry, 1828, for twelve years, on four indictments, for passing coun- 
 terfeit money. In October, 1835, he stabbed the Warden of the 
 prison, and was for that offence, sentenced for life, he was how- 
 ever discharged from prison by an act of the Assembly in August, 
 1842. He appears to be a reformed man, and has visited his for- 
 mer friends and acquaintance, by whom he has been received with 
 respect. His grandfather, Capt. Sylvanus Griswold, of Windsor, 
 was formerly one of the most wealthy persons in the county of 
 Hartford, he owned by inheritance and purchase, fifteen hund- 
 red acres of valuable land in Connecticut, and his power and influ- 
 ence were very extensive.
 
 33 
 
 John Sharp, of Milford, was committed in June, 1836, his 
 crime was murder, and his sentence for life. He is said to be one 
 of the most notorious villains in the prison, and is now supposed 
 to have murdered four or Jive persons before he was taken and con- 
 victed ! His heart is made of stern stuff, or his mind must be har- 
 rassed with horror, by the remembrance of his dreadful crimes ! 
 
 No convict has ever escaped from this prison. Its safe construc- 
 tion and active vigilance of the officers, would seem to banish all 
 hopes of escape and render every attempt worse than useless. A 
 large portion of the time since the institution was established, it 
 has been under the supervision of the present gentlemanly and 
 prompt Warden, Amos Pilsbury, who seems well adapted both from 
 experience and talent to discharge its duties. Strict order and dis- 
 cipline is apparent in every department, and yet it would seem 
 to be without any vain show of authority no bars and shackles 
 are worn no armed sentinel is seen except on the towers no 
 muskets, swords, or pistols are carried within the walls, and it is 
 only in the guard room that any weapons of death are to be seen. 
 The expense of Newgate prison to the State, for seventeen years 
 previous to the removal in September, 1827, including buildings, 
 &c. erected, was more than $125,000, being over $7000 per an- 
 num, while the profits of the present institution for the same period 
 have been more than $92,000, being an average of over $5,400 
 per annum. The true causes of this difference are obvious to 
 those who are acquainted with the former and present manage- 
 ment. The Boston Prison Discipline Society, have done much to 
 correct prison defects, and reform abuses. They waded through 
 the filth of many prisons in our country, noted their errors, and 
 aroused the public to their base deformity, and the thanks of the 
 nation are due for their faithfulness, ability, and zeal. 
 
 The spirit of improvement in prison discipline must now go for- 
 ward, for the world have followed for ages the old system, and 
 have proved it to be entirely useless,^ convicts and keepers, and 
 community at large, have long sought for, and demanded reforma- 
 tion. In some States, they have commendably improved ; and now 
 Connecticut advances forth, and with honorable pride, exhibits a 
 model prison to the world!
 
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