university of Connecticut ibraries X /^^^ .A '>•^ «« <-^ •3»372 /c.2 BOOK 973.372 P5I6N c2 -HELPS , NEWOAT/S.'|o«.Ecr,CUT 3 T1S3 ooosan? 3 NORTH-WEST VIEW OF OLD PRISON. 1876. OLD PRISON RUINS. NEWGATE OF CONNECTICUT; ORIGIN AND EARLY HISTORY. BBINO Jl full description OF THE FAMOUS AND WONDERFUL SIMSBURY MINES AND CAVERNS, AND THE PRISON BUILT OVER THEM. TO WHICH IS ADDED ▲ KELATION OF ALL THE INCIDENTS, IN8UBKECTIONS, AND MA8SACKBS, CON* NECTED WITH THEIR USE AS A PRISON FOR THE TORIES DURINQ THE REVOLUTION, AND OTHERWISE ; WITH INTERESTING SKETCHES OF THEIR SURROUNDINGS, IN (now) EAST GRANBT. ALSO, AN ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP THE STATE PRISON AT ^\^ETB[ERSFIE1L.D. BY RICHARD H. PHELPS. HARTFORD, CONN : AMERICAN PUBLISHING COMPANY. twTERED according to act of Congress, in the year 1876, by the AMERICAN PUBLISHING CO., la the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C PREFACE. In this Centennial Year — 1876 — it is useful to review the inci- dents relating to our early history which ilhistrate tlie manners, and the civil, religious, and criminal policy of former times. The records of deeds and events, apparently of slight moment at the time of their occurrence, increase in importance as ages roll away, and are the indices by which we estimate the truth of history. There is an exciting fascination in the eventful history of Newgate of Connecticut to all who have been familiar with it, especially to those who, like the writer, have resided in its vicinity and witnessed man}' of its scenes ; and to judge by the numbers who come from afar to explore its caverns and the ruins which now cover its grounds, it will long continue to be an object of interest and examination. The aged residents in its vicinity are nearly all gone ; but this prison-fortress will doubtless long remain and continue to be a place of classic interest. The trav- eller will inquire. Who built these towers? Wh}^ these iron grates, these trenches, and these walls? How came these huge caverns to be dug out of solid rock? Surely the echo of the caverns cannot answer, nor the people who lived cotemporane- ousl}' with their use. The facts herein presented have been gathered from a variety of sources. Besides what came within the knowledge of the writer, he has availed himself of the statistics afforded by ancient colonial and state records ; of the verbal statements kindly fur- nished by the few aged persons still living ; and of other facts preserved from the recorded relations of witnesses long since passed awa3\ The first edition, in pamphlet form, printed thirt3'-two years ago, and the larger work published in 1860 have been revised, and additional matter of interest herein incorporated. Also appended is a historical sketch of East Granby (the present location of the old prison), and an account of the state prison at Wethersfield. BiCHARD II. PhELPB. East Granby, Conn., 1876. NOTE TO PREFACE Since the decease of Richard H. Phelps, the author of this History, who died at his home in East Granby, Conn., in 1885, the writer of this note has met with additional matter regarding the ancient prison, a large portion being in the nature of " facts that ain't so " mostly manufactured by bright correspondents of metropolitan journals. Using this authentic history as a base of supplies (usually without credit), they have foraged about for ghastly legends invented by a later generation ; their tales of horror are not incorporated in this volume, enough real tragedies having been enacted at Newgate to sufficiently thrill the reader of the following pages. Even in modern prisons insurrections and murders sometimes occur, and the facts do not show that the science of penology was any more misapplied at Newgate than at other jails or prisons of that period. The late author aimed strictly at accuracy; and it is the wish of his son, the present writer, to im- press upon the thoughtful reader the sentiments in the Preface. The author refers to " the aged persons " then living, from whom many of the facts were originally gathered by him nearly seventy years ago. Those venerable people failed to foresee the works of these imaginative generations, then unborn. RoswELL H. Phelps. East Granby, Conn., August, 1901. NEWGATE OF CONNECTICUT. Origin of its Title— Our Puritan Ancestors— The Mines of Simsbury— Granby and Copper Hill 13 Discovery of Copper — The First Company Organized — Three Clergy- men Appointed Smelters— Their Unsuccessful Efforts — The Pro- prietors are disgusted — An Act passed to regulate the Mines— King George's right to a Royalty Acknowledged— The Work Abandoned. 14 GRANBY COPPEBS. Coins made from Granby Metal — Mr. Iligleys's Operations — The Sledge- hammer and the Crown— Colonial Bills of Credit— Provision Pay- Prompt Payment of the Colonial Bills 19 RECENT MINING. The Old Mines Re-opened— The Phoenix Mining Co.— The Connecticut Copper Company — Depreciated Continental Currency — Curious letter a Century Old— Analysis of the Copper Ore— Silliman's Survey of the Mines 23 IMPRISONMENT OF THE TORIES. The Mine transformed into a Dungeon— Prison Discipline— Whipping the Prisoners — The Tories Incarcerated — Troubles of the Revolu- tionary War— The Committee of Safety— The Reward of Loyalty- Opinions of a Century Ago 25 THE FIRST KEEPER OP NEWGATE. Captain John Viets — His Little Bill for a Year — Conspiracy of the Prisoners — Locking in the Janitor — Flight and Pursuit — Strength- ening the Jail 32 CONTENTS. ANOTHER ESCAPE. Burning the Block-house — Suffocated in Prison — Carelessness of the Officers 35 A SCENE OP CONFLICT AND BLOOD. The Multitude of Guards Appointed — The Tories become Desperate — They Conspire to Escape — They overpower the Guard, and all Escape — Recapture of the Fugitives — The Gazetteer of 1773— A Cotemporary Story — The Prison buildings Destroyed 30 A TORY CLERGYMAN IN NEWGATE. He Preaches a Fiery Sermon — Addresses Gen. Washington — Denoun- ces the Whigs — Suggests the Assassination of Washington and the M. C'8 41 THE GOSPEL FURNISHED BY THE STATE. Primitive Services — Nail-shop Preaching — Brother Jonathan Appealed To — Gen. Washington sends some "Atrocious Villains" to the Mines — Tory Misdemeanors 52 OLD KEWGATE PRISON. The "Stone Jug" — Buildings Above-Ground — Appearance of the Caverns — Story of a Visitor — Daily Routine — More Escapes and Insurrections — Interesting Anecdotes 58 CONNECTICUT STATE PRISON. The Building at Wethersfield — Management and Discipline — Condition of the Convicts — Notorious Instances — Facts and Statistics 88 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF EAST GRANBY. Settlements on Farmington River — Lands purchased from the Indians Trouble experienced by the Settlers — Captivity of Daniel Hayes — His Story — The Red-Men — Revolutionary Incidents — The War of 1812— The Way to reach Copper Hill 116 JS^EWGATE OF CONNECTICUT. -m:- THIS is the name by which the prison was known in the time of the American Revolution, and it was so called after Newgate prison in England. It is well known that our forefathers, in giving names to their towns and rivers, and other objects of nature and art, by which they were surround- ed, drew freely upon those to which they had been accustomed in their ancestral homes ; thus they endeavored to make their adopted country, in names at least, assimilate to their native land. So, in denominating this receptacle for their criminals after the world-renowned prison of London, they intended to endow it with all the terror which attached to that fearful 13 ;|^4 NEWGATE OF CONNECTICUT. abode of the depraved. The mines and prison buildings occupy an eminence on the western declivity of the Talcott mountain, which rises to a great elevation, and is here sur- mounted by lofty, precipitous and craggy rocks. This range of mountains extends through the whole length of the State, and terminates at the East Kock near New Haven. Towards the west and south, can be seen in the distance, bold and irregular outlines of mountains, interspersed with extensive valleys, forming a scene of impressive grandeur and sub- limity, seldom surpassed. Says a writer : "The appearance of this place forcibly reminds the observer of the walls, castles, and towers, erected for the security of some haughty lordling of the feudal ages ; while the gloomy dungeons within its walls, call to remem- brance a Bastile, or a prison of the Inquisition." ** A hundred legends cling about its walls, But silence reigns beneath its crumbling stone ; No busy hand repairs the falling walls, Deserted now it wastes away alone ; The summer idler often passes by, Yet some there are who enter at the gate, To dream awhile, and, leaving, breathe a sigh. To see it mouldering in such fallen state." The mines were formerly included in the limits of the town of Simsbury, and so remained until 1786, when a part of the town, including the mines and prison, was set off and incorporated under the name of Granhy; hence the place was at that time known by the name of Simsbury Copper Mines, on Copper HilL The town of Granby was subdivided in 1858, and the mines are at present included in the town of East Granby. If the State of Connecticut continues henceforth to increase her legislative ratio of representation by subdividing her towns, it will become difficult to trace the topography of some places within her borders, nor can it well be foreseen what town will have the honor of containing Simsbury mines at the next subdivision. The period at which copper ore was first discovered at this NEWGATE OF CONNECTICUT. 15 place 18 not definitely known ; but the first record relating to the mines, was in December 1705, when the town of Sims- bury appointed a committee to make search, upon a suggestion " that there was a mine, either of sil ver or copper, in the town." The report of the committee is not recorded, but from subse- quent results it was doubtless favorable. The first company for working the mines, was composed of land proprietors of Sims- bury, in 1707. The association agreed to pay the town Yen shillings on each ton of copper produced, of which two-thirds was appropriated for the support *' of an able schoolmaster in Simsbury," and the other third to the "collegiate school," [Yale college] ; the residue of profits was to be divided among the partners ^r^? rata^ according to the amount of their respec- tive subscription shares. All the land on Copper Hill, and in that region, was cov- ered with the primeval forest, and occupied only as hunting ground by roving bands of Indians; and as the land was unsold, and under the control of the original proprietors of the town, the association comprised chiefly all the inhabitants. The company concluded only to dig the ore, and the first year they made a contract with three clergymen, for smelting the same, viz: John Woodbridge, of Springfield, Dudley Woodbridge, of Simsbury, and Timothy Woodbridge, Jr., of Hartford. Clergymen at that early period were regarded as the prin- cipal embodiments of science as well as theology, and as many of them received their education in England, these contractors were supposed to possess the best facilities for obtaining information from foreign sources, in regard to the difl&cult process of smelting and refining. The theologians, however, did not understand the business, or at least failed to prosecute it to advantage ; for in four years from their commencement, the proprietors appointed a committee to call them to account, and, if necessary, " to sue them for the ore that had been brought to them at divers times." The mines had at that time attained a good degree of celebrity, as appears by a public act passed by the colony : 16 NEWGATE OF CONNECTICUT. **Anno Regni Ann^ Reginae V. Septimo A. D. 1709." An Act relating to the Copper Mines at Simsbury : " Whereas there hath lately been discovered a Copper mine at Symsbury, which hath been so improved as to give good satisfaction to conclude that a public benefit might 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," etc. The act authorized the appointment of three commissioners, "William Pitkin, John Haynes, and John Hooker, who were to Bettle all controversies, and who were authorized to sum- mon a jury in disputes exceeding forty shillings in amount. The sessions of this court were held generally at or near the mines, and great numbers of business and litigated cases, were adjusted in a summary and economical way, for the space of more than sixty years. During that whole period, the company of proprietors worked the mines, either them- selves, or by leasing to other parties, who agreed to pay the company a percentage of the ore or metal produced. In their leases it was expressly stipulated, as follows : — "They also paying thereof to his Majesty, his heirs and successors, the fifth part of all gold and silver oar and precious stones, which from time to time, and at all times hereafter shall happen to be found, gotten, had and obtained within the aforesaid demised premises, or in any part or parcel thereof." Thus acknowledging themselves most loyal subjects of taxation and revenue to the crown of England. It is not ascertained what per cent, of profits was made on the investment in these mines, over and above the expenses of working them, but it is natural to suppose that if they were very profitable to the operators, all the applause usually attendant upon good luck, would not have remained forever hidden in oblivion from the world. Still the illusive charms of mining, had so much of novelty and hope for adventurers in the New World, that new companies were formed successively at various periods. Some of the companies were composed of persons of great wealth and respectability. One company was formed in NEWGATE OF CONNECTICUT. 17 London, one in Holland, others in Boston, New York, and elsewhere. In 1714, the records show that the use of the mines was purchased by Johnathan Belcher of Boston, (afterwards governor), Timothy Woodbrid<^e Jr., and William Partrige; and in 1721 they had miners from Germany employed, and were expending seventy pounds a month in the work. It appears that this Boston company operated the mines for a period of at least twenty-three years, and in a letter from Governor Belcher, dated 1736, he states that he had disbursed upwards of fifteen thousand pounds, or about seventy-five thousand dollars. In 1721 a division of the mining lands took place among the lessees, and each company worked at separate mines situated upon, and less than one mile from Copper Hill. At Higley's mine, about one and a half miles south, are now the remains of old workings which w^ere operated at a later period than the others. At the breaking out of the War of the Kevolution, Edmund Quincy of Boston had miners working at that place, but the works were soon after abandoned. After 1778 the old Copper Hill mines were deserted for fifty-three years, until a new company began operations in 1831. The excitement in the colonies upon the business of mining, about that period, was very great, as it would seem from the following petition, copied from the records : ** To the Ilonnell, the GovW Councill and Representatives in General Court assembled in New Haven, Oct. IGth A. D. 1733. "The Prayer oi Joseph Whiting, of New Haven, Humbly Sheweth; That your Suppliant has expended a considerable time and money in Searching after Mines, and has made farther Discoveries perliaps 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 assembly 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 Returned at the Expiration of ten years," &c. Joseph Whiting." 18 NEWGATE OF CONNECTICUT. A great deal of time and money without doubt was expended as the aforesaid petitioner says " in searching after mines^'' for the evidence may be seen in the numerous pits and shafts which have been dug along 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 especially at the present day, the chief aim of many appeared to be to make fortunes by head-work — by speculation, and choosing rather to spend their time and risk their money in mining, and other uncertain projects — than to dig upon the surface of good old mother earth, for a sure and honest living. Upon the summit of the hill where the greatest excavations were made, and the largest quantity of ore taken, two per- pendicular shafts were dug principally through solid rock, for the purpose of raising the ore. One of them is nearly eighty feet deep, and the other thirty-live. At the bottom of these shafts we find the caverns^ so termed, extending in various directions, several hundred^feet. By estimating the once solid contents of these subterraneous vaults, an idea can be formed of the great quantity of ore which has been taken out. The percolation of water through the crevices of rock, made it necessary to dig drains or levels to convey it off; but these either became obstructed, or the mines were sunk below them, which allowed the accumulation of water, and it became necessary to discharge it by working the pumps day and night. This was done by employing the people in the vicini- ty and from neighboring towns, and from the amount ex- pended for this service — three hundred and fifty dollars per month — it is believed that from twenty-five to tnirty men were kept at work. The copper ore has somewhat the appearance of yellowish grey sandstone, intermixed with nodules of bluish sulphuret, and yellow pyrites, and is very hard and brittle. The vein is considered as rich, yielding ten to fifteen per cent, of pure copper, and some masses have been obtained yielding over forty per cent. The ore is of a character termed refractory^ and the metal does not readily separate NEWGATE OF CONNECTICUT. 19 from tlie stone when pulverised and washed, in consequence of the specific gravity of the stony particles. -The mines would doubtless have been profitable to the operators at the price at which copper metal was at that time valued, had not the enterprise been shackled with various incumbrances. A principal one was, the laws of the mother country prohibiting the smelting of it here. The rigid laws of Britain imposed penalties upon any who should attempt to compete with her furnaces and artisans at home, consequently the vast expense of shipping it across the Atlantic, crippled the success of all parties engaged in the business. Notwith- standing the enormous expense, several cargoes were sent to Europe. A large quantity was deposited about one mile east of the mountain, in East Gran by, upon a spot now marked by an entire dearth of vegetation, owing to the poisonous qual- ities extracted from the ore. From there it was carried fourteen miles to Hartford, where it was shipped to New York, and thence to England. The owners were still further disheartened by the loss of two vessels with their cargoes of ore. One was seized and confiscated as a prize by the French who were then at war with England ; the other was sunk in the English Channel by shipwreck. In defiance of British restrictions, considerable ore was smelted by the companies. Buildings and furnaces for pounding, smelting, and refining, were erected in Simsbury upon a stream of water called Hop Brook, a few miles dis- tant, but safety required caution and secrecy in the works, which were for many years abandoned. The place where the smelting was carried on, was named by the German workmen, "Hanover," from their native place in Germany, which name it still retains. The mining-works at 'Hanover' were attached in 1725, and 1700 pounds of what was termed "black copper" (it not having been refined) was levied upon. Granby Coppers. Coin was made from this ore in 1737 and 1739, by a Mr. Higley, and was in current circulation for many years. In 20 NEWGATE OF CONNECTICUT. describing these coins, a writer says: They were Btamped upon plancliets of the purest copper, and, in consequence, were in demand by goldsmiths for alloy. The trade of a blacksmith, ever since Yulcan was engaged in forging thun- derbolts, has given to the world some very remarkable men, and it affords us great pleasure at this time to be able to contribute to the fame of one of the craft, who not only devised, but manufactured currency. "We have seen it stated that Mr. Higley, the author of these coppers, was an ingenious blacksmith who resided in the town of Gran by ; hence the name " Granby Coppers" and that with all the notions of utility w^hich he naturally derived from the anvil, he was ambitious of making a little reputation for himself besides. He has certainly left evidence of having been an artist as well as financier, for the creations of his genius and skill were, for the times, well executed, and they also became a currency. Subsequently, we are informed, his cupidity led him into the hazardous experiment of illegally imitating the issues of other coiners, which, being discovered, deprived him of a portion of the laurels that had previously encircled his brow.* These coppers bear the synfibols of their origin, with a due regard to royalty on some of them — the sledge- hammers being surmounted by crowns, a something very apparent to the minds of the colonists, but which did not always command their sincere reverence. These coins grace but few cabinets, having been generally so impaired by wear, from being stamped upon unalloyed copper, as to be rarely found sufficiently perfect. We were, how^ever, lately grati- fied by finding in Xew York city an electrotype which was perfect. Single specimens of this coin now command from fifteen to twenty-five dollars each. There appear to have ♦ The impression that Mr, H. was a counterfeiter does not seem to be sustained by any recorded evidence. It is more probable, that owing, to the jealousy of England, which at that period crippled all such enterprises here, notice was served upon him that his embryo mint was regarded as an in- fringement upon the royal prerogatives, and he was for that reason obliged to suspend operations. NEWGATE OF CONNECTICUT. 21 been five different issues of them, of several devices; upon one is the figure of a broad axe, with the motto '■^ I cut my way through^'' The engraving represents both sides of a Granby copper, now in the Connecticut Historical Society, at Hartford, from which the above cuts have been engraved for this work. ISo public laws had been made by the colonists to authorize coinage of money, or to specify its value. Specie was very scarce in this country, and the coinage at this embryo mint, was regarded with great favor by the residents in the vicin- ity. The foreign trade of the country, which was chiefly confined to England, was principally controlled by her; the balance of trade was continually against us, which prevented the importation of specie. The war between England and France, in 1745, turned the tide somewhat in our favor, and considerable quantities w^ere circulated in the colonies by England in payment of war expenses. Owing to the scarcity of coin the colonists resorted to the use of Colonial Bills of Credit, the first issue of which was made by them in 1709, being the same year in which a public act was passed relating to the Simsbury mines. Previous to that time "Provision Pay" was the usual medium of ex- change, consisting of the common eatables and other products of the country. The appraised value of such commodities at that time, may be shown b}^ the following extract from the records of the town of Simsbury, stipulating the pay of their clergyman in 1688. They agreed to pay him fifty pounds per annum '^in good current pay, to wit: one third in good 22 NEWGATE OF CONNECTICUT. merchantable wheat at four shillings per bushel, one third in pease or rye, at three shillings per bushel, and one third in Indian corn or pork ; the corn at two shillings and six pence per bushel, and the pork at three pounds ten shillings per barrel," besides other items, fuel, &c. At an ordina- tion nine years later, among the articles furnished on the occasion were the following, with their prices; "Half a lamb of mutton, 2s. 6d. ; butter 6d. per pound ; four pounds of sugar, 2s. 6d. ; half a bushel Indian meal, Is. 3d. ; two fowls, 8d. ; eighty -four pounds of beef, 15s. ; thirty pounds venison, 3s. 9d. ; nineteen pounds of pork, 4s. 9d. ; nine pounds of mutton, 2s. ; two gills of rum, 9d." Valued by our currency at this day the price of beef was three cents per pound ; mutton three and a half cents, and vension two cents. In some instances it was stipulated that those who paid their rates in specie, should be allowed a discount of one third from the amount. Contracts between individuals unless specially stipulated to be paid in coin, were payable in the commodities of the neighborhood, and at prices established by the General Court. Taxes laid for military defence against the roving tribes of Indians, for building churches, and for ordinary public expenses, were' also payable in produce. During a period of one hundred and forty eight years from the settlement of the colony to the peace of 1783, excepting the period of the French wars, the traffic among the people was carried on in part by barter and exchange. In 1709 it was enacted by the colony, that in order to assist in the ex- pedition against the French in Canada, " there be forthwith imprinted a certain number of bills of credit, on the colony, in suitable sums from two shillings to five pounds, which in the whole shall amount to 8,000 pounds, and no more." It was enacted that the bills should be received for dues and taxes, '^ at one shilling on the pound hett£r than money." Taxes were imposed providing for the redemption of the whole amount within two years. The promptness with which the colony met their own bills, is noticeable when contrasted with the unavailing efforts of the Continental NEWGATE OF CONNECTICUT. 23 Congress, to sustain tlie value of their paper money, which was issued in the Revolution.^' Recent Mining. The work at Sirasbury mines was carried on at various periods until 1773, more than seventy years, through wars and rumors of w^ars, and by a variety of forces ; by free labor, and by slave labor ; by private enterprise, and by chartered companies ; and, subsequently, by prison labor. Yast sums had been expended in the business, and then they were abandoned for the space of about half a century, for prison occupation. In 1830, to the surprise of all, another resurrection of mineralogists was announced at the old prison mines. A company of gentlemen from New York, with Richard Bacon of Simsbury, formed the Pho&nix Mining Com/pany, obtained a charter, and purchased of the State the whole prison property, including the mines, and about five acres of land, for the sum of one thousand two hundred dollars. They expended many thousand dollars in digging extensive levels, building furnaces, and constructing engines and machinery, to facilitate their operations in raising, pounding, and smelting the ore. They carried on the business for some time, but owing to a reverse in the financial afi*airs of the country and other causes, the mines were again abandoned. The old mines were suffered to repose again in quiet for about twenty years, when the note of preparation for working was once more heard. A new company was formed in 1855, called the Connecticut Copper Company^ which prosecuted the business for about tw^o years. They found the average * To illustrate the ruinous depreciation of continental currency, I quote an extract from a letter written by IlezeMah Munsell of East Windsor. He says : " In 1781, in the months of Feb'y or March, I drove a team to Boston with a load, and brought one back for a merchant in Springfield, Mass. I had a five cattle team. Returning home I staid in Roxbury one night ; my team was fed, I had one meal and lodging; my bill in the moaning was two silver dollars, and continental money had so depreciated that I paid it in the round sum of $140 for that single night's entertainment." 24 NEWGATE OF CONNECTICUT. yield of metal about ten per cent., and some masses of ore were taken out which produced over forty per cent, of copper. The deeper the descent, the richer appeared to be the quality of the ore. The cliief obstacle to success appeared to be, not the lack of a fair percentage of metal, but in extracting it by the ordinary process of separating and fluxing ; and for that purpose the company erected ten of Bradford's separators, at a great expense, and also two steam-engines for grinding, and for working the separating machines. The business has been suspended for about twenty years ; but it is believed by many that with the aids of science, improved machinery, and sufficient capital, it may yet result profitably, and that Copper Hill may at no distant day, share some of the fame of the mines of Lake Superior. The author has a specimen of pure copper extracted from the ore by Prof. Charles T. Jackson, formerly of Boston ; also his process of analysis made in 1825, and sent to Hon. Samuel Woodruff, of East Granby, at his request. "The CoDper ore from East Granby, is composed of two distinct parts, the ore of a bright green color, which is the Carbonate of Copper; the other of a dark steel gray which is Antimonial Gray Copper, The specific gravity of the mass is 3.08. Analysis. A. Two hundred grains, taken in equal quantities from each part of the specimen, were reduced to an impalpable powder and digested in a matrass repeatedly with two ounces of Nitro Muriatic Acid, until all the copper was dissolved ; the silex remaining, after being well washed and ignited weighed 163 grains. B. A pellicle which formed on the surface of the above solution proved to be sulphur, and weighed 4 grains. C. The solution of copper etc., in Nitro Muriatic Acid was then evapora- ted to dryness and the dry mass again dissolved iu concentrated Sulphuric Acid, the solution diluted and decanted, a white precipitate was observed at the bottom of the matrass which, when collected proved to be Sulph. Antimony which, on being decomposed gave 2 grains of Metallic Antimony. D. The solution of copper in Sulphuric Acid was then poured into a proper vessel, and a polished cylinder of iron was introduced. In twelve hours the copper was precipitated in a metallic state around the cylinder. Collected, washed, and dried, the copper weighed 30 grains. The enclosed slip of copper weighs 23 grains — 7 grains having been lost in fusing it into a button and drawing it into this form. Charles T. Jackson." NEWGATE OF CONNECTICUT. 25 From the preceding analysis it appears that the specimen yielded fifteen per cent, of pure copper. Professors Sillima^n's Survey of the Mines. A geological examination of Newgate Mines, was made by Prof. B. Silliman, four years ago, with a view to future working, and a report made to the Hon. Ezra Clark, the proprietor, from which the following extracts are made : — ''The vitreous copper is almost the only variety of ore of that locality, and is the only one of any economical importance. The yellow copper, the common Cornish ore, I have not seen here. The composition of the vitreous ore in 100 parts is in round numbers, Copper 80, Sulphur 20. The variegated ore yields 69 parts copper in 100, and the yellow copper 32 parts in 100. It will be seen therefore that the ore of your mine is one of the most valuable description. The extent to which openings have been made north and south is about 800 feet, and from east to west from 250 to 300 feet. There are three parallel galleries from north to south, with numerous cross-cuts from east to west. These galleries have been made for the purpose of extracting the ore, but they embrace unbroken masses of the deposit which are now ready to be taken down by the miners. Of the extent of this deposit in depth, nothing can be known beyond the 250 to 300 feet now explored. Result of the assay of three samples taken from the mines. Best ore with seams of vitreous copper, . . . 20.319 per cent. Mottled ore in rusty sandstone, 14.370 " *' Granular rock with vitreous copper, .... 8.190 " " Average of the samples, 14.029 " " The average of the Cornish ores, England, is 7 to 8 per cent." IMPRISONMENT OF THE TORIES. Can then the verdure of these blissful plains Conceal the Caves where penal Rigor reigns ! Where the starved wretch, by suffering folly led To snatch the feast where pampered plenty fed ; Shut from the sunny breeze and healthful skies. On the cold, dripping stone, low, withering, lies ; Torn from the clime that gave his visions birth, A palsied member of the vital earth ! If the sweet Muse, with nature's best control, Can melt to sympathy the reasoning soul, 26 NEWGATE OF CONNECTICUT. She bids thee rend those grating bars away, And o'er the dungeons break the beam of day : Give the frail felon with laborious toil, To pay the penance of his wasted spoil. Hear his deep groan, heed his repentant prayer, And snatch his frenzied spirit from despair ; Nor let those fields, arrayed in heavenly bloom, Blush o'er the horrors of a living tomb .'* These caverns were first occupied as a place for the con- finement of Tories about the beginning of the American Revohition. Wliat an astonishing train of events followed, and how distant from the thoughts of the British company of miners, the idea that they were actually hewing out prison cells, for the lodgement of their friends, the Tories of America ! The Colony of Connecticut first used the caverns as a permanent prison in 1773. A committee had been appointed by the general assembly to explore the place, who reported that by expending about thirty-seven pounds, the caverns could be so perfectly secured, that " it would be next to impossible for any person to escape." Whether their opinion was well founded, the reader may judge by the subsequent escapes, insurrections, and massacres which are recounted in the following pages. The total expense of purchasing the property, with the remaining lease of the mines, and fortifying the place, amounted to three hundred and seventy-five dollars. An act was passed prescribing the terms of imprisonment. Burglary, robbery, and counterfeiting were punished for the first offence with imprisonment not exceeding ten years ; second offence for life. The keeper of the prison was authorized to punish the convicts for offences, by " moderate whipping, not exceeding ten stripes, and by putting shackles and fetters upon them ; " and it was intended to employ them at labor in the mines ; which they did, to a considerable extent. * Extract from a poem written by a lady of Boston, in 1797, after visiting the prison. It indicates the great notoriety and formidable character which Newgate had obtained, in the opinion of the benevolent and gifted poetess. NEWGATE OF CONNECTICUT. 27 At first the number of Tories confined in the caverns did not exceed five or six, and these were guilty of various crimes against the government. But as time developed events, the numbers increased to between thirty and forty. When the three hundred and forty-two chests of tea were 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 in Massachusetts and Connecticut, on account of British oppression, that the use of tea and all commodities imported in British vessels and subject to duty, was prohibited. The duty on tea was so particularly obnoxious, that it was considered a contraband article of household comfort. True, the contrast in the times may appear rather curious, for at this day, a housekeeper w^ould be judged by common consent deserving incarceration in the mines, or some other place, for not allowing the article to be used. Our ancestors knew no half-way policy, and seldom adopted dilatory measures to carry their points. Tea-vessels, if then kept at all, were kept out of sight ; tea- pots were run into musket-balls, and they were the kind of currency with which the people dealt with old England. The following incident from Dr. Stiles's History of Ancient Windsor, shows the marked spirit of the times : '* At an early period in the Revolutionary struggle, and before the war had fairly commenced, some of the Tories (of whom there were a few in Windsor) happened one day to come across Elihu Drake, then a lad about eight years old, and partly in earnest, and partly in a joke, endeavored to compel him to say, God save the King, Failing of success, they tried to intimidate him by threatening him with a ducking in the river. But the boy still stoutly refused. Becoming somewhat enraged at the young rebel, they carried their threat into execution, and thrust him under water, but as they pulled him out spluttering and choking, the only exclamation which he uttered was a fervent God d—n the King. Again, and again was the little martyr thrust under, but each time the same reply was all they could extort from him. and they were obliged to release him with many hearty curses for his stubbornness. At the age of twelve, this young hero accompanied his father into the war, in the capacity of waiter." The following from the Connecticut Journal, in 1775, fur- ther illustrates the spirit of animosity against the Tories ; 28 NEWGATE OF CONNECTIUT. " The Riflemen on their way from the Southern colonies through the coun- try, administer the new-fashioned discipline of tar and feathers to the obstinate and refractory Tories that they meet on their road, which has had a very good effect here [in New Milford]. Those whose crimes are of a more atrocious nature, they punish by sending them to Gen. Gage. They took a man in this town, a most incorrigible Tory, who called them d d rebels, &c., and made him walk before them to Litchfield, which is 20 miles, and carry one of his own geese all the way in his hand ; when they arrived there, they tarred him, and made him pluck his goose, and then bestowed the feathers on him, drummed him out of the company, and obliged him to kneel down and thank them for their lenity." Public opinion in some of tlie colonies against those who fovored the mother country was very rigid, authorizing any person even to shoot them if they were found beyond the limits of their own premises, and one was shot in the town of Sims- bury, another was hung publicly in Hartford and the gallows was left standing for some time to intimidate other Tories. Those who possessed not the hardihood thus summarily to dispatch a neighbor when he declined to fight for the coun- try, or for purchasing foreign goods, adopted the more humane expedient of applying to the Committee of Safety* in the town, who penned them up in the caverns where they could at least leisurely examine the evidence of British labor, though not allowed the blessed boon of being governed by British laws. The following extract is from the biography of the celebrated Bishop Griswold : — " As an instance of the manner in which not only the clergy but others of the church were watched, I will here insert the account given me on my visit to Simsbury, of the proceedings against Bishop Griswold's father. For a time this worthy man was arraigned almost daily before the Commit- tee of Vigilance, and straightly questioned as to the most common actions of his life ; but as nothing was actually found against liim, the committee contented themselves with forbidding him to go beyond the limits of his own farm. This, however, as his farm was something of a little terrritory, gave him space for exercise, particularly as he was a home-keeping man, and sel- dom left his farm save of a Sunday for church. *In some towns they were termed Committee of Inspection. They constituted what we should call a Committee of Vigilance, and their duties were of a very peculiar and delicate nature — "a patriotic and searching espionage into the principles, actions, and private affairs of every member of the community, without regard to station, profession, or character. It was NEWGATE OF CONNECTICUT. 29 His uncle (Rev. Roger Viets), however, being a public man and more closely associated in public opinion with the interests of the royal cause, was not only more closely watched, but also more rigorously treated. lie was naturally of a very kind and charitable disposition, and to the suflering was ever ready to extend relief. It happened that, at midnight one time, some men who it afterwards appeared were endeavoring to elude pursuit, called at his house and asked for charitable aid. Lodging he dared not give them. Food he could not refuse. Of this charitable deed some circum- stances led the authorities into a suspicion, and being accused of it he would not deny what he had done; and for that act of benevolence, which, as he believed, the law of God required, he was condemned to be imprisoned, and was many months confined in jail at Hartford." We cannot for a moment doubt the noble intentions of the American patriots in the severity of tliose measures, for the results are now universally acknowledged, and generally appreciated. If at the commencement of their struggles for liberty, they had permitted those emmissaries to raise a ques- tion as to the right of independent government, and had suffered them to prowl about unmolested, spreading the fuel of disaffection, a civile 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 Brit- ish soldiery would have told misfortune's tale, — a government of force. Well would it be for us their descendants if like them we could appreciate the blessings of liberty, of our happy form of government, and the value of mutual peace and union of this great confederacy of States! necessary to know how each man stood affected towards the war — whether his feelings were enlisted in his country's behalf, or whether secretly or pub- licly he was aiding the enemy." If any individual fell under suspicion of the people, the committee were immediately notified, and they forthwith repair- ed to the person and demanded an avowal of his sentiments. If found to be lukewarm or indifferent to the liberal cause, he was closely watched. If a Tory in sentiment, he was remanded to Newgate. The dividing line of principle was positive and distinct. On the royal side, the British officials proclaimed those to be outlaws who favored the cause of the rebels, and pronounced free pardon to such as ceased their resistance, or espoused the cause of Royalty. Besides this it is said they gave secret protection-papers to those applying for them on the score of friendship. These acts of the British impelled the colonist to take the most rigorous measures in self- defense. 30 NEWGATE OF CONNECTICUT.. At this day, it seems to us hardly possible that any con- siderable number could have been found so indifferent to the possession of liberty as to oppose their countrymen in arms, struggling for freedom, and the inalienable rights of man. We are prone to regard them as inhuman, deluded beings, unworthy to live. But let us pause a moment, yield a little to our charity, and consider the state of the country at that time, and some of the influences by which they were surrounded. The Tories were aware that in the history of the world, every people who had attempted the experiment of a free representative form of government, although in some cases for a while successful, yet in the end had most positively failed in their hopes and plans ; their struggles had only ended in loss of power by the many, and usurpation of it by the few. From the history of the Eepublics of Greece in early Europe, through the long vista of twenty-four cen- turies, the plebeian people had striven through toil and blood, only to bend their necks at last to the yoke of some powerful chieftain in war. The colonists and their ancestors had suffered and bled in the Indian wars, afterwards in wars with the French, and with French and Indians combined; and their mother England had been an ally who had assisted them in their defence, and to whom they still looked for aid in emergency. Many also, were bound by the ties of near kin- dred to friends across the ocean. Those in civil power received their authority direct from England, and many of the clergy were commissioned by the Church of England, from which also they received their chief support, All of them, doubtless, were inclined by early education and prejudice, to prefer a kingly to a republican government, and they dreaded the troublesome responsibility of beginning the contest for a change, well knowing that an ignominious death awaited them in case their experiment failed. In the words of our Declaration of Independence, " all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed." NEWGATE OF CONNECTICUT. 31 On the other hand, they are censurable for opposing in- dependence, because the oppression of British tyranny had planted them or their fathers upon the inhospitable shores of a new world. They had generously expended their blood and treasure for the maintenance of the Crown, and had obeyed its mandates by assisting in the war against France, which resulted in the acquisition of a vast territory to the English nation. Their trade had been monopolized by her ; then, when prudence would have dictated a relax- ation of authority, the mother country rose in her demands, and imposed heavy taxes to pay off a national debt of more than $700,000,000. The idea should have been discarded, that a small island, more than two thousand miles distant, should hold in bondage, without representation, a territory on this continent, large as the whole of Europe, and destined to equal it in population. They should have remembered too, that citizens of the early Republics, pos- sessed not our advantage of historical experience of other Republics, to point out the faults of free government by which they could avoid their errors, and adopt their benefits ; and no well-defined system of confederated states, with a constitution limiting the just powers of government, had ever been devised. The masses in early ages were ignorant, superstitious, and heathenish ; they were crammed into dense cities and villages, which are the hot-beds of vice and corruption ; while on the contrary, the inhabitants of America could glean wisdom from the history of past ages, and commune with the great and mighty dead. They possessed abundance of territory for all; plenty of room in which to develop their free energies, and afford to all uneasy spirits a medium in which to expend their surplus gas, in the moral atmosphere of a continent. They could realize the sentiment : " No pent up Utica contracts our powers, For the whole boundless Continent is ours." A writer says : — •'Of the Tories who engaged actively in the war against American 52 NEWGATE OF CONNECTICUT. independence, their subsequent history vras for the most part a melan- choly one. Probably not more than half of those who fled the coun- try ever returned, and those who did were mostly broken-down men reduced to poverty, laden with the odium of having made war upon their country, and in many cases stained with vice and adicted to habits which sent them to an early grave. It was one of the questions which most impeded the negotiations for peace between the States and Great Britain in 1783, — What should be done with these Tories. Several thousand had removed to Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, and most of whom were in circum- stances of extreme destitution. It was, at first insisted by the British negotiators, that Congress should grant pardon to all political offenders of this sort, restore their confiscated estates, and remunerate them for the losses they had suffered. This was refused, on the ground: First; that Congress only had authority under the articles of Confederation to recommend measures to the several States. Secondly ; that these men had encouraged the British to prosecute the war, and many of them had personally engaged in plundering and ravaging the country, and ought rather to be made to render compensation, than to receive it. Thirdly ; that the the confiscated estates of the Tories had been sold and re-sold, often divided and could not now be restored without endless litigation. And finally, that in the impover- ished condition of the country, it was impossible to pay its own meritorious soldiers. The matter was finally compromised by inserting three articles into" the treaty, to the effect that the loyalists (or Tories) should not be debarred from collecting debts due them before tlie war; that Congress would recommend to the States to restore confiscated property as /ar 05 possible^ and that no future confiscations should be made or prosecutions begun. These terms were at length reluctantly agreed to by Great Britain, The recommendations of Congress to the States were, however, ineffectual, as it was probably expected they would be. Connecticut would not consent to restore the property of such as has been engaged in burning Danbury, Fairfield, and other sea-coast towns. The same was true in other states, Let England, they said, pay us for the wanton injuries she has inflicted, before she asks compensation, for the traitors by whom it was done. Failing thus in securing relief from the States for her refugees, Parliament undertook the duty for themselves. A commissioner was appointed by England to ascertain the losses incurred by their friends, and about fifteen and a half million dollars was appropriated for their compensation." Besides this, many of the loyalists of America received subsidies and pensions from the British government during their lives, some received large grants of lands, and some half-pay as military officers. The First Keeper of Newgate was Capt. John Yiets, who resided near by, and who supplied NEWGATE OF CONNECTICUT. 33 them daily with such food and necessaries as were required. His bill, as recorded for one year, in 1T74, is as follows: *' Captain John Vieis, Master, as per his bill for services, boarding workmen and providing for prisoners, &c., 29Z. bs. 10