s
THE TWIN HELLS
A THRILLING NARRATIVE OF LIFE IN
THE KANSAS AND MISSOURI
PENITENTIARIES
JOHN N. REYNOLDS
ATGHISON, KANSAS.
THOMPSON & THOMAS,
267 WABASH AVE.
CHICAGO.
TO MY DEAR OLD MOTHER
AND
TO THB MEMORY OF MY SAINTED WIFB
THIS BOOK
IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED BY
THE AUTHOR.
2033188
CONTENTS.
Pre&ce, 9
A KANSAS HELL.
CMAFTEK.
I. My Initiation and Crime, 13
II. The Coal Mines, 44
III. The Coal Mines, Continued, .... 59
IV. The Punishments of the Prison, - - 90
V. Sunday in the Prison, 98
VI. Scenes in the Hospital, 106
VII. Escapes from Prison, "5
VIII. The Prisoners, 126
IX. Forty-eight Hours in Hell, ' -197
X. -Stolen Horses, 2*9
XI. Candidate for the State Senate, - - - -215
XII. A Dark Hour, 2*3
XIII.-Freedom, 231
A MISSOURI HELL.
XIV. The Convict's Home, 37
XV. The Work of the Convict, 253
XVI. The Missouri Prisoners, - - - - . 262
XVII. The Misiouri Prisoners, Continued, - - - 277
XVIII. Prison DiscipHme, 289
XIX. Noted Convicts, 3P
XX. The Ex-Convict, 3"
The Twin Hells 7
PREFACE.
THE following pages treat of hell A Kan-
44S hell and a Missouri hell. Those who de-
sire to peruse works that tell about Heaven
only, are urged to drop this book and run. I
was an inmate of the Kansas penitentiary for
sixteen months, and make mention of what
came under my own observation in connection
with what I experienced. While an inmate of
this prison I occupied cells at various times
with convicts who had served terms in the
Missouri prison. From these persons I
gathered much useful material for my book.
After my release I visited the Missouri peni-
tentiary, and verified the statements of those
criminals, and gathered additional material
from the prison records and the officials. I
have written chiefly for the youth of the
country, but all ages will be deeply inter-
ested in the following pages. A large major-
ity of the convicts are young men from six-
teen to twenty-five years of age. They had
no idea of the terrible sufferings of a convict
9
10 PREFACE.
life, or they surely would have resisted tempta-
tion and kept out of crime. The following
pages will impart to the reader some idea of
what he may expect to endure in case he be-
comes entangled in the meshes of the law, and
is compelled to do service for the State with-
out any remuneration. Every penitentiary is
a veritable hell. Deprive a person of his
liberty, punish and maltreat him, and you fill
his life with misery akin to those who wander
in the darkness of " eternal night." I think,
when the reader has perused the following
pages, he will agree with me, that the book
has the proper title. That this volume may.
prove an " eye-opener " to the boys who may
read it, and prove interesting and instructive
to those of mature years, is the earnest wis^ of
the author.
A KANSAS HELL.
A KANSAS HELL
CHAPTER I.
MY INITIATION AND CRIME.
GUILTY! This word, so replete with sadness
ar.d sorrow, fell on my ear on that blackest of
all black Fridays, October 14, 1887.
Penitentiary lightning struck me in the city
of Leavenworth, Kansas. I was tried in the
United States District Court; hence, a United
States prisoner.
The offense for which I was tried and con-
victed was that of using the mails for fraudu-
lent purposes. My sentence was eighteen
months in the penitentiary, and a fine of two
hundred dollars. I served sixteen months, at
the end of which time I was given my liberty.
During the period I was in prison I dug coal
six months in the penitentiary coal mines, and
was one of the clerks of the institution the
remainder of the term. Getting permission
to kave writing material in my cell, I first
14 THE TWIN HELLS.
maste*d short-hand writing, or phonography,
attd thn wrote my book: " A Kansas Hell;
or, Life in the Kansas Penitentiary. " My
manuscript being in short-hand, none of the
prison officials were able to read it, and did
not know what I was doing until I obtained
my liberty and had my book published.
This, no doubt, will be the proper place to
give some of my antecedents, as well as a
few of the details of the crime for which I was
sent to the penitentiary. I spent my youth
and early manhood at Indianola, Iowa, from
which place I removed to Nebraska. After
residing for some time in Columbus, of that
State, I was appointed by the governor to
assist in organizing the Pawnee Indian Reser-
vation into a county. When organized it was
called Nance County, being named for Hon.
Albinus Nance, then governor of the State.
I held the position of county clerk of that
county for four consecutive years. During
this time I organized the Citizens' Bank. I
was its cashier at first, and, later on, its presi-
dent. I had a lucrative business and was doing
well. My wife's health failed her; she became
consumptive. My family physician advised a
removal to the South. I closed out my busi-
MY INITIATION AND CRIME. 1 5
ness at a great sacrifice, and came to Atchison,
Kansas. Here I located, and made it my fut-
ure home. Soon after my arrival I commenced
the publication of a daily newspaper, known
as the Times. In the county in which I lo-
cated I found one of the worst and most cor-
rupt political rings on the face of the earth.
This combination had controlled the politics of
the county for almost a quarter of a century.
Soon I became involved in a terrific news-
paper war with the members of this political
organization. An election of county and State
officials was soon to take place. In order to
test the strength of the contending elements,
in my newspaper, I presented the name of
Hon. W. D. Gilbert as a candidate for district
judge in opposition to the ring candidate. A
sharp fight ensued. Mr. Gilbert was elected
by an overwhelming majority. This was the
first time for twenty-five years that this ring
had been defeated. The members of it were
very sore. Looking upon me as the principal
spirit, I was the object toward which they di-
rected all their shafts of spite.
Some time before this an insurance company
had been organized in the city of Atchison.
I was invited to become its president. I
16 THE TWIN HELLS.
examined the books of the corporation, and
found it to be organized according to the laws
of Kansas ; that the company had a charter
from the State, and also certified authority to
issue policies of insurance, granted by the
State insurance commissioner. I accepted the
presidency on condition that the company was
simply to have the use of my name, and that
I was not expected to give any of my time to
the company, as I was otherwise engaged. I
was editor of a daily newspaper, and could not
attend to anything else. While this company
was doing business a printed circular was used,
stating that the corporation had one hundred
thousand dollars PAID UP capital. This cir-
cular was sent out through the mails over the
State advertising the business. It was charged
this circular was fraudulent ; that the company
did not have that amount of capital paid in.
My name was attached to this printed circular.
For this, I was indicted in the United States
District Court, on the charge of using the mails
for fraudulent purposes. The advertised cap-
ital of this corporation was subscribed, but not
all paid in, as it was not needed in the busi-
ness of the company. After indictment I
was arrested, and gave bonds for my appear-
MY INITIATION AND CRIME. I/
anec at the next term of court, which was held
soon after.
Not being able to secure the attendance of
all my witnesses, my attorney wrote the prose-
cuting attorney asking his consent that my
case be continued. The request was granted.
When the case was called, my attorney
appeared and introduced a motion to continue
the case, filing affidavits necessary in such
cases. The prosecuting attorney having given
his consent, there was no doubt in the minds
of those interested as to the continuance of the
case. For some cause best known to himself,
the judge would not grant the continuance,
and forced me to trial without having a single
witness. It was my intention to have some
fifty witnesses subpoenaed, to prove that the
insurance company of which I was president
was not a fraud. Not being allowed to have
my witnesses, I was, under the instructions of
the court, which were, indeed, exceedingly
pointed, found guilty, and sentenced to
eighteen months' imprisonment and to pay a
fine of two hundred dollars. The political
ring now triumphed for a brief period. In
ardor to prove conclusively to the reader that
fait vra apiece of spite work, I have only to
1 8 THE TWIN HEU-
state that I was the oniy one Ox all the officers
of that company thn'~ :vas ever tried for run-
ning a bogus insurance company. Why was
it that I was the only one sent to the peniten-
tiary when there was the secretary, treasurer,
and six directors equally as guilty as myself?
To prove more conclusively that it was po-
litical spite work that sent me to prison, let
me inform the readers that about the time the
insurance company at Atchison was organized,
a similar one was organized in Topeka. They
were similar in EVERY RESPECT. I was presi-
dent of the one at Atchison, while a distinguished
gentleman by the name of Gen. J. C. Cald-
vvell was president of the one at Topeka. Both
of these companies failed. The president of
the Atchison company was sent to the peni-
tentiary, while the president of the Topeka
company was appointed by the governor of
the State to the responsible position of chair-
man of the State Board of Pardons. Many
persons have asked why this difference in the
treatment of the presidents of these two com-
panies. The only answer that can be given is
that General Caldwell stood in with the Kansas
political ring, while I did not. Every sensible
man must admit that if it was just for me to
MY INITIATION AND CRIME. 19
serve a term in prison for the offense charged
against me, General Caldwell should have
been prescribed for in the same manner. I
have no fight to make upon Mr. Caldwell. He
is an excellent gentlemen. He was in luck.
The fates were against me. Had I been a
State instead of a United States prisoner, no
doubt Mr. Caldwell, as chairman of the Board
of Pardons, would have used his influence to
secure for me my liberty. That I was sent to
prison is wholly due to politico. It is unneces-
sary, therefore, for me to inform the reader
that I am now " out of politics." Having
served out my term I returned to my home in
Atchison. As to the rig that sent me to
prison, some of them are dead, others have
left Atchtson to make their homes in other
places, others have failed financially, and still
others hare fallen so low that they have
scarcely friends enough to bury them should
they happen to die.
The big wfeeel of life keeps on revolving.
Those who are up to-day may be down to-
morrow, and vice versa. But to continue my
narrative . Immediately after my conviction
and sentence I was taken to the Leavenworth
County Jail. Here I remained until the follow-
20 THE TWIN HELLS.
ing Tuesday in the company of a dozen or
more prisoners who were awaiting trial. On
Sunday, while in this jail, my wife, who died
during my imprisonment of a broken heart,
and an account of which is given in a subse-
quent chapter, came to see me. I can never
forget this visit. She remained with me during
the entire day. During the conversation of
the day I said to her that, it seemed that the
future appeared very gloomy. That it would
be a miracle if I ever was able to survive the
disgrace that had been so cruelly placed upon
me. That all ambition and hope as to the
future had fled, and that I could not blame her
if she should now free herself by means of
divorce, as my conviction of crime was a legal
ground for divorce in Kansas. In reply to
this, the noble little woman, her face aglow
with the radiance of womanly devotion, said,
that for twenty years of married life our home
had been one of sunshine ; that I had been
kind to her and made her life one of happiness,
and that now, when misfortune came, it was not
only a duty, but the highestpleasure, to prove
her fidelity. She kept her word. She was
true to the last. When dying, her last words
were a petition for the blessings of God upon
MY INITIATION AND CRIME. 21
her husband who was far away behind frowning
prison walls. On Tuesday morning a deputy
United States marshal came to the jail and
gave me notice that in a few moments we
would leave for the penitentiary. This officer
was a gentleman, and did not seek to further
humiliate me by placing irons on my person.
I have often thought of this act of kindness on
the part of this humane official. We took
the train at Leavenworth, and in a very few
moments were at my future place of residence.
Lansing, the small village where the peniten-
tiary is located, is about five miles from the
city of Leavenworth. The entrance to the
prison is from the west. Under the watchful
care of the officer who had me in charge, I
passed under a stone archway, to the left of
which was a small office, where a guard was on
duty during the day time. We were halted by
this officer, who inquired if we had any fire-
arms. No one visiting the penitentiary is
allowed to carry fire-arms within the enclosure.
The marshal who had me in custody handed
over a large navy revolver. Between this arch-
way and the western wall of the prison is a
beautiful lawn. The walks are liaad with fra-
grant flowers; beautiful fountains send aloft
22 THE TWIN HELLS.
their silvery sprays. Passing up the roadway
leading to the entrance door, and looking about
me upon the rich carpet of green, the flowers
and fountains, I came to the conclusion that
the penitentiary was not so bad a place as I had
imagined. I changed my mind, however, as
soon as I had seen inside the walls.
The prison enclosure contains about ten
acres of ground. This is surrounded by a
stone wall some fifteen feet high, and six feet
thick at the base. It is not more than four
feet at the top. At each of the four corners
may be found a tower rising some ten feet
above the wall. A guard is on duty in each
of these towers during the day. He carries a
double-barreled shotgun loaded with buck-
shot. In case a prisoner tries to escape he is
liable to get a dose of lead, provided the
officer on duty is a good marksman. The
western wall is almost entirely made of a large
stone building with its two long wings. The
main building is four stories. The wings
stretching to the north and south, each two
hundred and fifty feet, contain the cells. On
the first floor of the main building are the
offices of the warden, clerk, deputy warden
MY INITIATION AND CRIME. 2$
and turnkey. The upper rooms are used by
the warden's family.
I was first conducted into the clerk's office
and introduced to Mr. Jones, the clerk. He
is a very pleasant gentleman, and spoke kindly
to me, which I can assure all was very accept-
able, for just about that time I was feeling very
badly. His remark was: " I am very glad to
meet you, Mr. Reynolds, but sorry to meet
you under these sad circumstances." On his
invitation I took a chair and sat down to await
the next part of the progamme. As I sat
there and thought of the kind words spoken to
me by the clerk, I quickly reached the con-
clusion that if all the officers of that institution
were as kind as Mr. Jones, it would not be
as bad a place as I had anticipated. I had no
experience then that would justify any other
conclusion. Soon a side door of the office
opened and in came the deputy warden, Mr.
John Higgins. Mr. H. is the sourest appear-
ing man I ever met in my life. At least, it
seemed so to me on that day. He can get
more vinegar on the outside of his face than
any other person in the State of Kansas.
He did not wait to be introduced to me. He
never craves an introduction to a criminal.
24 THE TWIN HELLS.
As soon as he came into the room he got a
pole with which to measure me. Then, look-
ing at me, in a harsh, gruff voice he called
out: " Stand up here." At first I did not
arise. At the second invitation, however, I
stood up and was measured. My description
was taken by the clerk. In this office there
is to be found a description of all the crim-
inals that ever entered the Kansas peni-
tentiary. I was asked if I was a married man,
how many children I had, and how much
property I possessed. These questions were
easily answered. After the deputy warden
had discharged his duty he retired. I soon dis-
covered that it was according to the rules of
the prison for the officers to talk in a harsh and
abrupt manner to the prisoners. This ac-
counted for the way in which I was greeted by
the deputy warden, who is the disciplinarian of
the prison. I may say, in passing, that all the
harsh manners of Mr. Higgins are simply bor-
rowed for the occasion. Away from the pres-
ence of prisoners, over whom he is to exert his
influence, there is not to be found a more pleas
ant and agreeable gentleman. In came a sec-
ond official, and, in the same gruff manner, said
to me, " Come along." I followed him out to
MY INITIATION AND CRIME. 2$
the wash-house, where I took a bath. A pris^
oner took my measure for a suit of clothes.
After he had passed the tape-line around me
several times, he informed the officer that I was
the same size of John Robinson, who had been
released from the penitentiary the day before.
" Shall I give him John Robinson's clothes? "
asked the convict. In the same gruff manner
the officer said, " Yes, bring on Robinson's old
clothes." So I was furnished with a second-
hand suit! The shoes were second-hand. I
am positive about this last statement, judging
by the aroma. After I had been in the peni-
tentiary some four months, I learned that John
Robinson, whose clothes I had secured, was a
colored man. Being arrayed in this suit of
stripes I was certainly " a thing of beauty."
The coat was a short blouse and striped ; the
stripes, white and black, alternated with each
other, and passed around the body in a horizon-
tal way. The pantaloons were striped ; the
shirt was striped ; the cap was striped. In
fine, it seemed that everything about that pen-
itentiary was striped even to the cats ! Being
dressed, I was next handed an article that
proved, on examination, to be intended for a
handkerchief. It was covered with large blue
26 THE TWIN HELLS.
letters-.- ' Leavenworth Mills. XXX Flour,"
etc. It was a quarter section of a flour sack!
Nine hundred prisoners very soon empty a
great many flour sacks. After the flour has
been consumed the sack is cut up into quarter
sections, washed, hemmed and used for hand-
kerchiefs. No better handkerchief can be
. invented. They are stout, stiff and durable !
They will bear all manner of nasal assaults !
There is no danger of blowing them into atoms,
and the officials are not afraid to give them out
to convicts sent there charged with the use of
dynamite! One of them has been known to
last a prisoner for five years.
After I had donned my suit and taken pos-
session of my handkerchief, I was ordered to
fold my arms. Prisoners marching in ranks,
or going to and fro about the prison enclosure,
are required to have their arms in this posi-
tion. The object is to prevent them from pass-
ing articles. I was marched to the building
known as the south wing of the cell house. In
this building, which is two hundred and fifty
feet long, there are cells for the accommodation
of five hundred convicts. The prisoners who
occupy this wing work in the shops located
above ground, and within the prison enclosure.
MY INITIATION AND CRIME. 2?
The officer in charge conducted me to cell num-
ber one. Click went the lock. The door was
pulled open, and in his usual style, he said, " Get
in. " I stepped in. Slam went the door. Click
went the lock, and I was in a felon's cell ! These
rooms are about four feet wide, seven feet long,
and seven feet high. In many of the cells two
men are confined. These rooms are entirely too
small for the accommodation of two prisoners.
A new cell house is being built, which, when
completed, will afford sufficient additional
room so that each prisoner can have a cell.
In these small rooms there are two bunks or
beds when two convicts occupy the same cell.
The bed-rack is made of iron or wood slats,
and the bed-tick is filled with corn-husks;
the pillow is also filled with the latter ma-
terial, and when packed down becomes as
hard as a board. When the beds are not
in use they are fastened to the side of the
wall with a small chain. When down and in
use they take up nearly the entire space of the
cell, so that it is impossible for the two occu-
pants to pass each other in walking to and fro.
The other furniture consists of a small tin
bucket, holding about two quarts of water, and
a wash-basin. A short-handled broom is also
28 THE TWIN HELLS.
found in one corner of the cell, with which the
convict brushes it out every morning. The
walls are of stone, decorated with a small look-
ing-glass and a towel. Each cell contains one
chair and a Holy Bible. There is no rich
Brussels carpet on the floor, although prison-
ers are allowed one if they furnish it themselves.
No costly upholstered furniture adorns these
safe retreats ! Nothing in that line is to be dis-
covered except one cane-bottomed chair for the
accommodation of two prisoners, so that when
one sits on the chair the other stands, or occu-
pies a seat on the stocte floor. There is not
room for two chairs, or the State would furnish
another chair. These roojns are built of stone.
The door is of one-half inch iron bars, crossing
each other at right angles, leaving small spaces
about two by six inches; through these spaces
come the air, light and heat for the health and
comfort of the inmates. When I entered my
cell on that eventful morning I found it occu-
pied by a prisoner. He was also a new arrival ;
he had preceded me about an hour. When I
entered he arose and gave me his chair, tak-
ing a seat on the floor in the opposite corner.
After I had been locked in, before going away
t*e officer said, " Now I don't want you fellows
MY INITIATION AND CRIME. 29
to get to talking, for that is not permitted in
this institution. " We sat in silence, surveying
each other; in a few moments my companion,
seeing something in my personal appearance
that caused him to lose his self control, laughed.
That he might give full vent to his laughing
propensities, and not make too much noise, he
drew from his pocket his quarter section of a
flour bag and put it into his mouth. He soon
became as red in the face as a lobster. I was
curious, of course, to know what it was that
pleased him so much. Rising from my chair,
going to the door and looking through the
openings I could see no officer near, so I asked
my companion, in a whisper, what it was that
pleased him so. It was with difficulty and
after several trials before he could succeed in
telling me what it was that caused him to be so
convulsed. I told him to take his time, cool off
gradually, as I had eighteen months, and could
wait patiently. At last, being able to control
his feelings sufficiently to tell me, in the midst
of his outbursts of laughter, he said, " You
look just like one of them zebras in Barnum's
Circus! " When my attention was called to the
matter, sure enough, I did look rather striped,
and I, amused at his suggestion, laughed also.
30 THE TWIN HELLS.
Soon an officer came gliding around in front of
the cell, when our laughing ceased. My com-
panion was a young fellow from Doniphan
County. He got drunk and tried to rob an
associate, still drunker, of a twenty dollar gold
piece. He was arrested, tried and convicted
of robbery, receiving a sentence of one year.
Directly an officer came, took him out of my
cell and conducted him to another department.
All alone, I sat in my little parlor for nearly an
hour, thinking over the past. My reverie was
at length broken by the turning of my door
lock. A fresh arrival was told to " git in."
This prisoner had the appearance of just having
been lassoed on the wild western prairies.
He resembled a cow-boy. His whiskers were
long and sandy. His hair, of the same color,
fell upon his shoulders. As soon as the officer
had gone away and everything had become
quiet, I asked this fellow his name. " Horse-
rider," was his reply, from which I inferred
that he was a horse-thief. " How long a term
have you? " was my next question. " Seven