The Twin Hells - Chapter I



CHAPTER I. MY INITIATION AND CRIME

Guilty! This word, so replete with sadness and 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 convicted was that of using the 
mails for fraudulent 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 have writing material in my cell, I first mastered short-
hand writing, or phonography, and then 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 Reservation 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 president. 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 business at a great sacrifice, and came to Atchison, Kansas. Here I 
located, and made it my future home. Soon after my arrival I commenced the 
publication of a daily newspaper, known as the "Times." In the county in 
which I located I found one of the worst and most corrupt 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 newspaper 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 directed 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 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 
circular 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 capital of this corporation was SUBSCRIBED, but not all paid 
in, as it was not needed in the business of the company. After indictment 
I was arrested, and gave bonds for my appearance 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 prosecuting 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 order to prove conclusively to the reader that this was a piece 
of spite work, I have only to state that I was the only one of all the 
officers of that company that was ever tried for running a bogus insurance 
company. Why was it that I was the only one sent to the penitentiary when 
there was the secretary, treasurer, and six directors equally as guilty as 
myself? 

To prove more conclusively that it was political 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 president of the one at 
Atchison, while a distinguished gentleman by the name of Gen. J. C. 
Caldwell was president of the one at Topeka. Both of these companies 
failed. The president of the Atchison company was sent to the 
penitentiary, while the president of the Topeka company was appointed by 
the governor of the State to the responsible position of chairman of the 
State Board of Pardons. Many persons have asked why this difference in the 
treatment of the presidents of these two companies. 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 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 politics. It is unnecessary, 
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 
ring that sent me to prison, some of them are dead, others have left 
Atchison to make their homes in other places, others have failed 
financially, and still others have fallen so low that they have scarcely 
friends enough to bury them should they happen to die. 

The big wheel 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 following 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 subsequent 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 
highest pleasure, 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 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 penitentiary 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 firearms. 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 archway and the 
western wall of the prison is a beautiful lawn. The walks are lined with 
fragrant flowers; beautiful fountains send aloft 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 buckshot. 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 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 acceptable, 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 conclusion 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 appearing 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. As soon as he came into the room he got a pole 
with which to measure me. Then, looking 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 
criminals that ever entered the Kansas penitentiary. 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 discovered 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 accounted 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 borrowed 
for the occasion. Away from the presence of prisoners, over whom he is to 
exert his influence, there is not to be found a more pleasant and 
agreeable gentleman. In came a second official, and, in the same gruff 
manner, said to me, "Come along." I followed him out to the wash-house, 
where I took a bath. A prisoner 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 penitentiary 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 horizontal way. The pantaloons were striped; the shirt was striped; the 
cap was striped. In fine, it seemed that everything about that 
penitentiary 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 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 handkerchiefs. 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 possession 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 
position. The object is to prevent them from passing 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. 

The officer in charge conducted me to cell number 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 material, 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 occupants to pass each other in walking to and fro. 
The other furniture consists of a small tin bucket, holding about two 
quarts of water, and a wash-basin. A short-handled broom is also found in 
one corner of the cell, with which the convict brushes it out every 
morning. The walls are of stone, decorated with a small looking-glass and 
a towel. Each cell contains one chair and a Holy Bible. There is no rich 
Brussels carpet on the floor, although prisoners are allowed one if they 
furnish it themselves. No costly upholstered furniture adorns these safe 
retreats! Nothing in that line is to be discovered except one cane-
bottomed chair for the accommodation of two prisoners, so that when one 
sits on the chair the other stands, or occupies a seat on the stone floor. 
There is not room for two chairs, or the State would furnish another 
chair. These rooms are built of stone. The door is of one-half inch iron 
bars, crossing each other at right angles, leaving small spaces about two 
by six inches; through these spaces come the air , light and heat for the 
health and comfort of the inmates. When I entered my cell on that eventful 
morning I found it occupied by a prisoner. He was also a new arrival; he 
had preceded me about an hour. When I entered he arose and gave me his 
chair, taking a seat on the floor in the opposite corner. After I had been 
locked in, before going away the officer said, "Now I don't want you 
fellows to get to talking, for that is not permitted in this institution. 
"We sat in silence, surveying each other; in a few moments my companion, 
seeing something in my personal appearance that caused him to lose his 
self control, laughed. That he might give full vent to his laughing 
propensities, and not make too much noise, he drew from his pocket his 
quarter section of a flour bag and put it into his mouth. He soon 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. Soon an officer came gliding 
around in front of the cell, when our laughing ceased. My companion 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.
"Horserider," was his reply, from which I inferred that he was a horse-
thief. "How long a term have you?" was my next question. "Seven years," 
was his reply. I comforted him by saying it would be some time before he 
rode another horse. 

The next part of the programme consisted in a little darkey coming in 
front of our cell with a rudely constructed barber's chair. The cell door 
opened, and an officer said to me, as if he would hit me with a club the 
next moment, "Git out of there." I went out. Pointing to the barber's 
chair, he said, "Squat yourself in that chair." I sat down. "Throw back 
your head." I laid it back. It was not long before my raven mustache was 
off, and my hair cut rather uncomfortably short for fly time. After this 
tonsorial artist had finished his work then came the command once more, 
"Git in." I got in. It now came Mr. Horserider's turn to bid a long 
farewell to his auburn locks. He took his place in the chair, and the 
little darkey, possibly for his own amusement, cut off the hair on one 
side of the head and left the other untouched. He then shaved one side of 
his face without disturbing the other. At this moment the bell for dinner 
rang, and the little colored fellow broke away and ran to his division, to 
fall in ranks, so that he would not miss his noon meal. Once more Mr. 
Horserider entered his cell and we were locked in. A more comical object I 
never beheld; he did not even possess the beauty of a baboon; he might 
certainly have passed for the eighth wonder of the world. When he came in 
I handed him the small looking-glass and asked him how he liked his hair-
cut. Remember, one side of his head and face was shaved close, and the 
other covered with long sandy hair and beard. Looking into the glass, he 
exclaimed: "Holy Moses! and who am I, anyway?" I answered his question by 
stating that he favored Mr. What-Is-It. He was very uneasy for a time, 
thinking that he was going to be left in that condition. He wanted to know 
of me if all horse-thieves of the penitentiary wore their hair and 
whiskers in this style. I comforted him all I could by imparting the 
information that they did. He was much relieved when the darkey returned 
after dinner and finished the shaving. 

I was next taken out of my cell to pass a medical examination. Dr. Mooney, 
the gentlemanly officer in charge of the hospital, put in an appearance 
with a large book under his arm and sat down by a table. I was ushered 
into his presence. He began asking me questions, and wrote down my answers 
in his book, which proved to be the physician's register. 

"Have you any decayed teeth?" was his first question, 

"No, sir," was my reply. 

"Have you ever lost any teeth?" 

"No, sir." 

"Have you ever had the measles?" 

"Yes, sir." 

"Have you ever had the mumps?" 

"Yes, sir." 

"Have you ever had the chicken-pox?" 

"Yes, sir." 

"Have you ever had the thresh?" 

Well, I didn't know what was meant by the thresh. I knew that I had been 
"thrashed" a great many times, and inferred from that fact that I must 
have had the disease at some time or other in my youth, so I answered, 

"Yes, sir." 

"Have you ever had the itch?" 

"What kind?" said I. "The old fashioned seven year kind? Y-e-s, sir, I 
have had it." 

He then continued asking me questions, and wanted to know if I ever had a 
great many diseases, the names of which I had never heard before. Since I 
catch almost everything that comes along, I supposed, of course, that at 
some period during my childhood, youth or early manhood I had suffered 
from all those physical ills, so I always answered, 

"Yes, sir." He wound up by inquiring if I ever had a stroke of the horse 
glanders. I knew what was meant by that disease, and replied in the 
negative. 

He then looked at me over the top of his spectacles, and, in a rather 
doubting manner, said, "and you really have had all these diseases? By the 
way," he continued, "are you alive at the present moment after all that 
you have suffered?" Mr. Mooney is an Irishman. He was having a little cold-
blooded sport at my expense. Whenever you meet an Irishman you will always 
strike a budget of fun. 

His next question was, "Are you a sound man?" 

My reply was to the effect that I was, physically, mentally and morally. 
So he wrote down in his book opposite my name "physically and mentally a 
sound man." He said he would take my word for being sound morally, but 
that he would not put that down on the books for the present, for fear 
there might be a mistake somewhere. Before discharging me, he calmly 
stated that I would make a good coal miner. All the prisoners undergo this 
medical cross-examination. 

After I had run the doctor's gauntlet, I was conducted from the south wing 
of the cell-house to the north wing. Here I met for the first time Mr. 
Elliott, who has charge of this building during the daytime. It is a part 
of this highly efficient officer's duty to cross-examine the prisoners as 
to where they have lived and what they have been doing. His examinations 
are very rigid. He is a bright man, a good judge of human nature, and can 
tell a criminal at sight. He would make an able criminal lawyer. He is the 
prison detective. By means of these examinations he often obtains clues 
that lead to the detection of the perpetrators of crime. I have been told 
by good authority that on account of information obtained by this 
official, two murderers were discovered in the Kansas penitentiary, and, 
after their terms had expired, they were immediately arrested, and, on 
requisition, taken back to the Eastern States, where the crimes had been 
committed, and there tried, convicted and punished according to the laws 
of those States. After I had been asked all manner of questions by this 
official, he very kindly informed me that I came to the penitentiary with 
a bad record. He further stated that I was looked upon as one of the worst 
criminals in the State of Kansas. This information was rather a set-back 
to me, as I had no idea that I was in possession of any such record as 
that. I begged of him to wait a little while before he made up his mind 
conclusively as to my character, for there might be such a thing as his 
being mistaken. There is no man that is rendering more effective service 
to the State of Kansas in the way of bringing criminals to justice than 
Mr. Elliott. He has been an officer of the prison for nearly nine years. 
As an honest officer he is above reproach. As a disciplinarian he has no 
superior in the West. 

After this examination I was shown to my cell. It was now about two 
o'clock in the afternoon of my first day in prison. I remained in the cell 
alone during the entire afternoon. Of all the dark hours of my eventful 
history, none have been filled with more gloom and sadness than those of 
my first day in prison. Note my antecedents--a college graduate, a county 
clerk, the president of a bank, and an editor of a daily newspaper. All my 
life I had moved in the highest circles of society, surrounded by the best 
and purest of both sexes, and now, here I was, in the deplorable condition 
of having been hurled from that high social position, down to the low 
degraded plane of a convict. As I sat there in that desolate abode of the 
disgraced, I tried to look out down the future. All was dark. For a time 
it seemed as if that sweet angel we call hope had spread her wings and 
taken her departure from me forever. The black cloud of despair seemed 
settling down upon me. But very few persons possess the ability to make 
any thing of themselves after having served a term in the penitentiary. 
Having once fallen to so low a plane it is almost impossible to rise 
again. Young man, as you peruse this book, think of these things. Once 
down as a felon it is a miracle if one ever regains what he has lost. I 
sat brooding over these things for an hour or more, when my manhood 
asserted itself. Hope returned. I reasoned thus: I am a young man. I enjoy 
good health. There will be only a few months of imprisonment and then I 
will be free. I thought of my loving wife, my little children, my aged 
mother, my kind friends, and for their sake I would not yield to despair. 
Soliciting the aid of a kind Heavenly Father, I resolved to do the best I 
could toward regaining what I had lost. My father was a minister of the 
gospel for fifty years prior to his death. He was not blessed with much of 
this world's goods. For this reason I began in very early life to aid 
myself. I spent seven years in college preparing for the struggles that 
awaited me. I earned every dollar of the money which paid my expenses 
while securing my education. I carried the hod to assist in building the 
college in which I afterward graduated. Few men can truthfully make this 
statement of themselves. While working my way through the institution 
where I received my education, I learned one useful lesson--self reliance. 
I learned to depend upon my own efforts for success. Every one must learn 
this useful lesson before he can become anything in life. After I had met 
with misfortune and found myself in a prison cell, I was glad that I had 
learned to rely upon my own efforts. 

The question: "What shall I do in the future?" now came to me. That 
afternoon I laid my plans which I would carry out out in the years to 
come. I was financially ruined in the great battle I carried on with the 
Atchison ring. I was aware of the fact that, when I got out of the 
penitentiary, all the money that I would have with which to make another 
start in life would be five dollars. The United States presents her 
prisoners, when discharged, with a suit of citizen's clothes and five 
dollars. This was my capital. What could I do with five dollars, in the 
way of assisting me in getting another financial foot-hold in life? After 
my release it was necessary for me to do something at once to get money. 
It never entered my mind to borrow. It will be interesting to the reader 
to know what I did, after my prison days were past, to make a "quick 
raise." Sixteen months of imprisonment slipped away. I regained my liberty 
on Monday. I received my five dollars and immediately started for my home, 
in Atchison. On my arrival, Monday night, I had four dollars and ten 
cents. On Tuesday morning I went to the proprietor of the Opera House, in 
Atchison, and inquired how much money was necessary to secure the use of 
the building for the next evening. "Fifty dollars,"was his reply. I gave 
him all the money I had, and persuaded him to trust me for the rest. I 
informed him that I was going to deliver a lecture on my prison life. He 
asked if I thought anybody would come to hear a convict talk. In answer, I 
told him that was the most important question that was agitating my mind 
at the present moment, and if he would let me have the use of the Opera 
House we would soon settle that question. I further told him that if the 
receipts of the evening were not enough to pay him for the use of the 
house, that I would pay him as soon as possible. He let me have the use of 
the house. I advertised in the daily papers of the city that I would 
lecture in the Opera House the following evening on my prison life,--
admission fifty cents. I thought if the good people wanted to come at all 
they would come even if they had to pay well for it. I was very restless 
from the morning that I engaged the Opera House until the next evening, at 
which time I was to speak. I did not know whether I would have any 
audience. If not, I was fifty dollars deeper in debt. The evening for the 
lecture came, I went to the Opera House prepared to interest anyone that 
might put in an appearance; I entered the building in the rear, and took 
my position on the platform. The signal was given and up went the curtain. 
I was highly pleased when I saw my audience. The building was packed. The 
lecture was a financial success. In this manner I secured a nice "stake" 
for future use. I delivered that lecture for several weeks in Kansas, and 
made a thousand dollars above expenses. To return to my first afternoon in 
the cell. I thought of another scheme. I conceived the idea that a book 
about, a penitentiary, giving its history, and also the history of many of 
the leading criminals, modes of punishment, escapes, etc., would be very 
interesting, and would sell. I decided to write such a book while in 
prison. In order to write a book it became necessary to have writing 
material. How was I to secure this? It was against the prison regulations 
for a prisoner to have a lead-pencil or scrap of paper. The officials were 
very strict on this point. It was essential they should be. If the 
prisoners could pass notes, it would not be long before a prison 
insurrection would be the result. The plan that I adopted to secure 
writing material was rather unique, and perhaps the reader will like to 
know how I managed this difficult matter. It is wonderful what a man can 
accomplish, with adverse surroundings, if he wills it. As I have stated 
before, I had much to do in securing the election of Hon. W. D. Gilbert to 
the district judgeship. This made him feel very kind toward me. He came 
often to visit me at the prison. One day while visiting me, I asked him to 
use his influence with the warden to secure for me the privilege of having 
writing material in my cell. "What do you want with writing material," 
said he. The answer I gave was, that I might pass away my leisure hours in 
learning to write short-hand. He called on Warden Smith, and got his 
consent. He told the warden that if I would master this useful art while 
in prison, on my release, he would appoint me his district court reporter, 
at a salary Of $2,500 a year. The scheme was a success. I sent and got my 
short-hand books and writing material. I mastered short-hand, and can now 
write as fast as one would care to dictate. It was not long before I began 
writing my book in short-hand. The officials, as was their custom, would 
examine my cell daily to see if anything had crept in that did not belong 
there. They could not read short-hand. They did not know what so many 
little straight marks and curves indicated. I persevered, and one month 
before my time expired I had my book completed, and sent it out by a 
friend who visited the prison, who kept it for me until I secured my 
liberty. As before stated, I lectured until I got money sufficient, and 
then I published my first book on prisons, giving it the impressive title 
of "A Kansas Hell." This book sold rapidly, and soon the first edition was 
disposed of. I made enough money out of this book to place me on my feet, 
financially. But, to return to my cell the first afternoon. I remained 
alone until time for the prisoners to come in from their work, when I 
found that I was to have a "life man" for my cell-mate, whose name was 
Woodward R. Lopeman. I have given his history in a subsequent chapter. I 
remained in my cell during the evening, until the prison bell rang for 
retiring. Strange to say, after going to bed, I soon fell asleep, and did 
not awake until the prison bell rang on the following morning. When I did 
awake, it was to find myself, not in my own pleasant little home in the 
city of Atchison, Kansas, but in a felon's cell. I arose and dressed, and 
then waited and wondered what would be the next thing on the programme.