ty of potatoes, half a peck of
which I took to my house and cooked, finding only one or two, among the
whole, fit to put into the human stomach. Hence, I looked over my army
dietary, found the cracked wheat answered a good purpose, and proposed
it here." The potatoes were watery.

My attention had now been so loudly called to the prison living by the
complaints of those liberated, that I determined to observe for myself,
so far as opportunity might offer, keeping my own counsel in this as in
all other matters, that I might be the better prepared to judge of the
truthfulness of their stories. Notwithstanding the cracked wheat, those
potatoes were set before them. If not at this meal, they were at others,
but largely returned untouched. The substituted dish would also be
regularly returned by a large number. But why purchase these potatoes
"not fit to be put into the human stomach"? True, many such were in the
market, but there were good ones, too, though costing more money.
Families in the city found no difficulty about obtaining a good article.
These, of course, came at a low figure, favoring here, as did everything
else, this money-making idea.

19. _Bad fish, &c._ In the fall, the agent informed me, he had made for
the state what he considered a great bargain, in the purchase of between
one and two tons of fish. He said, "I found this in the hands of a man
who had attempted to prepare it after a certain patent, but had, some
way, missed his point and could not sell it. Had he succeeded, it would
have brought thirteen cents a pound. He offered it to me for three. I
took some to the prison, and they said that they could use it, hence, I
purchased the whole." He further remarked, that the article was covered
with a reddish mold. This, I was informed, is a sign of decay in fish.
He also alluded to the great reduction in price he obtained on his
prison supply of molasses.--It should be understood that this is used at
all times in prison, on bread, as a substitute for butter.

After this, those leaving prison had these additional grounds for
complaint. They complained, also, that the tobacco was very bad in
quality and scant in quantity, the very cheapest article. One said that
the scent of the fish carried into his cell at noon, would not be gone
on his return at night. A woman, a waiter on the prison family table at
the time of the purchase of the fish, informed me of its ordeal there.
Nothing having been said to