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