Prisons and Prayer; Or, a Labor of LoveWheaton, Elizabeth Ryder
Religion
Prisons and Prayer; Or, a Labor of Love
Wheaton, Elizabeth Ryder
Evangelistic work; Prisons
I never will forget my feelings when first the howls of the
bloodhounds sounded in my ears. I was in a stockade and there was a
noise such as I never heard before. I was on my knees praying and the
wife of the captain came in saying, "There has been an escape and the
guards and dogs are after the convict." I just lifted my heart to the
Lord in prayer for the poor unfortunate, hunted man. I never stopped
to think whether white or black; old or young; innocent or guilty; my
one cry was for the life and safety of my boy.
Mothers you know how you would feel were it your boy. Well, I got
initiated in that part of prison management that day. I have one
thought above all others and that is to do God's will and obey Him and
help all in anyway I can into a good life here and a home in Heaven at
last; poor heart-sick, home-sick and sin-sick souls. The very thought
of the convict being helpless should appeal to our sympathy and God,
the Judge of all the universe, is going to call us to give an account
for our stewardship. Men and women must be governed but not by brute
force. We may overpower them, but do we conquer them? Have we won them
to a better life and to good citizenship?
[Illustration: CONVICTS GETTING OUT COAL.]
COAL MINES.
The prison stockades vary in number. Sometimes there may be thirty or
forty in one state, sometimes probably not half that many. It depends
upon the number of prisoners in the penitentiary and into how many
sections they are divided. When I was at Coal City, Ga., a number of
years ago, it was one of the most weird and desolate-looking places in
which I had ever found a stockade located. There were three stockades
on the summit of the mountain, and one at its base. At the last place
the men were mining coal. When I first went there they used a small
car that would hold eight passengers. Then this was abandoned and we
were obliged to ride on the engine, as they carried only coal cars for
shipping the coal that was mined by the prisoners. I was often in
great danger of my clothes taking fire as the fire blazed out of the
engine when the men were shoveling in the coal. The railroad
zig-zagged up the mountain, and once, a sister and myself were obliged
to ride on the coal-box, as the engine was packed with men and one
woman before we had arrived from the other train. I had to kneel down
and hold onto the side of the coal box with both hands, and as the
engine twisted and turned, I was in danger of falling, and it was
hundreds of feet down to the foot of the precipices in places where
our train crept along. All the way up the mountain I prayed God to
protect us. The train was run by prisoners, yet I always felt safe
with them.
A TOUCHING INCIDENT.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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