338 Proceedings of the Council of Maryland, 1769-1770.

Lib. C. B.
No. 20

ner went out of the Goal and sent in a Gang of his Father's
Negroes and whipt M^r Stoddard's Negro in a barbarous man-
ner as appeared by the Cuts in his Body then they brought him
back in Goal and took out a free Mulatto Woman and Whipt
her, then they took out William Watts a White Man and
Whipt him and then came in a great gang of his Father's
Negroes and tyed the Hands of William Wright a very honest
Man a Debtor and carried him out and whipt him in a most
Barbarous manner as will now appear by the Marks in his
Body and then brought him into the Prison with his hands
tyed and a Rope about one of his Legs led by Negroes like an

Ox to be Slaughtered, the next Morning the Sheriff came

to the Prison Door and I prayed him to let me have some Fire
to dress my frost bit Legg and Foot which was then very bad
but he immediately sent in his Father's Negroes and carried
out the Kettles and there I was in a deplorable Condition
where I was frost bitten and in great pain and he would not
let me have a few Coals in a Chafing Dish to dress my Legg
while we had fire it was put out with Water every Night by
Sunset a Stopper put in the hole in the Door and seldom open
till eight o'Clock next Morning so that we were kept in utter
Darkness except what came through a Crevis in the Wall our
Wives were not allowed to come to the Goal or Speak to us and
when we first came here we were forbid Writing to anybody or
receiving any Letters but what were sent to the Sheriff to
Read before we received a Letter or sent away from the
Prison, I sent three Letters to March Court and desired the
Sheriff to give them a Passage to Port Tobacco but he broke
them open and Read them to his Mother and Sisters and then
destroyed them, there was one to my Wife another Major
Jenifer and another to Joseph Courts but none of them came
to hand M^r Samuel Hanson sent a Letter with Sundry Papers
inclosed in the Letter and delivered it to Lane Posie under
Sheriff and Posie gave it to the High Sheriff who broke it open
and kept it and the Papers two days before I got it and then
some of my Papers missing, but when the hot Weather came
he had the Prison Sealed as Close as Possible only two Holes
of Eight Inches square and five Barrs of Iron in each hole

p. 91

and Stoppers to Shut in them not the least Glimmering of
Light or Air to be had and them Stoppers shut up at Sun Set
and not allowed to burn our own Candles Fifteen, Men of us
were kept all Summer in a fifteen feet square Room and when
the Windows were Stopp'd up Close the heat of so many Men's
Bodies and Breaths that we were all but Smothered with heat,
it is impossible to describe what we Suffered, an officious hire-
ling Woman in the Prison every Night with a Gang of Ne-
groes and searched all the Debtors Pockets and Breeches and