This attendant was a carpenter or mechanic of some kind; was a tall, lean, bald-headed, cruel-hearted man. His stay was short; negro Lawrence was too strong for him, as I saw them in a tussle; but a child could handle a strong man when harnessed tightly with the asylum harness.
A soldier of the last war, after listening to one transaction and seeing the asylum harness, told me how he was tortured when a prisoner in Libby prison, bound in chains and almost starved. I have seen so much of human nature I believed him. A fool can lead a horse to water but he cannot make him drink. I have revealed great truths thus far in my history; do not expect to convert the world, but will try to do my duty.
TRANSACTIONS IN MY ROOM.
Charles Barclay was a great sufferer in the hands of this cruel mechanic and attendant, Barclay being bound with handcuffs, A, muff, E, and belt B, became somewhat noisy. He had enough to endure to make a sane man crazy.
One morning came in this cruel mechanic with a cord tied to a round stick as large as a broom handle, placed it into Barclay's mouth then placing the cord back of his neck tied it to the other end of the stick, which was in the poor man's mouth, his hands were bound and he was gagged and left in this suffering condition till dinner time; loosened a little while for dinner and then gagged till supper time, and so on from day to day.
Reader, did I not have a specific object of prayer before me as a room mate?
AFTER THE GAGGING ATTENDANT LEFT.
Another attendant came who gave me the first medicine I had after I entered the institution. The first medicine I received was three sugar-coated pills; must have been in the spring of 1864, it was before I became acquainted with Dr. Lomax.
No unkindness did he manifest to me, only he robbed me of the tobacco my wife brought me on her visit about that time.