Texas Gulag: The Chain Gang Years 1875-1925 - Softcover

Brown, Gary

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1556229313 ISBN 13: 9781556229312

Publisher: Taylor Trade Publishing, 2002

Synopsis

For fifty years prison inmates in Texas were leased out to railroads, coal mines, farm plantations, and sawmill crews with terrible incidences of brutality, cruelty, injury, and death to the prisoners.
They were forced to produce daily work quotas of seven tons of coal, three hundred pounds of cotton, or one and one-half cords of wood. They were fed spoiled hog meat and slept on mattresses filled with bugs and filthy from sweat, blood, and dirt. They were punished by brutal whippings with an instrument known as the "bat" and by various other methods. Self-mutilation by cutting off fingers, hands, and feet and even self-blinding were commonplace to avoid working in these lease camps.
It was a period in which the state prison system was shrouded in secrecy. Former prisoners had only one option available to try to inform the public about the brutality and corruption. They could write their personal memoirs. And an amazing number of them did―dating back to the 1870s. Herein are some of their stories.

About this title

About the Author:

Author Gary Brown spent twenty-three years in Texas prisons as a teacher and counselor. His book Singin' a Lonesome Song: Texas Prison Tales is a collection of stories about colorful characters who have served time in Texas prisons over the past 150 years. His other books include Volunteers in the Texas Revolution: The New Orleans Greys and Hesitant Martyr in the Texas Revolution: James Walker Fannin. He resides in Friendswood, Texas.

About this edition

• Publisher: Taylor Trade Publishing
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 1556229313
• ISBN 13: 9781556229312
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 284