Johnstown High School - Spectator Yearbook (Johnstown, PA)

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2 THE SPECTATOQR circular hole. This hole is the only thing that mars the hrm rock sides of the wall. Therefore it served a great many purposes. The prisoners entered by this sort of trap door, their food and drink, light and air, all came to the uufortu- nate victims through this opening in the ceiling. The lower vault contains also a spring which St. Peter, during his imprisonment here, miraculously caused to spring up, and from which he baptized two captains of the guards, Processus and Nlartinianus. lt is said few who entered this old Roman state prison ever came out alive. Among the unfortunate men imprison- ed and executed here are Jugurtha, King of Numidiag Vircin- getorex, King of the Gaulsg the Catalineconspiratorsg Saint Peter, and Saint Paul. Our party greatly enjoyed our vitit to the Nlammertine Prison. The old grey walls, the iron hooks, the hole inthe ceiling, these suggest so many horrible scenes to the visitor that he shudders, and hastens to regain once more the sun- light and warmth of which some of those prisoners of the past were so unjustly deprived. 5 F. LILLIAN MURDOCK 'ro A True Story of the Civil War HE humidity of the ofhcers' room in Libby Prison at Richmond was intense. The prisoners, most of them too tired and sick at heart to talk, lay around on the hard floor. A few others discussed in low tones the progress of the war and the possibility of escape thru the underground tunnel, which at the time, was slowly being dug from the privates' room in the basement to a house across the way. Up and down the hallway in front of the room a guard paced, who, every once in a while, looked in at the door, to see that no mischief was brewing. At length the sound of the regular tramp of a squad of soldiers, coming up the stairs, broke the quietness, hushing all talk, and at the same time, causing the prisoners to anx- iously glance toward the doorway. In a moment they en- tered, led by an officer and a couple of prison officials.

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be 1bigb School Spectator. ' ' ' 'Uires acquifit euudo. ' ' VoL. X. HIGH SCHOOL, JOHNSTOWN, PA. No. 2. . K 4 5' ,!IH'l - i' s ., g,,i l,Ql 'Nj' X lllll ,ill W 1 ' ' til. ,3l- ,, . N ,ll T rv - . l A . 1 I L . ,,, .. je 6' A A, fri' - 1,1 TER! A12 Y A Bit of Antiquity arcer Mamertinus is an old, old prison. lt is situated in the heart of Ancient Rome andfaces the Roman Forum. The traveler can well afford to turn aside from the Forum for several minutes, and visit this one of the most ancient Roman constructions. A few steps, Scala Gemonia', lead from this building to the famous public habitation of the an- cient Romans. This was built by Ancus Martins in 450 B. C. No other unrestored structure, created by the hands of man, of such great age, and in such an excellent state of preservation, stands in Rome today. In the centuries which have passed since the construction of this dungeon, nature has filled up the space around it, covering everything so that now only only a part of it stands above the level of the street. This powerful old building consists of two dungeons, one below the other. The lower one was used as a prison. The room is nineteen feet long, ten feet wide, and six and one-half high. The walls, ceiling, and floor are of blocks of rock, three feet square, Htted together perfectly. In the wails are iron hooks to which t-he prisoners were chained. In the ceiling which is slightly arched to keep it up, is a

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THE SPECTATOR 3 When quietness had been resumed, one of the ofhcials step- ped forward and in a harsh voice announced that because of the shooting of two Confederate spies by the Northern- ers, in retaliation, two men out of the imprisoned ofhcers were to be picked and shot. With a look of horror over- spreading the countenances of the hundred or more men, they all jumped to their feet. Big drops of perspiration came to the foreheads of men, who, without the least bit of fear, had gonethru many a hard battle. Death was a cer- tainty for two, out of their number and who could say that it would not come to him. The names of all written on slips ofpaper having been placed in a hat, a man out of their midst was blindfolded and forced to pick from the hat two of the slips. Slowly he reached in the hat and taking a slip, tremblingly pulled it out. An official took it and read the name. With a gasp the bearer of the name started forwards, then suddenly col- lapsed. A sigh intermingled with relief and pity escaped the rest. But it was cut short by the drawing of the other name. The second man did not stir, or even move an eye- lash, but instead, stolidly stared at the blank prison wall in front of him. When it was all over, the remainder of the men dropped to the floor overcome by the anxiety and fear of the moment, while the unfortunates were torn away by the sol- diers in the midst of the farewells to their friends, and their last messages to their loved ones at home. J. E. C. ex-'08 i The Game A football game is on to day, The boys are all in trim g And now they're marching toward the point A victory to win. The ball is punted, signals tried, And all the plays gone o'er: Till some one shouts, There comes their team In at the other door.