At the opposite end of the cell from the door, was a three foot by four foot casement window. The two sashes had cloth over them and opened inwardly. The window frame had iron bars, chicken wire, and mosquito netting in it. On the outside of the window were wooden palings covering about three-fourths of the window from the bottom upward. The result was light and air but a very limited view. In my case, I could see, other than the sky, the top half of a two story, circular guard's barracks.

The light in the cell was provided by a weak bulb of about fifteen watts. It was set into a hole in the wall near the ceiling. so that it could serve two cells. The hole was covered by a heavy glass with wire imbedded in it, which discouraged intercell communication. The light was turned on at twilight and off at dawn.

High over the door, a hole in the wall provided ventilation from the corridor.

Heat originated in a potbellied stove which would be erected in the corridor sometime during the fall. The stove pipe rose to a hole high in the front of the first of three cells. Traveling the length of this cell, the pipe made a 90 degree left turn, went through the wall into the second cell, through that cell into the third cell, then, after a right turn, through the outside wall. In this manner, three cells were very inefficiently served with heat. Most of the heat stayed in the corridor, some went into the first cell, less into the second, and precious little into the third. I was in the second of three such cells, and damned thankful I wasn't in the third.

My bed was a wooden platform resting on one-foot high saw horses, with a straw mat covered by a thin cotton mattress. There was also a cotton-padded quilt for cover.

On winter days I would sit with my back to the outside wall, so the guard could see my face when he used the observation hole. I wore all my clothing, including the long underwear I wore when I was shot down, shirt and the padded clothing I'd been issued at Mukden. The latter consisted of padded jacket, padded pants, padded overcoat, and padded hat with earflaps. The horse hair sneakers would not keep warm what remained of my left foot, so after registering a complaint, I was given a pair of padded booties which, with socks, and shoes, all covered by two layers of padded quilt, did the trick. I was not allowed to keep my padded mittens. I don't know why. Maybe it was because they were attached by a cord which, conceivably, could be used to strangle someone — like me. Of course, the cord could have been cut off. However, without them, I sat with my arms crossed and my hands up my sleeves.

To keep my crutches in the attendants' office was a logical decision on their part — there wasn't enough room in my cell for both me and my crutches. Now that I think of it, maybe they kept them in self defense. Balancing myself on one foot while flailing away with a crutch in an attempt to inscribe a ten foot wide arc in a five foot wide cell, I would have been a real menace!

Not being able to walk the few paces possible in my cell, I exercised by doing sit-ups, push-ups, and leg-lifts, when guards were not outside the door.

In addition to the bunk, there were three pieces of furniture. The first was a stool which I could use as a table. This was a concession to my condition. The second item was a piece of crockery shaped like a spittoon. This was a urinal which had a wooden cover with a long wooden handle sticking up from the center. The third was a metal wash basin which was kept under the head-end of the bunk.

It's evident that these items could provide for all of nature's functions except one, which brings me to an adjunct to the accommodations within the cell.

This particular cellblock was called Lunatic Lane. I learned why it was named, long before I learned what it was named.

Then the attendants would return to the first cell. This time when the door was opened, the prisoner would come out with his urinal and wash basin. He'd carry them to the latrine where he would be locked inside. Here he would perform the function for which it was constructed. He would empty his urinal and basin, as well. In a short time he would be released to return to his cell.

While one attendant would operate the latrine door, the other would be opening cell doors.