The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1851-10-11
Another Baron Trenck.

EXTRAORDINARY EscAPE--The True Amer
eau" Of Tuesday morning has the following nc.
count Of remarkable escape from the Trcntor
State Prison
An inmate Of the New Jersey State Prison, na
med Edmund Holt, ped from his cell at an
early hour on Monday morning III the most extra
ordinary manner We visited the cell Yesterday
in company with a number Of others who, will
one accord, pronounced the manner in which the
escape was accomplished, the most extraordinary
on record in this State. The prisoner occupied
one Of the lower cells in the middle wing, and
was engaged in the chair department He had
taken up n part Of the floor Of the cell and dug
down perpendicular depth of seven feet. The
| foundation wall is about six feet below the sur
face He burrowed under the wall and up to the
surface of the ground on the outside Til,
brough. him into the yard Of the prison Then
BY means Of ladder, made of pieces Of rope and
bedding, and the stats from the bottom of hi:
bunk. with hooks on the end, made Of nails, he
scaled the outside wall He had to throw the
ladder to the top--the hooks caught to the coping
and after reaching the top he reversed his ladder
and let himself down on the outside
| The cell vas in the utmost confusion. The floor
was covered with about two cart loads OF dirt and
stone He must have been engaged sometime IL
making his arrangements. A course Of stone i.
laid Immediately under the floor Of the cells
These were removed and put on his bunk anc
carefully covered over with bedding. A box
which was used in his cell to put shaviags ill., was
| filled with dirt neatly packed and covered with
shavings The bottom Of the work bench was
also nicely htted with boother stones These
materials bad evidently been taken out by night
before Sunday night, and after working for some
time in this way, the boards we're replaced, and
every suspicious thing moved out Of the way. II
was an easy matter with chair seats shavngs AM
cane, to conceal during the day, every evidence o
his operations during the previous night
| On Sunday night he doubtless felt himself pre-
pared to put himself through : and TO all appear
ances worked with almost incredible industry
The digging was performed with bed screw and
thin pieces of boards we've used for shovelng W
the dirt. All the dirt thrown out on the cell tlool
was put there on Sunday after six o'clock in the
evening--the hour at which the cells were fasten
ed for the night After he got down some five
feet, he made ladder to get in and out of the
hole with the dirt He carried the dirt in a pail
to which he had rope attached After getting
the pail full, he came up with stones in bis hand
and after depositing them carefully on the floor
pulled up the pail full Of earth. One can scarce
| ly imagine how BY such slow process he accom-
plished what he did Every thing had to be done
with great caution, as the least noise would rever
berate through the corrider and would be heard
by the watchmen, The keepers themselves are
perfectly astonished and regard the feat as almots
impossible. The ladder was doubtless made and
concealed during the day. II was made good
and strong and showed considerable Ingenuity.
Holt is represented as being rather a des perato
character. lie was in the State Prison before
but in consequence OF his youth was pardoned
He is only Is years of age, and was sentenced tc
the prison on the | 9Th of June, 1851, in the coun
y OF Essex, for six years, for misdemeanor and
larceny.-He is n native Of Newark. About six
months ago he made similar attempt to escape
from the cells in the north wing but was discov
cred, however, before he had commenced bis ex
cavations by the attention of one of tho keepers
having been directed to the washboard which he
had loosened. lie was then removed to the mid
die wing
Before he left, he wrote on the slate hanging il
his cell these words:
"Now bid farewell to my country,
And all my companions tha, leave behind
Fer You will never see my tnce again
As long as the sun does shine
He had GOODNESS enough it appears to attemp,
poetic eifusion before his departure On the
! wall he had painted with charcoal and red chalk
n variety Of handaome figures underneath the
principal one, which represented beautiful tar
cot, he had drawn iu letters:
Iiberty's wanted
BY every body.
A reward offifty dollars has been offered fo'
his Apprehension. A little girl, /, is said, saw him
about ayligh running in the direction Of Lamber
ton and occasionally looking back.