The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1865-12-17
nov stephens. the Feuiau Head
Center. Escaped.
The LIaa1n clrrrsp5usisug o. the New
York News says

Z York News says.
THE EsCArE.
such vas the position OF shair, up ID
1hursday night last At eight O'Clock On
thursday evening the corridor In winch
stephens slept was securely loc ked, the eel
door was, % course, Kept locked, except
during the hour allowed Ger exercise. This
corridor forms the upper story OF one wing
Of an shaped building; it Is about tiiirfV
yards long, and is divided from is contiuua-
tioa in the other wing by a heavy. solid
iron door, which was kept securely locked
I II the wrong side ot this door. through
which they could not even see The prison
/ er's cell door, the three policemen were
/ stationed. AT the other end Of the corrids-
Is massive iron door, with huge cumber-
! some lock, opening directly on the lobby OF
a stone staircase, oy descending four flights
/ Of whlch ycu reach the grouud. The door
I Of thc cell ia which stsuhsus slept Is cassd
with iroui the ksy-holo IS on ths outside.
the inner SIDE being a complete blank Iae
door b secured BY heavy swing bar, fast
ened BY paddock Of about eighie inches
IN circumference. AT ten o'clock on Thurs
day night the keys Of the cell and corridor
doors, with many others, were deposited a
the case provided for the purpose Ia the
Governors room. The night was wild sud
stormy the rain poured down 10 torrents.
and fierce gale hOWled and whistled
around the labyrinth Of dimly-it buildings
that stand within the halls Of old Rich-
mond. The night passed dresrily along.
aud the prison authorities slept on ia full /
security till shout four o'clock In the morn I
ING, when Denis ByIue, the watchman for I
the night, whose duty It was to /
patrol the outer yards aud passages /
around the prison, startled Mr.. phnpots.
I . HNaaHlH 40 30
the Information that be had Just discovered |
two tables piled against the boundary
wall Of the prison. An alarm was instantly
sounded the whole force Of tUrnk keys, ward
efs, etc, were At once assembled. Headed |
Oy the governor, a number Of them rushed
70 Stephens cell, (for the "captsiu" was 6rst
thought Of sud 10! his cell was empty
The door was wide open, the pad ock Wing
on the ground, together with the fulse KEY
10 which lt had yielded the cell door Lead
ng Gus on the stairs stood also open Be-
Weeu THIS point and the spot where the a.
lles were found, there are no less th.u !
we've doors, tso Of which are always keut /
ocked &C night. One Of the doors which |
Mould have been open was found locked
y the ten doors which should have been /
ocked, nine were found open the tenth. a !
heavy, solid iron door, was found locked !
rom the outside, and the false kew which .
pened II was found ia the keynote. 10 2
vas seen at glance that stephens, the only
'erson missing, had been guided by some e
ne thoroughly acquainted with the dsvi0u e
findings Of the prison no one else could 7
ave led him through the intricate BY ways,
ards and uuirequented passages through |
'hIch he had passed. Ia order % open an =
be doors through which stephens had -s- 2
lped, four keys only were necessary kew p
ir the cell uOOr, two lutrh-kevs for the | q
utter doors, and "pHss- key" which opens p
'me forty doors within the prison, includ-
ig the door al the head Of the staircase p
aiding from stephens corridor, and eight -
hers on his route 20 the boundary wall | n
he tables mentioned were placed one on | !.
p OF the other, at point about fifty yards y
atant from the room cut Of which they | q
I'd been taken. They are thick, heavy | a
al tables, twenty feet BY three, and were "a
ed as dining tables for the lunatic pr.s- "
lers. OF