Baltimore daily commercial. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1865-1867, 1866-06-04
HEAD CENTRE STEPHENS.
of His Eseapa from Prison,


At his preliminary examination he stated to Mr.
Strong the magistrate. that it was not his intention
to employ lawyer. He was then remanded to tbe
18th of November when was again ed IN fbe
18th. On that day he received the usual caution bn
he made the reply. You speak like lawyer but I
mean 10 act IKE patriot" Then. turning to the
magistrate ne told him that he had not employed apy
lawyer and did not mean to do So as by SO doing he
should recognize British law in Ireland. He deib-
erateiy anu conseientiousy denied the existence of
British law IN Ireland, and dcfed any punishmentit
could infiict upon him.
On TINS account James Stephens was confined in
the prison at Richmond. There he had time to re-
fleet. and 1t struck him that his conclusion might
have been false one and he thought The leaders in
THIS country might not understand bis reasons and
the assistance no expected to realize from the move
ment might not come. After turning the matter over
III his mind he became convinced that he should gain
more prestige by getting out of prison than he had
done by getting into it, and accordingly commenced
to lay plans for eifecting that object.
THE ESCAPE.
On tho following day one of the very men he had
lntehue1 10 make an agent in eilecting his escape
cane 10 MN ana sad his escape had been planned by
parties outside. On hearing the names of the men
who had the matter in hand. he determined on let
tlng men carry 1t out. Some days passed, when he
hnally heard that he to leave the prison on the
morning OF the 9th of November His friends our
side mad had keys made open the six doors
oet%eeI MS cell and The prison wall, which was IS
feet high. N -
Tn the evening of the sd he went to bed at the
usual hours O'Clock. He was very drOwSy and Il
required all his efforts to keep awake. About mid
night he arose and dressed himself very quietly lie
then turned up the bedciothes and Law down on ihC
outside Of the bed in his clothes to await the
OF his friend Shortly after the clock struck two he
heard sg noise at considerable distance which
he at once knew to be the sound produced BY OMEN
ing the first gate Soon afterwards he heard similar
noise, and on until the key turned in his cell door
This grated noisily that it had to be drawn omen
with the utmost caution.
he night was similar to the ono on which Oliver
Cromwell died. when the dreadful and destructive
Tiers to say that all the devils in he'll had broken
loose to carry his soul to its last home. The high
wind, heavy rain, aud intense darkness of the night
I,Sf r.a ]
himself against the door to prevent its creaking and
revolver was instantly placed in his hand. They
then passed IN the same manner through all tho
doors of the prison, until they reached the omen
air. when the outer wall INSTRUCTED their further
progress
1t must remain mystery how he assembled that
wall, but the manner in which he descended it is as
follows: de had been given to understand that he
the other side. Before doing So however, he felt
along the top of the wall and his hand came in con-
tact with metal tunnel or stove pipe, at which he
pulled to SEQ II it were firm enough to descend by
Finding it quite firm, he let himself down by it for
some eight or ten feet when he found himself on the
ran by its side.
In that way no trace of his descent was left. an d
hence the justification of the detectives Follow
ing the route laid down for him, he went along the
walk to the end of the gaIden then turning at right
angles he passed along to IL point previously indi-
Gated, whence he was to have thrown a stono over
the outer wall signal for his friends to throw
rope over to him. The night intensely dark and
he unable to find stone, and therefore picked
up handful Of gravel from the path, which be flung
over the wall, and rope was Immediately thrown
to him.
lie seized he rope with some anxiety asking him.
self, Have they thought ofputting knot III it?" lie
found they had done So and he began to draw him
self up by it. The first help he received was by
catching his feet against protuberance, and at the
second lift his feet lodged in hole in the wall the
third brought him to the top. On looking down he
saw his friends in group below.
They placed themselves against the wall, with
Bonded backs. and he dropped from the top of the
wall while one Stalwart man held up his arms to
he FOL
his friends to disperse Immediately and 20 home
Two only remained with him.
They proceeded about three hundred yards when
one of the two remaining friends also left and lac
then proceeded to the house at which he had deter
miued to take refuge.
Six different houses were ready to receive him
that nigel and every of the six remained u all
night anticipating his arrival. No one saw him emit
the house in which ne took refuge and from its win
dows could be seen The prison in which he had been
confined.