The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1866-10-06

ISEo ~ 80 $4,000 SAo sewers q
I.Aao-ADeS1n 1so1ke - RsssAo0.
=, . Yson he BaiAls 1xpgs6 Of Frslay. 4
i Aynan named John Ross ms asfestedi
Hss@ Ahsing the early part OF tbs moath,
charged with stealing horAc from United
States Deputy Collector Thompson, who
had scixcd the .same at the Black Rock
ferry for the non payment Of duties. He
was brought before Justice Albro, who on
tho 5th Of September fully committed him
to jail to await trial on the charge.
Heremaincd In Jail without anything un-
usual happening until yesterday afternoon,
when at the usual hour Of letting out tho
prisoners he went down into the pffyy,
taking with him the rope from bis bunk.
He then pulled up . couple Of rotten boards,
and fastened the rope to piece Of scant-
ling, and lowered himself into the horrible
vault. The rope was found attached tothe
scantling but short time after his disap-
pcarance, and search was commenced I'm.
mediately for the prisoner. The vault
IL an exceedingly large one. Further ,ex-
Summation demonstrated that the man had
not only descended into its depths, but that
he had disappeared In the sewer, which u
only sixteen inches square, connecting the
vault with the main sewer on Ellicott street.
"A long pole was procured by the official, and
an effort made to reach him by thrusting 1t
int6the aperture, but without success. One
of tho prisoners was induced to enter the
sewer to see If he could find him, but he
was unable to resist the influence OF the
frtid atmosphere, and came out gasping
for breath. se a.
He is described as being five feet eleven
inches in height, and proportionately stout;
and it would seem almost impossible for
such a person to squeeze himself along the
narrow passage of the vault to the main
sewer; but II he did succeed In accom-.
plishipg his object, what must have been
his horror to find himself in the passage,
when perhaps he thought the small pas
sage terminated somewhere above ground
He may have reached the large sewer, but
in that event his fate could only be a
most frightful death, in the most dismal
place to be conceived of-the dark sewer
of large city, surrounded by myriads of
rats, which he knew would soon feast upon
his dead body-perhaps would not even
wait for his death, but attack him while
still alive. a.. .aT' los
Whatever may have been his fate, the
incident must be regarded as one OF the
most horrible that has ever occurred in
our city.
From the Express of Saturday.
The man, Rose, referred to in our last
edition as having made desperate and
novel attempt to escape from the Erie
county Jail, was discovered in the vault
yesterday about halEpast 10 o'clock. 1t
seems that instead of entering the branch
sewer, as was supposed by the officers, he
climbed up to the flooring of another privy
adjoining the one through which he had
entered the vault. He found an opening,
and succeeded in reaching place, where he
stayed, hoping that something would turn
up that would favor his escape. The privy
into which he climbed had not been used
for O number of years, and the door had
been walled up close with bricks, so that
there was no way of getting in except in
the manner pursued by him, or that which
the officers afterwards pursued in getting
him out, viz: knocking hole through the
partition. His position was discovered by
tapping around On the walls and floor OF
the place until it was discovered by the
sound just where he was lying. A hole
was made large enough to permit his
egress, and he was. extracted, like wood
chuck, from his lair, and returned to limbo.