Juniata sentinel. [volume] (Mifflintown, Pa.) 1846-1873, 1871-03-01

68C8Y0 VI y NOovsSss
The Lancaster lsse1;gescer Of the 10Th
of February thus describes the manner
of escape Of convict from the prison,
located at that city:
"A negro convict, named james A.
Hamilton. made bis escape from the Lam
caster county prison about o'clock on
Sunday morning, and las not since been
heard from. He was confined in iron
clad cell No. 50, situated near the farther
end of the left hand range of cells on the
second floor An examination Of the
cell shows that he must have worked q
long time before -effecting his escape
He worked at the shoemaking. and sew
eral weeks ago complained that his bench
was too low for him, requesting that a
couple of short strips of one. inch board
might be placed on the floor under the
legs of the bench, so IS to raise it that
much higher. This request was grant
ed, and Hamilton at once went to work
with his knife to cut through the floor Of
his cell, concealing his operations by
placing the strips Of pine exactly over
the cut, and setting bis bench upon them
while working at bis trade in the day
time. or when there was any danger Of
his being interfered with. Having in
this way removed number Of flooring
boards in the southeast corner of his cell
he encountered the masonry of The arch.
ed cell below him. This be removed lit
tie by little. and probably replaced it,
loosely. from night to night. Having
quarried away the masonry from under
the floor to the depth of about foot and
the length of threeteet, and broad enough
to admit his body, he next attacked the
three feet thick stone wall Of the prison.
Making breach in it was not SO desper-
ate an undertaking as at first sight it
would seem to be. The mortar used in
the construction of the wall is of very in
rior quality, there being so little lime in
1t, that it can be readily crumbled to
pieces. Still he must have worked hard for
many nights. to remove the mass of
stone and mortar necessary to make the
aperture through which he escaped
The debris, amounting. we think, to
about cart load, was this morning found
carefully piled under his bed. His bed
rested on Stats six feet long. and about
five or six inches in width. These he
had split, or rather cut in two, lengthwise,
with his knife. and had mortised a mum
Der of holes through each of them, and
and had made a number of rounds to fit
the mortise, so that a good ladder could
be made of the pieces in few minutes
With which to scale the wall lie had
made a miscalculation. however, for the
long slats would not pass through the
hole in the wall, on account Of peculiar
shape and position. Leaving his ladder
behind him, he descended from his cell
to the yard by means of very thin but
strong cord made Of shoe thread. Once
in the yard, he went to the wash house,
into which he entered through shutter
less window by breaking pane Of glass
and removing nail on the inside which
fastened down the sash. Here he got a
bed tic and some old clothes. The car
penter shop is second story room over
the wash-hou.e. Breaking into it, the
prisoner secured sufficient lumber to con
struct ladder with which to scale the
Jail yard wall The latter was made by
lashing together with strips of bed tick
and old clothes four long narrow boards.
reaching to the top of the wall, and ty-
ing across them. at intervals the slaves of
barrel, which the prisoner had broken
up for t''at purpose. Placing the ladder
against the wall near the Orange street
gate, he went over a free man, and has
not vet been recaptured,"