Omaha daily bee., 1874-05-28
THIS Celebrated Journalist, Com
munist, and Escaped Convict,
Passed Through Omaha
To-day.
A Brief Account of his Escape.

anu HldSslNc ucdu at oACC pio-
claimed him more than the ordinary
traveller, and he was easily recog-
nized by the majority of persons,
who had often seen his picture.
He was interviewed at Laramie
by A. s. Slack, of the Independent,
who t~elegraphs us as follows:
"He and his bosom friend Olivier
Paine were engaged i'm feeding a pet
parrot as We approached.
He received us cordially after the
French fashion, and was quite anx-
ious to give us what inform
alton we desired, with the aid
of our almost forgotten French.
We learned from him that
he would stop at Chicago one day,
in New York five days, and thence
to Switzerland, where he would
meet some of his former associates,
and probably start a French journal.
Not having any cards he obtained
q leaf from the memOrdum book of
his friend Paine, and writing Henri
Rochefort thereon, he handed it to
us almost before We knew what his
purpose was. AS a journalist Roche
fort has displayed marked ability,
having been paid sixty thousand
dollars per annum for writing on
the Figaro, but his style is
satarical and severe, and for his
abuse of the officers of the gov
eminent he has frequently been
imprisoned. He fought several
duels before he became,a journalist
and four afterwards. To give a
sketch of his eventful life and his
recent escape from the island of
New Caledonia would require more
time than We can spare"
Rochefort and his companions ar
rived in San Francisco on the steam
er Australasia, a few days ago.
They kept very shady while in San
Francisco, and the newspaper re-
porters were entirely outwitted.
Not one succeeded i'm obtaining an
interview with Rochefort, and so
the full and authentic history of his
remarkable escape from the island of
New Caledonia, is yet a matter of
mystery.
From the Sidney papers of April
Sd, We compile the following inte-
resting account of the escape of
Rochefort and his five companions
from New Caledonia:
The arrival in Sidney of these
celebrities of the Commune, who
have escaped from New Caledonia,
naturally created some excitement.
The three who are at the Cafe de
France are Messieurs Rochefort,
Jourdes and Groussett. They de-
cline to give the particulars of their
escape, not wishing to implicate
any parties, but it appears
that NJ. ROchefOrt and party
had obtained leave to go on q
pleasure excursion in one of the
shore boats, and this boat was found
to be missing in the afternoon. The
bark Z. C. Z. had started at noon,
and it was assumed that the fugi-
tives had got on board that vessel at
her anchorage. The ship was i'm
sight till 4 p. NJ, but no steps We're
taken to give chase to her. The
Governor of New Caledonia was up
country at the time. He returned
to Nounea next day, but consider
ed it too late to send a man-Of-war
i'm chase. AS soon as the escape
was discovered, all the vessels i'm the
harbOr were searched for the fugi-
tives, 1t being said that fourteen,
and not six only, We're missing. The
military engaged i'm the search were
armed with rifles, and ordered to
shoot the prisoners if they refused
to surrender or persisted in the at
tempt to escape. Great excitement
prevailed in Noumea, when it was
known that the search had proved
futile, and il was apprehended that
in consequence of the escape of the
prisoners a number of the leading
officials of the settlement would be
ala- ha "-A 2a.1-l I
France. The alarm that the eXiles
had escaped was first given by a
Noumea clearinghouse keeper, to
whom a missing German, whose
name is not given, and who also es-
cwed a considerable sum of
money.
HOW RoCHEFORT's IDENTITY WAS
DISCOVERED.
The escapes, it seems, hid them
selves on board the p. c. +. in some
remarkable way, and their presence
was not known to the Captain until
ne was well out to sea. AS soon as
he escapes knew from the heaving
If the ship that she was out of the
'eefs, they made their appearance
IN deck. When they presented
themselves suddenly, the Captain
lad some misgivings that their de-
ign was to seize the vessel, but his
ears were dispelled by a statement
rom Rochef0rt, who told the Cap
ain that they were simply exiles
rying to make their escape from
Jew Caledonia. Each gave a name,
Though those they gave were as
umed. Rochefort, who is of a noble
has several surnames, one of
which he gave to the Captain, while 4
e apportioned others of his sur .
Iames among his fellow exiles, who, q
citing on his suggestion, gave them I
S their own. Nc suspicion seems
D have been entertained as to the i,
or rank of the exiles :
III after they had been at sea for '
ONE days. The discovery took place
a a very remarkable manner, !.
n reading Boac Bells the captain L
anne across the portraits of NJ. O
,ambetta and NJ. Rochefort, men,
ers of the Government of the De-
ense. He was at once struck by the
ikeness of one of his passengers to
He Intercepted the pas =
who resembled the portrait !,
II