The Albany register. [volume] (Albany, Or.) 1868-18??, 1875-03-05
JACK SHEPPARD OUTDONE.
Bin RudiHer's Extraordfnarv Escape fro
the Southern Indiana Penitentiary.

Ghe southern Indiana Penite nf1ary.
[Erom the Louisville courier-Journall
FOR bravery, nerve, and boldness, Bill
Rudifer, lately confined in the State
Prison South, at Jeffersonville, is the
peer OF any man living. His last feat
caps the climax of his desperate and bold
adventures heretofore, and he stands to-
day before the world as the greatest iv-
ing specimen of successful iail-break-
er since the days of Jack Sheppard and
s Sixteen String Jack. -
At twenty minutes to o'clock yester-
day morning, the guard in the north cell
house peeped through the glass door in
the main guard-room and discovered that
the main front door was closed, and all
looked secure and right, and the two
guards In that room were lying asleep on
their beds. He knew that all was not
right, and Immediately gave the alarm.
The sleeping guards jumped to their feet :;
they discovered the open door they ran
out in the hall and found the outer door
leading to the street also open. They
rubbed their eyes, looked amazed and
\ dumbfounded, and then came the ex-
clama6on Rudifer is gone :" And
he had.
An investigation commenced at once,
and the mode of Rudifer's escape discov-
cred. At the south side of the new cell
house is an iron water pipe leading up to
large tank on the top of the prison wall.
The pipe goes up distance of sixty feet,
and is but four and half inches in cir
cumference. It terminates within twenty
feet of the tower where a guard is placed.
The tower is ten feet above the walls of
the prison, and on the top of the
tower there is a cupola, in which
made from five large gas burn
ers, which throw q light sufficient
to illuminate all of the inside of the
prison and also strong light upon all
the walls, and can be seen for miles
around. Rudifer, with the glare of the
light upon him, climbed the small iron
pipe, sixty feet high, and was safe on the
prison wall or the roof of the main
building. Within ten feet of the water
tank, where Rudifer climbed up, is o
trap-door leading down into the main
building. He crawled to that, lifted it
up, and descended to the upper floor,
which is a hall. In the meantime. the
guard in the tower gave no alarm, and
was evidently wrapped in this thoughts
of home and friends, or else he was
dreaming the long hours away, or surely
he would have seen Rudifer, who passed
in the strong light SO near him just now,
pulled up the trap-door and disappeared
down the opening. There is o sky-hght
In the hall from the roof through two
floors to the lower floor. From the third
or upper floor, Rudifer could peep over
the railing around the sky-ight and see
all that was going on In the lower room,
where the guards were stationed. They,
as we have said, were asleep, but Rud-
fer did not know that. He descended
another fight of stairs, which brought
him to the second floor. Here, again, he
could not only see what was transporting
below, but he could hear every word
uttered by leaning over the railing, peer
ing and listening. He could hear moth
ing not a sound for the sentinels
below were sleeping. Now was his time
to dare all or lose all and strike for liberty.
On his way down stairs he had picked up
heavy iron poker four feet long-a
formidable weapon-and with this in his
hands he descended the last fight of
| stairs, cautiously opened the door at the
foot of the stairs and in a moment more
stood in the guard-room, with only two
more doors between him and liberty.
The two guards sleep soundly. All is
well for Rudifer, and he is master of the
room and equal to the situation. He
goes to desk at his right and takes
from it bunch of keys, used for un-
locking the doors in other departments
| of the prison. Next he must have gone
to the keyboard to the right of the iron
door then he took down number of
keys, selected the one that unlocks the
heavy paddock on the door, applied the
key, unlocked the paddock and opened
| the iron door, passed out in the main
hall of the prison, took down the bar and
unlocked the outer door, and stepped
out on the stone front step of the main
entrance of the Indiana State prison,
into the cold morning air, free man.
Feaf Ia -,R 4
prison, the indonitable will, reckless
daring and bravery of the man are to be
admired. He has overcome and sur
mounted difficulties and dangers in MAX
ing his escape which one man in ten
thousand would not dare undertake.
much less't to perform. He pauses ON the
steps perhaps long enough to cast q
scornful look back into the room where
the sleeping guards are lying, and then
he is of, leaving the doors wide open
behind him. EST