Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1879-12-17
BARON TRENCK RIvALLED

BARON TRENCK RIvALLED.
a Swiss Prisoners Escape" Puzzles
the Country for Week.
Geneva Correspondence London Times.
An attempt at escape was mace few
days ago by a convict confined in the
Bishopric Prison here, which, though it
did not succeed, is almost worthy to
rank with the exploits of j ack Sheppard,
Baron Trenck and Theebee Orsini. The
Jail consists of three stories and ia sepa-
rated from the Rue du Cloitre by wall
reaching to the second story. At the
angle of the building nearest to the
street are three windows, one above the
other, all heavily barred; the highest of
them is further protected by penthouse
and belongs to the prison workshop. On
the morning of Sunday, November 9,
the Observation-Disclosures of the work
shop was having it cleaned out by two
prisoners, one of whom bears the name
of Menassade. When the work was
nearly finished Menassade was told to
carry some cinders into the yard. When
they arrived in the yard the superinten-
dent was surprised to see long cord
dangling from the workshop window.
He ran hastily up stairs to ascertain what
this could mean, leaving the prisoner
alone with the turnkey. The turnkey,
having no apprehensions as to the safety
of his charge, ran to the chief taller on
duty to inform him of what had happen
ed. Under the penthouse of the work
shop window the superintendent found
8 rope ladder, of which the cord hanging
down the wall formed a part. 1t had
been placed there by Menassade when he
was cleaning the window early in the
morning, and, as became known later
on, the making of it had occupied eight
months. His work was shoemaking, and
with the bits of string, thread, boot-laces,
&C., he managed to secrete, he wove a
long rope, and then with pieces of wood
he had picked up here and there he form
ed q rope in every respect sufficient for
his purpose. His idea was, when he took
the cinders into the yard, on which
occasion he was generally unaccompa-
MED, to draw down the ladder from the
penthouse, mount by means of it to the
top of the wall, then detach it Ito which
end he had contrived a very ingenious
device), descend by it into the Rue du
Oloitre, and get clear away. On the re-
turn of the superintendent to the yard,
Menassade had disappeared. The theory
formed by the prison authorities was
that while the superintendent went up
stairs to the workshop, Menassade, by
means of his rope and with the conniv-
ance of the turnkey, had contrived to
get over the wall and made good his
escape. Under this impression the turn
key was arrested and locked up in one
of his own cells, kilograms were sent out
in all directions, gendarmes stationed
on all the roads leading to the frontier,
and every place in Geneva likely to con-
ceal fugitive from Justice carefully
overhauled. All this time the missing
man was inside the Jail. The moment
the turnkey had turned his back, he had
followed the superintendent to the work
shop, and while the latter was busy with
his discovery Of the rope ladder he had
hidden himself in place where it never
occurred to anybody to look for him.
High above the superintendent ros-
trum, whence he surveys the prisoners
at work is a window, almost dark and
sunk deeply in the wall. With the agil-
ity and nOiselessness of cat Menassade
climbed up to this recess and doubled
himself up in such fashion that when
shortly afterwards the police searched
the room it never occurred to them that
the bundle of rags they saw lying there
was other than what it seemed to be.
In this position he remained until night,
when he descended from his perch and
with the help of the tools he found in
the workshop removed board from the
stage which sustains the superintendent's
rostrum. Creeping inside he made it
his hiding place for eight days and eight
nights, only coming out in the intervals
between the warder's rounds to prepare
for another plan of escape which he had
conceived. He fixed a hook on the
board to keep it in its place when he
was inside. As this was 8 lavatory
attached to the workshop he had an
ample supply of water, and he sustained
life on two slices of bread day, alb
stracted from the breakfasts of the pris-
oners, which were placed near his hiding
place. More he dared not take for fear
of exciting suspicion. With piece of
steel and stone he struck light; by
the help of some card board he converted
an old petroleum lamp into dark Ian
tern, and from the string which abound
ed in the workshop he manufactured q
strong knotted rope. On Sunday morn
ings after the room was swept it was the
custom of the warders to carry the waste
materials up to the garnet, on which
occasions they generally left the door
unlocked. Menassade's plan was to
remain concealed until the following
Sunday, follow the warders to the gar
ret, slip in unperceived and lie there
perdu until nightfall. Then, the garnet
window being unbarred, he would by
the aid of his knotted rope have let him
self down to the window-ledge below, oD
which there is sufficient standing room
for man of his cat-like agility, and no
on till he reached the wall, whence the
descent into the street would have been
a comparatively easy task. AS he would
have taken the rope with him, nobody
would have known how or when he es.
capped. But this hopeful scheme was
marred by an untoward incident-one OF
II A.