The Northern Pacific farmer., 1880-01-01
Baron Trenck Riya!ed,

Baron Trenck Riya!ed.
Geneva Correspondence London Times.
An attempt at escape was made a few
days ago by a convict confined in the
Bishopric Prison here, which, though it
did not succeed, lis almost worthy to rank
with the exploits of Jack Sheppard,
Baron Trenck and Thebee Orsini.
The jail consists of three stories, and
is separated from the Rue du Cloitre by
a 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 mood
workshop. On the morning of Sunday,
| Nov. 9, the warder-superintendent of
the workshop was having it cleaned out
by two prisoners, one of whom bears
the name of Mennasade. When the
work was nearly finished, Mennasade
was told to carry some cinders into the
yard. When they arrived in the yard
the Superintendent was surprised to see
a long cord dang ling from the workshop
window. He ran hastily upstairs to
see what this could mean, leaving the
prisoner alone with the turnkey. The
turnkey, having no apprehension as to
the safety of his charge, ran to the chief
jailer on duty, to inform him of what
had happened.
Under the penthouse of the work
shop window the superintendent found
a rope-ladder, of which the cord hang
ing down the wall formed part. It
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, ETC.,
he managed to secrete he wove long
rope, and then with pieces of wood he
had picked up here and there, he FORM
ed it into a ladder in every way suff-
cient for his purpose. His idea was,
when he took the cinders in the yard,
on which occasion he was generally un-
accompanied, to draw down the ladder
frona the penthouse, mount by means
of it TO the top of the wall, then detach
| it to which end he had contrived
very ingenious device), descend by it
into the Rue du Cloitre, and get clear
| away.
On the return of tle superintendent
| to the yard Mennasade had disappear
ed. The theory formed by the prison
authorities Was that while the superin-
tendent went upstairs to the workshop,
Mennasade, by means of his rope, and
with the connivance of the turnkey,
had contrived to get over the wall and
make good his escape. Under this i'm
preston the turnkey was arrested and
locked up in one of his own cells, tele-
grams were sent off in all directions,
gendarmes stationed on all the roads
leading to the frontier, and every
place in Geneva likely to conceal a fu-
gitive from justice carefully overhaul
ed. -.
All this time the missing man was in
side the jail. Islriso ent the turnkey
W..
the sup perinten ndentt to the orkphop, and
while the latter was busy with His dis
covery of the rope-ladder, he had hid
den himself in place where it had
never occurred to any one to look for
him. High above the superintendent's
rostrum, whence he surveys the prison
ers at work, is window, almost dark,
and sunk deeply in the wall. With the
agility and noiselessness of cat Men
assade 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
there was other than what it seemed to
be. In this position be remained until
night, when be- descended from his
perch, and with the help of the tools he
found in the workshop, removed board
from the stage Which sustains the su-
perintendent's rostrum. Creeping in
side he made it his hiding-place for eight
days and eight nights, only coming out
In the intervals between the warders'
rounds ito prepare for another plan of
escape which he had conceived. He
liked hook on the board to keep it in
its place when he was inside.
AS there was lavatory attached to
the workshop he had an ample supply
of water, and he sustained life on two
slices of bread a day, abstracted from
the breakfasts Of the prisoners, which.
were placed near his hiding-place.
More he dared not take for fear Of ex-
citing suspicion. 49,.
With piece of steel and q stone he
struck a light; by the help of some
cardboard he converted an old petrole-
um lamp into dark lantern, and from
the string which abounded in the work
shop he manufactured strong knotted
rope.
On Sunday mornings after the room
was swept, it was the custom of the
warders to carry the waste materials up
to the garret, on which occasions they
generally left the door unlocked. Men
assade's plan was to remain concealed
until the following Sunday, follow the
warders to the garrett. slip in unperceiv-