The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1881-05-14
Willy WELCOME.
He Makes Preparations for an
Escape,
But is Discovered in Time.


1t was discovered on Friday tha
Fred. Hopt alias Welcome, now
y the City Jail under conviction fC
a the murder of John F. Turner, las
;. July, had made excellent prepal
- atoms for an escape. Learning tina
u he had such intentions the officer
e went to his cell, and as soon rs h
! saw them he must have suspecte
their object, for he rushed back int
d his cell, threw off his coat and seize,
a piece of iron rod showing despeI
ate fight; but he quieted down
when told to, and there was pros
: pect that pistol might take a liVel,
: part in the affair. The search theI
proceeded, and it was discOvereC
that the bolt of one of his shackle.
had been so cut off that it wOulC
slip in and out, and he could TAXI
the shackle off one leg. 1t was alsC
discovered that four cross bars o.
iron, each about eighteen inches Il
two feet long, had been WrencheC
from his bed. Two of these were
bent and the other two were
straight; and he himself subse
lquently avOwed that he could raise
the heavy iron door of his cell and
the other doors and get out in five
minutes if he wished to.
How long he has been thus pre-
lpared for escape is unknown, but
it may have been for quite a lengthy
lperiod, as he has not been examined.
Word was sent to Marshal Shaugh-
messy, who sent Deputy Marshal
Miller to inquire into the affair. To
Mr.. Mlller'S question OF what this
affair meant, Welcome answered
that the police had just now
discovered that the shackle put on
one of his legs had never been pro-
perly rivetted, the bolt being 80
loose that he could pull it in and
out. He said it had been that way
ever since he was last ironed, and
that he had been in the habit every
night of taking it off, when going to
bed and putting it on in the morning,
the blacksmith having failed to rivet
it properly. AS to the iron bars, he
said that one or two had been loose,
having rusted off, and Mr.. Miller
states that it looks as though he
told the truth in that respect,
but Welcome did admit that he
had wrenched off the others
for the purpose of escaping. This
idea, however, he said he had now
given up. He first made up his
mind. he said, to escape in the
early part of April, shortly after
being sentenced, and when he did
not think that his case would be ap-
pealed. In proof of this, he showed
Mr.. Miller some letters he had writ
ten about the time he resolved to
escape, one being addressed to the
Tribune. This he handed to Mr..
Miller to read. The letter was dated
the 4th of April. Mr.. Miller was
to give up the letter or to
tell its contents, as he said Welcome
had not authorized him to do so,
and therefore he did not feel that he
had any right to yield it or its con-
tents. One sentence, however, of
which the letter con-
tanned, he was willing to tell, and it
read: IF John F. Turner was killed
between the Sd and 14th of July,
Jack Emerson had no hand in it.
Mr.. Miller stated that there was no
connected with the SEN
tence, and he would not reveal any
more of the contents. Welcome
further stated in his remarks with
the deputy marshal, that as soon as
be learned his case was appealed, he
gave up the idea of escaping, be-
lieYing that in the future course of
the law, two years would probably
elapSe before he would be executed,
did 1T ever CUIne 10 cuoh a pass. and
that in the meantime he would be
able to slip away, or get out of the
trouble.
To the officers, when the discovery
was made, however, he talked differ
emily. He swore very hard, and de-
elared that the Pivet had been left
loose on purpose to Induce him to
make break, and that when he did
so they would have guns laying for
him to put an end to his life. He
also declared, in his anger, that he
could get away when he wanted to,
and would do so, and that he would
yet grow gray-haired in hunting
John w. Turner.
On Welcomes person was found
I shackle bolt, which he stated was
dropped by the blacksmith, and
which he picked up. Which of
.hese bolts, however, really belonged
to the shacklo it is impossible to
tell; but one has the appearance Of
having been cut and the other Of
having been hammered upon, but
not sufficiently to make such head
As would hold. Welcome claims
that the one with the cut on it was
The one which the blacksmith
iropped, and the blacksmith, while
acknowledging that he did drop a
bolt and was unable to find 1t,
could not possibly tell which was
the one he dropped and which was
the one he rivetted into the shackle.
Mr.. Miller is of the opinion that
Welcome told him the truth, and is
led to this belief by the evidence
given by Hopt in the letters
referred to. The police officers
think differently. They believe
that he intended to escape, and that
he would have done so very soon,
and not unlikely last night. For
some time he has been cultivating
the assistant jailer, Mr.. John
Arid, and had succeeded in getting
pretty well into Ards good graces.
On Thursday evening Sheriff Tur-
nor came nm from Provo. when Mr..
Arid told Turner how good Wei
come had grown, and how little
trouble he had become; whereupon
Turner Immediately warned Arid
to beware of Welcomes acting.
Some are inclined to believe that he
was gaining the confidence of Arid
to get him at a disadvantage, and
that when the time came in which
he proposed to make his escape he
would have killed Arid had such an
act been necessary to gain his free
dom. By gaining this confidence he
believed the jailer would become
less circumSpect, and he would thus
secure his object.
Whatever may have been
the immediate determination
for action, it is certain that
Hopt did intend to escape, and
has not, by any means, given up the
notion; but whether he was to make
the break last night, tonight, or
whether he had postponed it for an
indefinite period is question which
Welcome alone could answer truth