Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-10-30
OUR GALLANT Sheriff,
Another Elegant Jail Delivery Takes
Place.
TWO PRISONERS WANT AIR

TWO PRISONERS WANT AIR
And They Accordingly Leave Sheriff
Richtery in Broad Day Light.
If any further proof was needed of the
utter incompetency of Mr.. Richter for the
position of sheriff, it was furnished yester-
day by the escape of two more prisoners
from the Ramsey county Jail.
HOW IT WAS DONE.
The first prisoner to escape was man
named Sullivan, who was sent to Jail by
the municipal court of St. Paul. He had
served out pretty much his whole term and
had but few days more to serve. He did
not go out through any broken ~indows or
doors. Being tired of staying in Jail
and seeing there was but little trouble in
getting out he simply helped himself and
went out. But for the accidental presence
of some person connected with the Jail, in
the hall of the building, just as the prison
or was going out he would have :got away.
The surprise is that this person
connected with the Jail knew
enough to give the alarm, but
he did and after lively chase he was cap
tured and taken back. Sullivan was con-
fined in the second story. All he had to do
to escape was t. climb ladder to the hole
in the ceiling of the Jail, walk along
through the attic to another opening in
the ceiling or to the cupola,. to
which there was conveniently placed anoth-
er ladder leading down into the hallway
just in front of the auditors office. Mr..
Sullivan having gone up one ladder to the
opening in one ceiling and walked along
to another similar opening, had no hest
fancy in taking advantage of another lad
der which was SO conveniently placed there
for all corners. He undoubtedly thought
the sheriff was very obliging man to have
all the conveniences for escape so ready.
He did not stop, however, to write out his
thanks to Mr.. Richter for his kindness.
He had other business on hand and pro-
ceeded at once to go down that ladder and
out of the hall door. There would have
L
van, but for the blunder of Mr.. Richter's
brother, who acts in some capacity
at the Jail, and who made the great mis-
take of being in the way of the prisoner
As soon as Mr.. Richter's brother saw the
prisoner going out he gave the alarm, and
at once the Chase was started for the es-
capped Sullivan. He was pursued down
Wabashaw street to Third, where
policeman Cummings succeeded in
capturing him, and he was
returned to the Jail, where he now is pay
ing the penalty of his crime of seeking his
liberty under some difficulties.
THE ESCAPE OF MURPHY.
Mr.. Murphy made the second attempt,
and he was successful in getting out and so
far in staying out. This prisoner was ON
the first floor, and escaped through one Of
the windows and let himself down about
twenty-five feet to the ground by rope
made of bed clothing. The windows on
this side are protected by inch and quar-
ter iron bars that are extended from the
stone work at the bottom of the window
to within about eight or ten inches of the
top of the window. Across the window
and near the top of the bars passes flat
iron bar put there to hold the
upright inch and quarter rods
in place. The upright bars extend about
ten inches above the cross bar. 1t was we'll
known to the jail authorities that one of
the prisoners, many years ago, partly fled
off one of these upright bars Immediately
above the cross bar. The fling was not
very extensive, the same being not over
quarter of an inch deep on each side of the
upright bar. The prisoners seem to have
known this and by taking an iron bar they
pried off the top of the bar that had been
filed as above stated. It did not require
much force nor did the operation make
much noise. It was speedily accomplished
and then the prisoners who had their ropes
made from the bed clothing
proceeded to go out of the window. It
was evidently the intention of all the pris-
oners to go out but the racket made on
the outside as soon as the first one got out
stopped the rest. At first big prisoner
started but the hole in the window was not
big enough and he had to give it up.
Then Murphy started, and being smaller,
he had no difficulty at all in getting
through, and sliding down the rope escaped.
The st. Paul water works Office is directly
opposite the window on Fifth street, and it
sohappened thatlMr. Overton, the!superin-
tendent of the water works, saw the pris-
oner letting himself down. He gave the
alarm and started for him, but Murphy,
who had got down near the ground, drop
ped and started to run with Mr.. Overton
after him. Murphy ran in through be-
tween the Jail and the morgue and across
the street into DR.. Stoner's yard on Cedar
street. Unfortunately for Mr.. Overton,
the doctor has dog and the dog made
little mistake. Instead of attacking the
prisoner he sailed into the superintendent
of the water works and seized him by the
leg of his pants. The consequence was
that while Mr.. Overton was making an
effort to get clear of the dog Murphy was
making the iveliest kind of efforts to get
n ~f o.