National Republican., 1883-07-24
A vENTRILooUIsT's TRICKS.
How an Omaha Prisoner soreIy Puzzled
His Jailor and His Companions.

How an Omaha Prisoner sorely Puzzled
His Jailor and His Companions.
omaha Bee.
For some time past there have been strange
doings at the Jail, which have given the i'm
preston that the place must be haunted.
Every few nights some prisoner would hear
his name called by some one outside the Jail
and, going to the window, would in the dark
moss carry on conversation with some friend
or relative, who failed to materialize, how
ever. short time ago a man who was put
in jail for assaulting his brother in-law with
a razor and cutting his throat badly heard
some one calling him at the window. He
got out of his bunk and, feeling his way
to the window, asked the name of the
visitor. The name woS given and proved
to be that of an Irish friend who
had taken this way of holding little
chat with him. The voice could not be mis-
taken, and the prisoner had no suspicion of
there being anything mysterious about the
matter or anything wrong. The visitor in
bidding Ihim good by told him that he had
left some tobacco for him with the taller. In
the meantime Jailer Schontz, hearing the
voices, staid outside to see who was there,
and, though he could hear the talk, could dis
cover no one. The next day the prisoner
insisted on the jaler giving him the tobacco
which his friend had left for him. and was
quite indignant when told that his friend
had left none. The same sort of an occur
renee was repeated with other prisoners
The colored boy who was lately imprisoned
for stealing watch was called for the other
night by some one outside, and OH going to
the window held quite a conversation with
colored friend of his, in which he talked over
his case quite freely, but Jailer Schontz could
not discover anyone. The colored boy the
next day was equally earnest in demanding
the pakage of smoking tobacco his friend had
left with the jaller, but of course the jailer
had no such package. In none of these cases
could Jailer Schontz discover that anyone had
been around the outside of the jail.
The puzzling matter has now been straight
ened out and its mystery solved. The young
man, Fred Hill, confined in Jail on the charge
OF being a confidence man, seems to be at the
bottom of the whole affair and the cause of
the manifestations. He is remarkable
mimic and needs only to hear mans voice
once to be able to duplicate it. He is also
good deal of ventriloquist. and these two
features of his own vocal ability, aided by the
peculiar construction of the jail and the loca-
tion Of his CELL have enabled him at night to
throw his voice outside, so that it appears to
prisoners on the south side of the Jail as If
there was some one at the window calling
them. He has used his ventriloquism for
much amusement, and by learning q prison
ers name and something of his history by
the prisoners mingling during the daytime,
has been we'll informed for midnight chat
with them, impersonating some friend or rel
ative. To add to his enjoyment he has in
variably added the tobacco" postscript at
the close of the conversation, thus causing
the prisoners to bother Jailer Schontz by in
sisting on having what their friends had left
for them.