, 1885-09-17
JOHN SMITH
Makes Some Desperate Attempts
to Get Out of IaiI.
Thrilling Experience of a Suspect
Among Horse Thieves.

s "'' '"
LANDER, Wyo., Sent. IA. John
Smith, the horse rhicf in our county Jail.
awaiting the next term Of court, and who
tried to burn the building about a month
ago, has made two more attempts to
break out. For the attempt to fire the
Jail he has been kept shackled, up to a
few days since. Under promise Of good
behavior. the irons were taken of him
and he was again allowed the liberty of
the common room of the jail. Last Fri
day he borrowed the iailer's pocket knife
to cut his toe nails. " After finishing up
on that he tried the officers knife and the
heavy outer door of the Jail, and in a few
hours had cut entirely through the pom.
derous double planks, the object being to
cut one OF the massive iron hinges bodily
out Of the door. Having made the cut
on one side he rested. giving the knife
back to the iailor. intending to procure it
again next day and finish his work. The
shavings and litter from the wool work
he concealed in his satchel. The next
morning the jailor discovered the use his
knife had been put to and the cunning
borrower was placed again in his cell, his
limbs, however, being left free, and now
the scheming brain Of the restless thief
devised another plan that actually had 0
great chance Of success. Opening the
wicket in his cell door he asked the crazy
cowboy Miller if he did not want to get
out" Miller told him that was a ques-
ton to make a crazy man ashamed of
himself OF course he wanted to get out.
Smith said that was all right. They
would both get ont. and by his directions
the lunatic tore his bedstead in pieces and
with the fragments attacked the heavy
hinges of the cell door in which the man
who had promised him his liberty was
confined. The poor unfortunate worked
with all the feverish energy and phenome-
nal strength of insanity and soon the
massive bolts and bars began to give way
beneath his frantic attacks. The heavy
staple of the upper hinge gave way and
the now aroused maniac wrenched the
broad hinge from its place The second one
soon followed and work on the third and
last bar hat stood between Smith and
the comparative liberty of the outer room
was well begun, when the TAILOR arrived
on the scene on & visit OF inspection. He
was satisfied inspection was needed.
Hastily summoning assistance. the luna
tic was stopped in his bold career, and
Smith was once AGAIN chained to the floor
Of his solitary cell, and there he will re-
main for many a day.
This is the man who, on his preliminary
examination, so shrewdly impressed upon
the minds OF Justice lawyers and specta-
tors hat he was crack Drained, and so Gun
ningly did he manipulate the little game
that the obdurate and intelligent criminal
was looked upon by a majority of the
good people Of Lander as a soft hearted.
soft headed, irresponsible. In this capac-
us he met with much sympathy and
commiseration. His attempt to burn the
jail, which If he had succeeded, would
have involved the roasting of a fellow
prisoner to death, was a rude shock to
the soft hearted theory; while his recent
VIII devised schemes have not encouraged
the soft headed idea to any great extent.
He is bold and %sullen, secretivo and &C
tive. and now appears Just what he is, II
determined and dangerous criminal
The first part Of last week four head
Of horses were stolen from the vicinity Of
Atlantic. At the same time there turned
up missing three suspicious characters
who had been loaGng about the village for
several days. No trace cDuld be found of
either the men or the horses. \ day or
two since there came through Lander a
gentleman who is about Atlantic a great
deal. In conversation with THE LEADER
correspondent he threw considerable light
on the horse and man disappearance He
had just returned from a business trip to
Idaho, and a few days previously had met,
the other side of the Idaho line, the three
men with the four horses. Three of the
animals were under saddle and the other
was packed He knew the men and the
horses, and knew that the animals had
been stolen He also knew by the man
ner OF the thieves, that while they knew
him, they were in doubt MS to his knowing
them. Our friend had not the smallest
inclination to refresh their memories. and
accordingly, after the usual road saluta.
tons he was passing on. But he was at
once stopped by one of the robbers, and
told that he must 80 with them IA ways.