The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1886-02-04
The "Con" Mans Story.

1.-The place was full of hard cases. and
| l hadn't been in there three DAYS when
we formed plot to break out Every
county jail has its weak spot This one
was strong in doors and bars and walls,
| but weak at the bottom. 1t would be
no job at all to 60 through the floor and
| tunnel out
There were six cells in the one corri-
dor and sixteen Of us in the crib Ten
of US had, therefore, to sleep on cots out
side of the cells. We took the cell
furthest from the door to begin opera
tons in. There was no watch kept on
us at night, and before morning we had
fine tunnel started.
There was a jailer, stupid boy of
Is as turnkey, and the jailer's wife.
Everything was passed in to US through
a wicket, and there was no call for the
jailer to come among US. 1t was ter
ribly strong place, just the same, and
the only weak spot, as | have said, was
| the chance for tunnel. A chap named
Dodging Bill. who was in for burglary,
bossed the job. He pretended to know
| just which way to head the tunnel, and
| just how far to dig to come out in the
alley behind the jail, and of course none
| of US interfered.
'.At the end of three days we were all
| ready to 90 out. The idea was, of
course, to 90 at night, but one of the
| prisoners was taken very ill, and we
| put off the escape for another twenty
four hours. About mid-afternoon of
the next day there was an alarm of fire
| in the town, and we saw the jailer and
| his assistant hurry away from the jail.
AS this left the wife alone, and as every
| body would be at the scene of the fire,
we concluded to 90 out then.
'Dodging Bill had dug as near the
surface as he dared He now passed on
| ahead to break out the way. and we fol-
| lowed close upon his heels-that is,
| three or four of us. The tunnel was
short, and would not hold over three or
| four. The others stood ready to creep
| in as we crept out. | was next to Bill,
and as he broke the crust and daylight
| streamed III, heard scream from q
| dash of water into the tunnel, followed
by another and another, and enough
came in to drown US. We had to shin
back, and Bill was half dead when we
seized his heels and drew him out
'What had happenedP Well. the
tunnel was too short by fifteen feet. In
stead of coming up in the alley, Bill
broke ground in the back yard, and
right at the feet of the jailer's wife, who
was washing. As the ground gave way
she saw hand and arm, and, being a
quick-witted woman, she tumbled to the
tunnel plot. There were three tubs on
her bench, and she poured the contents
of each one into the hole, and then
ran in and brought out a boiler of hot
| water and swished that in for good luck.
That didn't satisfy her that she had
driven us back, and she puts wooden
conductor under the pump, leads the
other end to the hole, and she didn't let
up pumping for straight hour. Such
was the grade of the tunnel that we
were ankle deep in water in the CORR
| dor before she ceased operations 1t
was a fine display of woman's ready
wit, and although we were half starved
and shackled to the cell doors for the
next fortnight, none of us held any
grudge against the jailer's wife. IN T.
| SIM