The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1886-01-30
H JAlLER'S WIFE,
How She Prevented the Escape Of q I
Of Rascally Prisoners.

How She Prevented the Escape Of q Lot
OF Rascally Prisoners.
1t was the icon" mans turn to tell a
story, and he cleared his throat and be-
gan:
II had got tired Of footing it over the
highways of Indiana, and one day bor-
rowed a horse to make travelling easier.
For some reason I never could under
stand, they called it stealing, and 1 was
arrested, bound over and sent to the
county Jail.
THE place was full CT hard cases,
and 1 hadn't been in there three days
when we formed a plot t. break out. =.
Every county Jail has its weak spot.
This n was strong in doors and bars
and walls, but weak at the bottom. 1t
would be no job at all to go through
the floor and tunnel out.
''There were six cells in the one cor
ridor and sixteen of US in the crib. Ten
of us had, therefore, to sleep on cots
outside 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 a fine tunnel started.
"There was a jailer, a stupid boy Of
sixteen as turnkey, and the %jailer's
wife. Everything was passed in to us
through a wicket, and there was no
cause for the jailer to come among us.
1t was a terribly strong place, just the
same, and the only weak spot, as l
have said, was the chance for a 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 inter-
fered.
SAT the end of three days we were
all ready to 60 out. The idea was, of
course, to go 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
everybody would be at the scene of the
fire, we concluded to 60 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
followed 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. l was next to Bill,
and as he broke the crust and daylight
streamed in, l heard a scream from q
woman. Next moment there was a
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.
Instead of coming up in the alley, Bill
broke ground in the back yard, and
right at the feet of the jail
er's wife, who was washing.
As the ground gave away she
saw a hand and arm, and, being a quick
witted woman, she tumbled to the tun-
mel plot. There were three tubs on her
bench, and she poured the contents of
each one into the hole, and then ran i'll
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 a wooden conductor
under the pump, leads the other end to
the hole, and she didn't let up pump
ing for a straight hour. Such was the
grade of the tunnel that we were ankle
keep in water in the corridor before she
ceased operations. 1t was q 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 jail
er's wife."-N. Y. Sun.
~s -