St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-12-09
INGENUITY OF A CONVICT.
Wonderful Piece Of Mechanism
Turned Out of a Board.

Wonderful Piece Of Mechanism
Turned Out of a Board.
st. Louis Globe-Dem ocrat.
A few days after Charles Fry was
sent to the local jail he found piece of
wood in the yard and took it to his cell.
AT the time he intended to white out
few small trinkets. but decided to
make an effort to white something Of
which he would be proud The board
was Of white pine, three feet six inches
long, twelve inches wide and two inches
thick.
Fry is ship carpenter by trade, and
understands the nature Of wood and
what can be none with il under the cir
cumStances. He had no tools. and all
he possessed that would cut was
a small wooden-handled knife. Know
ing that this would hot perform the
task he had set before him, ne tore a
steel shank from an old shoe, wrapped
wooden handle about it, Sharpened it,
and began to look for something else
There was an old WORKOUT mop in the
jail, and from this he cut piece of one
quarter-inch wire. He put handle to
it, wore it down to the thinnesS of a
blade, and q few days later he found
the rib OF all umbrella, which he fixed
in the same way.
RUDE INSTRUMENTS TO WORK WITH.
Being now fully prepared, he began
tue task OF turning out what he had pic
tured in his mind. He worked mostly
at night, and often remained at his
work until 3 o'clock in the morning.
While at work he Stunned the other
prisoners and did not let them
Know what was going on in his cell un-
til few weeks ago, when he emerged
with the work of art on which he had
spent all his lime and energies for three
months. Looking at the production as
it hangs between two cells, one can
hardly believe that from the small piece
of board only two inches thick and
three and half feet long such chain
OF connected links and SWivels could be
wrought. 1t is an endless chain Of s2a34
links, thirteen SWivels or revolving
links, two pairs of clasped hands and
six carvings which explain themselves
to the observer.
ARTISTIC FIGURES.
The Liberty Bell. as true arepresen-
tatiOn as picture, is four and half
inches high and five aud half inches
across the rim, and has the crack. letter.
ing and tongue and all else belonging
to the beloved revolutionary relic. Fry
has pictured it as it stood at the Worlds
fair in New Orleans in 1854, when a
new beam had been given it and while
it was garlanded with a living wreath
of green. Instead Of the green leaves
he has made a chain of wooden links
which coil gracefully around the bell
and add feature to the marvellous
piece Of work. The bell seems fastened
to the beam with wooden stirrups. but
they are part OF the bell and beam,
and the screw, nuts and bolts are
given i'll perfect exactness to the origl-
nal. The beam is held to the chain by
two hands. beautifully carved, and rep
resent, as Fry says: 1.-The North and
South uphOlding their united liberty"
Above this again are clasped hands
similarly carved. which Fry says sis the
emblem of peace" All these carvings
are connected to the chain by swlvels, a
most difficult piece of carving in wood,
even with the latest improved machin-
cry, but of these the prisoner has made
thirteen, ana all of them were made
with the rib of an umbrella.
REMARKABLE DISPLAY OF CARVING.
Following the chain from the south
side to the bell, the first carving met is
a bronzed Gothic pillar. Oh which is
carved I'm God We Trust" Next is a
Chinese tower, on the corners Of which
are four pillars, and inside these pillars
is ball of wood, too large to be taken
out or put in without breaking one Of
the combining pillars.
This is where began the task" said
Fry, as he pointed to a decorated block
on which are carved in raised letters,
blackened at the top. ''St. Louis Jail,
June A." each word and figure being on
a side.
The most amusing piece follows, and
is a square block, on one side of which
is a harp of Erin. and in corner the
first two notes of Come Back to Erin"
On the other three sides are respectively
an Irish flag, with a sunburst, round
tower painted green and a spray Of
shamrock.
Next in order, and the best finished of
all the carvings, is scroll headed
1.-THE Emancipation" and at the end of
the scroll are a pair of shackles, the
rings of which are broken, and as the
carver says, 1.-The Slave Is Set Free.''