Sturgis advertiser. (Sturgis, Dakota [S.D.]) 1887-1???, 1888-04-11
Digging the Tunnel ut Libby Prison.

n - - &4sUUy AEA5UM
From an illustrated article lii tn,
century BY q patticipant;. we duct
the following: HWdrk Gould pnfv Ii
possible between the hours of 10 a
night, when the room was generall,
abandoned by the prisoners because
OF its inundated condition. and
o'clock In the morning. when the
earliest risers were again astir. II
was necessary to do the work with ali
old jack-knife and one of the chiseis
FORMERLY secured by Rosa. It must BIG
done ~ aarkhsss ahd without noise.
TOR o yigilant sentinel paced ON the
Carye street sidewalk just outside the
door and within ten feet of the arg--
place. A rubber Blanket was procur-
ed, ana the SCOT from the chimney
carefully swept into 1t. Hamilton.
with his old knife, cut the mortar be.
tween the bricks and pried dozen OF
them out, being careful to preserve
them whole,
'vrhs resi- 81 the incision was made
IN accordance with the design describ-
ed, but no conception could have been
formed beforehand of the sickening
tediousness of cutting an 80 shaped
hole through heavy wall with d feeble
old jackskhife, IN st5len hours of dark
ness. Rose guarded his comrade
against the constant danger of inter-
ruption by alert enemies on one aide
and BY laundering friends on the other:
and, as frequently happens iii hiiitat
affairs, their friends gave them mora
trouble than their foes. Night after
night passed, and still the two men
got up after taps from their hard beds.
and descended to the dismal and reek-
ing kitchen to bore for liberty. When
the sentineps call at Castle Thunder
ana at Libby announced o'clock, the
dislodged bricks were carefully re-.
placed, and the SCOT previously gath.
cred in the gum blanket was Hung i'll
handfuls against the restored Vail,
Aliihg the aeaihB So entirely between
the bricks as to defy detection. At
last, after many weary nights, Hamil-
tons heroic patience and skill were re-.
warded, and the way was open 10 tks
coveted base Of operations, Rat He'll.
Wow occurred circumstance that
nearly revealed the plot and nearly
ended in tragedy. When the open.
ing was finished, the long rope waa
made fast to one Of the kitchefi, siihs |
porting posts and Ross Rsooeeded to |
dssessd and reconnoiter. He rot
partly through with ease, but lost his
hold in such manner that his body
slipped through SO as to pinion his
arms and leave him wholly powerless
either to drop lower or return-ths
bend OF the Hole being such as to
eraihp bis back and, neck terribly and
prevent Min from breathing. He
strove desperately, but each effort only
wedged him more firmly in the awful
vice. Hamilton sprang to his aid and
did his utmost to effect his release;
but, powerful lis he was, he could not
bulge him. fose was gasping for
breath and rapidly getting fainter,
but even in this fearful strait hs re-
Trained frcrit an outcry, that would
certainly alarm the guards just OUT
side the door. Hamilton saw that
without speedy relief his comrade
must smother. He dashed through the
long. dark room up the stairway, over
The forms of several litindfed men, ana |,
consequences and savage
curses in the dark and crowded room,
lie tramplcd upon arms, legs, faces,
md stomachs. leaving riot and bias
,hemy in his track among the rudely
and now furious dodgers of !
he Chickamauga room. He sought
he sleeping-place of Major George H.
but he was missing. He ]
however found Lieutenant F. +. Ben {
lett, of the 18th Regulars (since ma I
or in the 9th United States Cavalry,
0 whom he told the trouble in few 9
asty words. Both men fairly flew {
cross the room, dashed down the
tairs, and by their united efforts,
lose, half-dead and quite specchless,
7as drawn up from the fearful trap"