Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1889-05-08
|NIPPED IN THE BUD.
a TIMELY DISCOVERY AT rHE
COUNTY JAIL.

Another Jail Delivery Prevented-What
the Oficials Found in Making an In
v~estigation Of the Cells Yesterday
Observation-Disclosures Evidence of the
worthlessness of the Jail at the Court
House.
Since the Jail delivery that occurred last
winter, Sheriff Lloyd and his officials at
the county Jail have never placed any con
fidence in the security OF the cell building
against the tricks and schemes OF the
motley crew in their charge. 1t was COZ
clusively shown then that the supposed
steel cage is only boiler ron and not a
very good quality OF that. It requires the
united presence of three officials to
make a thorough inspection OF the cells,
ewing to the large number OF criminals
that are constantly in confinement theee
now, and they nave never been able to
get three men otherwise iisengasesi until
yesterday.
The officials had II shrewd suspicion that
there was some underhand work in progress
and yesterday AFTERNOON decided to give
the cell building "a s%uoreugh overhauling.
About 5 o'clock in the afternoon, Under
Sheriff Thomes and JaiIers Cook and
Richards went into the Jail and began by
putting the men out of their cells into the
corridors, which was lone to prevent any
collision between the men in the upper
and lower tiers and to have all the cells
vacant during the time the search was in
progress. .
They began with No. 2 corridor which is
on the floor OF the Jail. he men, nine in
number. we're all put in a cage outside the
cell cage. Then they went through each
cell in the corridor. In cell No. 2 they
were rewarded by q discovery. In the bot.
tom of the cell it was found that a piece Of
the sheet iron floor about a foot square
had been cut out, leaving just such another
space as that through which several men
escaped last winter. The tools With which
it bad been done we're three Common table
knives that had been made into saws
of different sized teeth, and a piece
OF iron pipe that belonged to the sink in
the corridor apd had two angles in it had
been used to prize the pieces out. Under
meath the hole il a cement floor. In this a
hole had been worked that vent into the
corner OF the ceiling OF q bedroom in the
Sheriff's apartments below. 1t was only
discernible in the room when pointed out,
but was evidently intended as a means OF
watching for a favorable opportunity to
make On escape through the room when
the time for action came. By this FORUM
ate discovery that time is indefinitely post
poned.
The discovery is a most fortunate one
fol the Sheriff. All the men in that corri-
dor, except one, are held for the grand jury
at the coming term of court. Their names
are Heaston, one of the men who got
away before. and who is held for forgery;
Davis and Noble, who are held for disposing
OF a team and wagon belonging to a ranch
from last term of court; Trushell. the bank
clerk; Straight, the young thief who robbed
q man at the Southern hotel; Murphy, one
OF the Dublin Gulch dynamiters; Sanders,
held for false pretences, and Shannon, a
petty larceny criminal.
The Sheriff and his assistants deserve
great credit for nipping the scheme in the
bud. 1t shows that they are On the alert
and thoroughly alive to the dangerous
class of criminals under their care. The
Jail needs some radical changes to
it the safe place OF eonfine-
.ent it ought to be, and the Grand
Jury will probably take some action
the subject. The place is in.
adequate to the present wants OF
the county which has outgrown the provi-
the safe-keeping OF prisoners ade-
4uate when it was constructed. The class
Of criminals in it are as cunning and des-
oeraue as those in any part of the country
and better safeguards for their detention
are necessary than the present ones.