Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-02-23
JIMMY LEAVES JAIL.
A Youthful Prisoners Daring Escape
From the County Prison.
LIGHTNING RODS USED FOR ROPES.
Seated on the Roof, He 'COOlly Watches
the Parade March Past
UNTIL HE is TIRED, AND THEN SKIPs

Jimmy Doran grew tired of life in Jail,
and SO he left yesterday afternoon without
even bidding his keepers farewell.
Jimmy (pardon this familiarity, as one of
his daring, if not of his tender years, de-
serves to be called Mr.. .Doran, but every
body called him Jimmy, is only ID years
old, and is from Woods Run. Mr.. Doran
was engaged in the plebeian occupation of
filling spittoons with sawdust in the Jail
yard, north wing, yesterday. Other pris-
oners had carried them out of the building
and placed them in line before him. 1t
was a long row, AMI Jimmy could hear the
sullen roar Of the bass drum intermingling
with the shrill notes of the fife, as the bands
in the parade tried to drown the cheers of
the spectators with patriotic music. He
thought, on this birthday of Washington,
the father of independence, that he would
never reach the end of his task. He was
tired of the life he was leading. 1t was too
confning, too awfully dependent, and he
knew he was growing stout for want of ex-
ercise.
As James (for he cannot really be called
Jimmy, for he pried nothing open,) held
shovelful of sawdust poised in midair, he
made up his mind to go. The sawdust
scoop was dropped. James looked around.
High in the air above him
LOWERED THE JAIL WALL;
a slender twisted wire ran from the ground
to the top. fastened at intervals to the rough
stones; no one was in sight. Down on his
knees be dropped, and in few moments his
shoes and stockings were removed and he
stood in his bare feet. Seizing the lightning
rod, he slowly made his way to the roof OF
the jail.
An extra hard thump on the bass drum
by patrol marcher nerved him immensely.
He slowly made his way from the side of
the Jail nearest Old avenue along the roof,
which is sleeper than toboggan slide, to a
point above Warden Berlin's residence,
near the corner of the institution at Dia-
mond and Ross streets.
Below him marched the procession in all
its glory and with all its thousands of eyes.
He had a private box, though, and there
was no danger of his feet being trod upon
by the little man who always wants to see
everything. He was the envey of the spec
tators below, who imagined he was a news
boy that had climbed up the side of the Jail
so as to get better view. James enjoyed
the parade; but. as his position was too
prominent for his shrinking nature, and his
bare feet were growing cold, he thought he
would leave. At the corner stood his jailer,
Warden Berlin, in company with two of
his friends.
HIS LADDER OF FAME.
A lightning rod running up the side of
an air duct was the only set of steps James
needed. Down he slid, alighting on the
roof of the warden's residence. Beneath
him Mrs. Berlin sat at window, watching
the parade. The upper rod had broken un-
der his weight, but he was uninjured.
Selling the lower rod, he swung himself
over the edge of the roof and slid down the
rod as sailor goes down rope. Mrs.
Berlin was surprised at the sudden appear
ance and disappearance of a man, or boy, or
something, near her window. His
feet had hardly touched the pave
ment before he was off like a deer,
and hundreds saw him go, still thinking
him "newsy" at liberty. Down Diamond
street toward the Panhandle railroad he
ran.
The crowd then slowly began to realize
that prisoner had escaped from the Jail
before their eyes, and started in pursuit.
james was running for freedom, however,
and although at least 80 persons were after
him, he escaped near the Panhandle bridge,
on Second avenue. 1t was about $3.50
O'Clock when he escaped
Warden Berlin was notified, and he in
turn gave notice OF the escape to the vari-
Gus police officials in the two cities.
James Doran, as before stated, is about
IA years of age, and, when not in Jail, re-
sides in Shanghai row, Woods Run. He
was committed to jail on January II by
Mayor Pearson. of Allegheny, to answer
two separate charges of larceny, pre- erred
against him by men named Stemrnler and
Hughes. He is charged with having robbed
a notion store of candy and tobacco. When |
he escaped he was in his bare feet, be it re-
membered, as he had left his shoes and
stockings in the Jail yard.