St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-05-13
DIDN'T SAY GOODBYE
Bank Thief Douglas Crawls
Out Of State Prison at
Saltwater.
He Effects His Escape Right
Under the Eyes OF the
Guard.
The South DakotanS Protest
Against Abandoning
Fort Lincoln.
Murderer Sehafer and His
TWO Victims Buried in
One Grave.

Erecial to the Globe.
SALTWATER. May ia shrewdly
planned and well executed escape
from the state prison was effected
yesterday by Fred Douglas, soon
after noon. Within ten minutes
Douglas had eluded an unusually
vigilant keeper, stole some citizens
clothing, crawled over the top of a
prison gate in plain sight of two guards
and dropped upon the most public
street Of Saltwater. The details Of the
escape are as follows: Douglas was
locked up with the other prisoners at
dinner time. At l O'clock when the
most of his squad under Guard Rhoads.
of the machine shop (up stairs, was
taken up Douglas Jagged, though
his absence was discovered by Mr.
Rhoads ten minutes later and the alarm
given. 1t was not supposed until about
$3.50 that D0nglaS was outside the walls.
A thorough search of all the possible
hiding places within the yard going on
in the meantime. At length Warden
Randall found a pair of convlct'S panta-
looms Just on the inside OF the most
northerly gate on the east side of the
wall, and further investigation showed
the marks Of Douglas descent on the
street side of the gate. The latter mas
not been used for years and Is boarded
OH the street side to within short dis
taRce of the top. a further search re-
vealed Douglas prison coat. cap and
vest in a little room Il few feet from
the gate. this room containing a
locker where the citizen lab0rer can
AannriA Ifc ni bnr srarnlpIlfC InPCn MS
coVerles showed that Douglas had at
once run from the cell room to the place
where his coat was found and made d
hasty exchange for the citizens coat
and vest which were in the locker. not
locked. Then he slipped off his prison
trousers. under which he had pair Of
Overalls, and by most desperate effort
climbed ND and squeezed himself
through between the top OF the gate and
the stone work above, space not over
seven inches at the most. There were
two guards upon the wall above
him, both with loaded guns, but
the projecting walls, once Douglas
was close against the gate, would effect
ually hide him. The greatest danger
was in some one of the almost constant
passers on Main street happening along
in time to witness the spectacle OF a
man making such an unusual and pam
full exit from the yard. Besides, Doug
lass could not see, until he was out upon
the sidewalk. whether or not any one
was approaching. lie simply took
every chance and won. 1t seems imp0S-
siblc that he could have so quickly got
ten through so small space; that no
one on the streets or on the premises
should have noticed the performance.
and that the fact that he was really out
of the prison was not discovered for so
long q time afterN ard. The latter
fact, however, is not so very strange
after all, in view OF the seemingly inn
possible way Of exit. When the facts
fully developed a strong force was sent
out with teams in pursuit, the SuppoSl-
ton being that the fugitive went north
or west, Deputy Sheriff Marty, una
ware Of an escape, was coming down
the boom road about 4 O'Clock, and is
morally certain that he met Douglas.
The latter is the man who gained tenn
pOrary liberty early last fail by riding
out Of the yard in a box Car, but he was
captured rev minutes afterWard while
still concealed in the car, then halted
below the Omaha depot. Douglas and a
pal named John Henry held up the cash
ierof q Minneapolis bank and committed
a heavy robbery, for which he was
given fifteen years, most of which term
remains unserved. There are strong
expectations on the part of the prison
officers that he will be recaptured. His
escape could not have occurred if the
threSher company employe had kept
his locker locked, in accordance with
the warlen's rules. The fugitive, for
whose return $500 reward is offered, is
nineteen wears old, with black hair,
dark eyes, five feet eight inches in
crook. He is of slender build, with