The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1890-04-20
DOVER'S QUEER JAIL.
The Revolving Gage In Which the Iur-
defef SaVtelle Is Confined.
A Prison Which 10 Believed to be
Absolutely impregnabie-A
Gigantic Squirrel
Cage.

Isaac b. Sawtelle has the distinction of
being confined mt present in q Jail which
IL believed to be absolutely impregnable.
This Jail In b one owned n used by
the county Of STAFFORD in New Hamp-
shire, and there Ii only n other like Il
In New England; that Is at Montpelier,
VI.
Dover Jail, as this place of confinement
Is termed, Is situated on the summit of a
commanding hill about one and n quarter
miles from the depot, There are practi-
cally two brick buildings connected by a
''neck." The front building is three
stories in height n is used as a resi-.
dence for the sheriff and his family. The
rear building is two and n half stories
i'm height and contains the rotating
cells, while the meek" between com
prises the guard room of the first foor
and four cells for female prisoners on the
second The rotating cells to the rear
building form the patented portion OF the
Jail. There are twenty OF them, and there
is only n entrance or exit for the entire
number n that passage Is separated
from the guard-room by four iron-barred
officer desires to see a prisoner. he doesn't
go TO him; he simply turns a crank and
brings the man In confinement around to
the guard-room.
The principle Of the jail is simply this:
To have an entrance to the cells and TO
keep the prisoners away from that
entrance at all times, except when they
are wanted. The interior OF h rear
building or Jail proper resembles a
gigantic cage. There is an immense cir
cular grating round the interior of the
structure, and in this circle %reyolves
each tier ten departments. The
front Of each cell is almost open, except
for an iron plate running from the top Of
the upper tier to the bottom of the lower.
This offers n little more solidity to a pris-
oner's residence than would be afforded
by the grating simply, which shows, when
the jailer wants u man, an astonishing
prediction for slipping away. The iron
plating is also used 10 hold p the ends OF
two hammocks, which are used by the
prisoners To sleep in.
The 10 cells ON each tier are arranged in
a circle, and il is obvious that the outer
end il quite wide while the inner is very
narrow. They don't quite go down to q
point, however, for in IA center OF this
big squirrel cage" as some OF the pris-
oners delight to call it, is a big hollow
| pipe, which, besides being the pivot on
which the cells turn, s for a big
ventilator, and also contains II water
| pipes necessary to supply the prisoners.
The two circular floors OF the Jail are
| hung from the roof OF the rear building so
that the Jail swings very easily inside the
circular grating. Everything is ball bear
ing except the crank gearing, and the
tiers turn so easily that a 12-year-old boy
can move the - cells and their occupants
without much trouble. The interior of
this square prick building looks more like
a cheese-box monitor turret than any
thing else, except that instead OF the
whole turret turning only the inside OF II
tile cells-moves around. when q
jailcr desires to see a man he first III
locks the door of the compartment con-
tanning the crank and gearing by which
the cells are moved. h door is fastened
by a combination which is known only
to the sheriff himself. Then with a key lie
unbolts the iron door which separates the
passage way to the revolving tiers
from the guard-room. This done he I'M
locks a paddock which holds the brake of
the moving tiers in place, and then grinds
away at the gearing which turns the tiers.
This is SO perfectly adjusted that il can
be moved by the little finger and II can he
without waking N of them. When the
cell containing the prisoner desired IL OPP
posite the passage-way the jailer unlocks
three more ~on-barr gateways, each
lock taking "a different key. and then has
his man at hand.
II would be pretty difficult for Isaac
Sawtelle to make his escape from No. IL
on the upper tier, would il not?
The same work is necessary up stairs TO
get at prisoners in the upper cells, the
mechanism there being an exact dupli-
cate of hat below.