New-York tribune., 1891-12-25
ESCAPING FROM A TURKISH PRISON
AMERICAN RoGUBs WHO WERE TOO CLEVER AND
PERSISTENT FOR THEIR KEEPERS.

"''isaNAN ho@UBs WHO WERE TOO CLEVER AND
PERSISTENT FOR THEIR KEEPERS.
The sensational writer both OF the past and present.
mas found In the convict prison fruitful field Of oper
auoh' In the English melodramatic novel Of the old
school 1t was favorte practice with the writer
Involve his hero in some difficulty with the legal
thories which Invariably led him inside the walls OF
Pentonvlc, Portland Dartmoor. Then the hero and
TO escape. Sometimes he did 1t single handed Some
times-as in IIawiey Smart's story, Broken Bonds'
he was aided by the inventive genius OF the lowcom-
edy burglar specially introduced for the purpose. But
whether he "went 1t alone" In double harness,
he was always to accomplish his object by means
the most weird ard wonderful. The novelist Kad here
chance to give the fullest scope to his imaginative
powers. lie avaled himself OF it with enthusiastic
ardor. Some OF the methods devised for the escape
OF uniustly imprisoned men would make professional
crook's' hair turn gray. Yet wild impossible and
absurd many II these fancifu descriptions OF mag-
mary pri>O1bre King may seem TO he, they are more
than excelcd by chunk OF hard, solid fact now on
record in Inspector Byrness Office at Police lIeadquart
| erS
! What can be stronger. more dramatic or richer in
incident than the story told by Charles Becker, the
forgcr and countereiter of his escape from Constan
tinople prison In company with Joe' Elliott and
Ivan Siscovitchl This lusious triumvirae OF stars
made speciality OF the forged bill and draft line OF
business After series OF adventures in this country
Ellot and Becker found that the atmosphere Of Amer
| lea unpleasantly warm, and went to Southern
Europe where they at began to flood Turkey with
small drafts and forged letters of credit. In Europe
they met Siscovtch and "Joe' Chapman and the four
acted In concert. All hands were caught convio,ed
and sentenced to three and half years Imprisonment
at Smyrna. But the Jail at Smyrna had only mud
walls, and the four accomplished New York thieves
could have broken II at any time The country stopped
fem Out OF that they could not get. For secuIity's
sake the authorities transferred them TO COnstantinople
there the four found themselves In prison OF
| ;He old fashioned kind. with walls four feet thick.
heavy ccldoors and caststeel crate bars inch and
half square
| Strong as the prison was however, Becker. Elliott
and Sscovitc had soon formed plan TO get ont OF it,
| Chapman, who was as nervous as kitten, was, Tor
reasons Of policy, carefully excluded from the scheme
Mrs. SiScovitch pressed into service, ana gave
| the three men material aid from outside rhe prison
Inside OF month the plans were laid and perfec'cn
| The cell doors were locked at the top and bottom
| Although each cell had It's KEY, nhere was general
KEY which fitted every one OF them. There is no war
den in Turkish prisons. He is represented by prison
marshal. Now II happened one day that the maTslia
| while going round tbe prison suddenly called
! away and ran out leaving this general key sticking
in the keyhoe Of cell door. When he came baoR
the key was still where he had left H. but neat I'm
preston soap reposed snugly In the pockets OF o'
OF the gang Mrs. Siscovtch smugged into the prison
a couple OF trunk keys, some little files ana IurKlsh
| caps In order to find their way through CONSTANT
with these also the indefig gable confederate in petit
| coats was promptly at hand Becker. Elliott ana
Chapman were In cell, Siscovch being lockeo up
In another with some sailors. When Sseoviteh had
been locked up for the night Becker whose turn uu
not come until a few minutes later, slipped round ths
corner OF the corridor the cell and with his duplicate
key unlocked II again. Then almost under te noses
OF the guards he got back 10 his own cell and paciey
| awaited his own turn to be locked In. Wheh 'lS
guards were in bed and snoring Sscovtch crept ou:
of his cell and with the skeleton key released bho'
and Becker Chapman peacefully slept through IL ALL
and the Others thought 1t pity to disturb MS ros"
They left him in peace, and made Decline lor 'i''
| room where their clothes were piled away.
This room they broke Open, found their clotes' anu
then without difficulty got into the prison yard 1ie
wall was forty two feet hgh but over the arcmhg oi
the main gate there grating. and the rope whch
| they had kept secreted was ready TO their manu-
Elliott being the ghtes Of the three men ana as hh-
BILE as a squirrel, climbed to the top of the archway.
"As luck would have it." Becker in telling the
story Elliott stepped on the wire OF the DIG prison
bell leading into the room where slept 'he heePer
head clerk The way that bell tangled foze us sun.
The Jig looked up II ever it did We'd had lots OF 1un
with that bell The wire ran under the cell windows
On its way and we used TO hitch bent PIN 10 u stnhg
and fool him by setting her going
| 1t was Just that little circumstance that saved
Becker and his friends The clerk woke up' rubbed
his eyes, and with to the four practical )okers
| few minutes and then went to work. The rope,
| weighted with a piece Of wood. was thrown up I'd
Elliott who securely fastened 1t 10 the grating 1hen
the others climbed up after him. and let themselves
down ON the other side Of the wall About slXty dogs
had been doing under the shadow OF the WALL ana hus
| awakened began barking loud enough TO awaken the
dead-or ANYTHING but prison warden. NO one
stirred however. and as soon as Elliott found the
matches which lie had dropped, and lighted the mh'
tterns, the dogs became quiet Then the three men
tried to find Mrs. siscOvitch's rooms Whie wahder-
ing around they heard the rattle OF the watchmens
night sticks and found it convenient TO drop into ON
| all.nght cafe and stay there until morning SIX
! watcbmen came tn but the three New Workers were
enectually hidden from detection by their fezes. Ihey
found Mrs Sscovitch. but soon had to change their
| quarters Mrs. Sscovltch, looking out OF window
| one day, saw the interpreter from the American
Consulate side BY side with the porter who had carried
her baggage to the lodgings. The two were staring
straight at her windows. The gang promptly vacated
their quarters, and hired cab. which aroVe OH
toward the English cemetery, this being the place
where their pursuers least likely 10 look or them
sulung as 10 what had better be done, when there
entered Greek who had seen slseovi'oh tred @ hnm enc
| 10 his home and guarded them for two months.
Il arrived sscovitch aud Becker followed him. the
Greek receiving good present IN 6so mohey eyro 9f b ms
was soon released and found her husband in London
Becker them sufficient money rS 70 & Ts Y r Cp
and then he ana Eilou wei wen " ,n@ U and voc clad
10 he rid OF him. Airs. Chapman was az erWar1
| found dead in her room. AT first II was suppOsea
that she had been poisoned. and Elliott and Beckef
who were on the Continent. went 70 London TO testify
II necessary. siscovch and his wife had remained IN
London ana were lodging with Mrs. Chapman at the
time OF her death The jury found. however that she
might have died OF heart disease. Then Becker ana
| was murdered said Becker in referring to Mrs
Chapmsn's death, but 4 shall always beneve tiiat
ciscnyitcb who left the house either the day before
or ten minutes before she died. took her Jewels ana
| bi- IA so later a fnenQ OF mine
met him In the Bowery fairly loaded down with rings
| and pins
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