The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1892-01-15
DARING JAIL BREAKING.
DAVE pAODOCK'S REMARKABLE ES-
CAPE FROM JOLIET.

An Almost Superhuman Display OF In
genuity Exercised by Convict to Get |
Out of Prison-working Few Minutes |
at a Time for over Two Years.
A section of iron bar was cut from the !
cell door of Dave Paddock by that re-
doubtable knight of the dark lantern
and Jimmy" on the occasion of his SEN
sational escape from Joliet. For over
two years Paddock has schemed and
worked to effect his purpose. Hewas
sent up from Rock Island on an eight
year term, and was placed at work in
one of the shoeshops, where during
every minute of the working hours in
the shop he was constantly under the
watchful eye of his keeper. There was
not the least chance to plan an escape
from the shop. But, not daunted at
this, he determined to find some means
of getting out of his cell at night.
To fully appreciate the difficulty of
cutting out of cell it must be remem-
bered that three times every hour during
the night, at irregular intervals, guard
wearing padded slippers-called ''sneak
shoes" by the convicts-makes his rounds,
peering into each cell to make sure that
all are secure and in bed. Paddock first
appropriated a couple of thin bladed shoe
knives from his shop, and, concealing
them from the guard. took them to his
cell, where, by using one as file, he
converted the other into fine steel saw.
Then by slow degrees he collected large
amount of shoe thread from the same
shop, with which he braided the rope.
All this required months of stealthful
work, but in the course of time he had
slender, strong rope, fully fifty feet in
length. This he kept carefully hidden in
the mattress of his bed.
Next he began saving the bars on his
door little at time Night after night
he watched for the passing of the guard,
and as soon as that official was beyond
hearing distance he would cut little
and then fill up the space with black
wax, which he had also obtained from
the shoeshop, so that the prying eyes of
the guard could not discover by daylight
that the door had been tempered with.
When the bar had been cut through he
| carefully wedged it back into place with
small iron staples and bits of lead.
REMARKABLE CI-EvERNESs.
He could now get outside of his cell,
but the hardest work was yet to be done
His cell was located high up on the
! third tier, some sixty feet away from
the tower door through which he hoped
| to me- a his way. Watching his chance,
when We night guard was on the OPP
posite side of the block of cells, he re-
moved the bar from his door, crawled
through the opening, and with all the
agility of cat climbed down the railing
| from tier to tier, ran across the corridor
to the tower door, and, with a piece Of
shoemaker's wax, took an impression Of
the lock, regaining his cell before the
| guard appeared on that side of the cell
house.
BY careful working he made a key out
of lead pipe that plumber had dropped
near his workbench in the shop. Sew
eral trips from his cell to the tower door
were made during the next few weeks
before his key would fit, and then it
took him some time to get together
enough material to make dummy" to
put in his bed to prevent his absence
being discovered before he could get be-
yond reach. On the very day that he
intended to make his escape, while re-
turning from the shop to his cell, he
slipped upon an icy stairway and badly
sprained his ankle. This almost dis
couraged him. His months of anxious
toll had come to naught. His scheme
would surely be discovered. After three
weeks in the prison hospital he was sent
back to work, and when he reached his
that his rope, key and dummy" were
still safely concealed in the mattress,
and everything as he had left it.
ESCAPE AND CAPTURE.
Another week elapsed before his ankle
would permit his making the attempt.
The night came, however, and along
about midnight he was safe inside the
tower. A single iron.bar still stood be-
tween him and freedom, and it would
take long hours of hard work to cut
through it. Just as daylight began to
break the bar gave way. The rope now
came into good use, and with its aid he
! slipped down upon the prison lawn and
: hurried away to the woods that line the
bluffs east of the prison. Here he found
a thicket or underbrush where he lay
hid all that day, and when darkness
came again he got away.
His absence was not discovered from
prison until the guard went to unlock
his cell in the morning. This was with
out doubt the cleverest escape that hat
taken place at Joliet, and stamped Pad
dock as a genius. Extraordinary effort
were made for his recapture. Larg
rewards were offered, and his descrip
ton was cast broadcast. A year later i
was discovered that Paddock had a mis-
tress il Chicago. A watch was set on
her house for several weeks, and sur
enough one night Paddock put in an ap
pearance. Captain Simon O'Donnen, o
the police department, had the plac
surrounded and the daring convict wa
again in the tolls. He was taken bacl
: to his old quarters at the prison, wher
he finally completed his sentence, not
however, until he had tried several othe
schemes for escape, but he was to
closely watched to ever again succeed
Joliet Qlls.) Letter