The Dalles daily chronicle. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1890-1948, 1892-01-12
DARING JAIL BREAKING.
DAVE PADDock's REMARKABLE es-
CAPE FROM JOLIET.

Eenuity Exercised by "A Convict to Get
Out of Prison Working Few Minutes
at n 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. He was
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 ont of his cell at night
To fully appreciate the difficulty of
cutting out of a 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, cofcealing
them from the guard, took them to his
cell, where, by using one as a file, he
converted the other into a 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 a 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 fiji up the space with black.
wax, which Ire had also obtained from
the shoeshop, so that the prying eyes of
the guard could not discover by daylight
that the door had been tampered with.
When the bar had been cut through he
carefully wedged it back into place with
small iron staples and bits of lead.
REMARKABLE CLEvERNEsS.
= 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
to make his way, Watching his chance,
when the night guard was on the op-,
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 a cat climbed down the railing
from tier to tier, ran across the corridor
to the tower door, and, with a piece of
sheemaker's wax, took an impression of
: the lock, regainipg his cell before the
guard appeared on that side of the cell
house.
By careful working he made key out
OF lead pipe that plumber had dropped
near his workbench in. the shop. Sew
cral trips from hiseeH 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
aprained 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
cen that evening was ,overjoyed to find
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 ,Spods that line the
bluffs east of the prison. Here he found
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 had
taken place at Joliet, and stamped Pad
dock as a genius. Extraordinary efforts
were made for his recapture. Large
rewards were offered, and his descrip
ton was cast broadcast. A year later il
was discovered that Paddock had a mis-
tress in Chicago. A watch was set or
her house for several weeks, and sure
enough one night Paddock put in an ap
pearance. Captain Simon O'Donnell, Of
the police departments, had the place
surrounded and the daring convict wa.
again in the tolls he was taken bacl
to his old quarters at the prison, where
he finally completed his sentence, not
however, until he had tried several othel
schemes for escape, but he was tot
closely watched to ever again succeed