Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1893-07-21

pass ana III was only fnySelI VINO cOulu near
The rasping treble of my accompaniment.
1t was firing work on account of the con-
strained posture | was obliged to take.
But stuck to it. Every night for three
weeks | filed away at my shackles.
To prevent the guards from perceiving
my work filled up with tallow from my
candle the cut was slowly making into
each fetter and blackened the filling with
the carbon of the candle flame. The
thackles were examined every morning by
the chief guard, but were nos discovered to
have been tempered it. ] took care, how
ever, to stick more closely to my cell than
before lest attention should be drawn to
item.
At last a mere thread of iron held the fet
lers on my feet. | could free myself from
them at any moment. But still had to
wait for u favorable night.
| had provided for the opening of my sim
pie cell door. The lock was on the outside
but could reach it by running my arm
through the little square orifce in the door.
In my wandering through the prison
had come across II broken door in one of the
unused cells and had extracted long
wrought iron nail Having given the proper
crook to the small end of this nail, | was
enabled to operate the lock without diff
Guilty
From general gossip it was known that
we were to be shot on May 5, and it was al
ready the latter part of April 1t behooved
me therefore to ma Ike my attempt soon or
should not escape at all
Still no opportunity that | considered
suitable offered. was waiting for rainy
night. With three guards marching back
and forth on the roof near the top of the
I oil ;t D,
difficult to escape except on dark night
and amid the conflict of the elements.
Rain even in the rainy season does not
fall very regularly in that part of Mexico,
but when it does it comes down in great
quantities, as | knew.
At last, on the evening of April 81
storm broke over the town To add to my
opportunity it happened that the town of
ficers that evening impounded in the square
of our prison "A number of burros or mules
which had been found running loose ON the
streets. The noise made by these animals
as they coursed around that square squeal-
ing and kicking while they sought the
spots most sheltered from the dreadful
downpour was sufficient to drown every
other | waited, however, until the guard
was changed at midnight, and then noise
lessly snapped my shackles apart and opened
my door.
To steady me in my climb up the per
pendicuar face of the wall had torn my
American blanket into long strips and
with these tied together end to end had a
rope over so feet long To the end of this
rope | now attached the heavy iron bar
with which | had been fettered. found
my corner occupied by the burros. IIav-
ing dislodged them, threw my grapnel
boldly into the air in the direction of the
wall Happily it went over and caught.
had no difficulty then in climbing hand
4 over hand. In few minutes was a-strad-
die the wall and carefully moving away
from the neighborhood of the guards. 1t
was only a short jump to the roof of neigh
boring house. Thence reached the ground
without difficulty.
My American friend, Billy Williams, had
promised me that should | succeed in es-
Gaping he would have a rifle and outfit at
his house made my way thither to find
Williams out of town. His wife, however,
fitted me out with a long, ugly looking
Spanish knife and blanket. She also gave
me enough jerked meat and parched corn
to last several days.
| set out at once, taking an easterly di-
rection and avoiding the high roads.
travelled by night and lay close by day and
never once approached house until
had put $50 miles between myself and that
prison.
From a Mexican whom afterward met
| learned that the old governor raised a
great rumpus when he found me gone. He
had his fair cousin, Donna Barbarita
brought up before him as an accOmplice
but he could learn nothing and was forced
to dismiss her The guards did not escape
so easily, Six months imprisonment WA:
adjudged them for their inability to pre-
vent my escape.
AS for my fellow rebels, they were all
duly shot on the 9Th of May-Cinco de
Maiio-the great Mexican national holiday
j. b. Fleurant in Montreal Star.