The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-05-21
GOOD STORIES OF TIE PRESENT DAr.
Sore Remarkable Escapes Recalled sy .
State Prison Onfcint.
oarrrtoh. 1898. BY CHARLES n. L,ris

many DeODl6 TehsOu tnnI u ID because OF tH0
greater vigilance exercised by keepers and
the improvements made in the construction OF
such institutions. This Is n wrong conclusion.
The fact Ia that less vigilance 10 required with
the average prisoner than ever before. and tho
prison OF to-day is no stron ger than those OF q
quarter OF a century ago. 1t is entirely due to
O different line OF reasoning with the convict
himself. In former days. every man landed in
prison began at once to plot and plan an
escape A man sent up for q year was rs apt
to make n break as one sentenced for twenty
years. The idea was to get out, and every
thought and move was In that direction.
The man sent to prison in these days for 1ve.
eight. or ten years does not bother with
thoughts OF escape. He realizes that he does
not stand one chance in twenty OF being ut
liberty for q month. His description will be
telegraphed aud mailed to officers all over the
country. and he will be looked for in every
public place. The convict who Is docile and
obedient will not only secure special favors.
but the good time" allowed him by law will
materially shorten his sentence. The boldest
burglar and the most desperate robber teke
on n new character when they enter prison
and do not give tho trouble experienced with
some cowardly fellow sent up for n year for FIR
ing q haystack or stealing q COW.
In other days. when l was assistant warden
OF the State prison at j. no good time"
was allowed. and the popular idea was that
| prisoners should DO restrained by fear alone.
1t was expected that every convict would
escape IL he could. II opportunity occurred
and was not taken advantage Of the man re-
ceived no credit. 1t was argued that fear Of
the whip. II retaken. alone restrained him.
The first escape after | was appointed assist
ant was w one Of the s !. st, in The b prison prison re- niS.
named Williams. serving u scven-year sen,
tence for forgery; He was beardless and
was employed In the broom shop. and hal
eeen with us about four months when ne
The doctor gave him some medicine and sent
him to his cell to rest for the day. This cell
and three cells beyond was the first Of three
dark celia whore prisoners were locked UT, for
slight ;p "a, Of he at standing ID 1dg.v rules "a = = The The
Impossible. The:e was an, excursion 81 some
were going the rounds when ! started out
me. and / did not particularly observe any ono
individual. When we came TO the dark cells
resTS was W.rs sr Snd Iiu wss dyt az seS s nOW a ten m nhHy
the door shut on them. We then made the
liams could not be found. 1t took me some
last. No one had been allowed to. carry any
bundles or parcels beyond the Warden's ONCE.
clothing and had a hat concealed under her
cells she was helping Williams to dress. and
passed out With the crowd. I spent $500 in
seeking his recapture. but never got trace OF
have had It planned beforehand. SO that he
should leave mis- work and be in his cell. AZ
a party was counted MS they went in and out.
For nerve. dnsh; and GOODNESS tho escape OF
e q iHnIi iS a MHm nsjso menI He s Was q MAN Mns Of ae g. with 18th
the look OF an honest old farmer. and was serv-
ing n long sentence for robbing village store.
On account of his age and humble deneanor
no was one Of tho four %convicts employed to
keep the west corridor ina state OF cleanliness.
each, and his eel! was about the centre and on
the north side. His wife had sent him y clock.
a a %ieto Of sTo or .nIe and ,tf the ofd man am always 1snss
IN; a aSSn a AZ set te sssr T Msa so psf, oa e t ]sIsi esiI.
and nearly everybody wanted to enter It
who wore spectacles and who exprsssod his
ssaEnfhfsds u III S itia snd'e e!%aal. III e be by hsaneS SsdS!"
He was at my elbow all the timo as we went
in his surprise and admiration Of the cell l
have named when we came to II. Savage was
ssoppsd e ,h in aOee no. Now tsS t this f is wh wseR Ra we
pe1ed as We started on: Som men were
roos. ana she vi tic t se "spsd a a au rnl5sFs Of % au tse
farmer waited for a minute to look at some;
him BY the throat. and threw him on the bed.
Inside Of two minutes he. gagged. bound. and
change Of apparel. and was with US and
WAL; by gum; but that Teller seems right
eh xSS WI ii t ssy i s 81 asx tS e sSs ot sstset is t tEs
M Ffv hnf m nna did SnvnDn lind hauF ri fha
old man talking aud was a good mimic; We
finished the usual round. passed, the lodge
Standing right there, in the. presence Of the
Warden. = guard. and myself Savage got off
everybody to laugh. and he Insisted on shaking
hands before he took his departure. He had
sf.sorss Ses W S9 h0S SsS Th h.pp sss S'h srd sS Says tna
farmer. who demanded si.O0V.OO0 damages
and though a detective traced him for hun
l do not think that any officer OF the prison
to which was attached had been furnished
OF sewers Under the floor or IN Which directlon
east ten feet from the walls and the floors 81
i was one q the standing rules that a daIii
many other things. this was neglected after
a while; An officer simply passed along
ana RlRnctu INTO EACH cell anu reported |
everything all. right, Exactly under cell
No. 30 in the lower tier Of the east corridor
ran \ sewer. as we one day ascertained. 1t
ala not run Ie%ngthwlsc Of The wing o. corridor.
but across 1t. In the yard 1t emptied into the
main prison sewer. and that. sewer was con-
neGted with tho city system. The Occupant OF
cell No. so WAS u man named James DALEY.
and when ! came 70 tho prison he Was 40 years
old and han served ten years on u life sentence
for murder. His prison record was good. He
was in the blacksmith shop by choice. that
being his trade. How Daley ever discovered
that the sewer ran beneath his cell was a
puzzle. Perhaps he did not know 1t and be-
gan his work as an experiment. The flag
and widths and laid In cement.
Daley secured 9 piece Of iron 70 the shop and
a stone three feet long by two wide in
the centre OF his cell and right i1 front OF, the
and got rid OF around the blacksmith, shop.
and were supposed to patrol ali the
lime. The iden was to, make q full round
themselves with doing the round
not take the trouble to look Into the cells:
1t took Daley fourteen months simply to