The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-05-31
TIRED OF PRISON LIFE.
MT. CaSGy'S Success in Taking
French Leave Of a PenitCltiaTy.

He Goes to Foreign Parts-A Massa-
ohusetts Convict's Extraordinary
Adventures Has Been Twice Re-
captured, But He Still Has Hopes,
From the Pail Mall Budget.
/ In a London Jail, under remand on a
charge of breaking out of prison, is a man
named John Charles Leonard alias
| Casey He is a stone-cuttcr by trade, an
| Irish-American by nationality, and a
modern Count of Monte Cristo in the flesh
/ by adventure. N reporter interviewed him
in his cell, and his amazing narrative can
not fail to interest.
"In November, $780," said Casey, Il
found myself in the Massachusetts state
prison at Boston, under sentence of five
years Imprisonment for grand larceny.
BY June, 1891, / had got tired of prison
life, and was determined to escape. So
| did We cut through a window, using
eight saws in the operation
How did you get the saws?'
"Well, that I don't choose to tell you.
! may want 10 get them again. We only
had to cut one bar at top and bottom to
make all the exit we wanted.
THE window was eight feet from the
ground. Jumping down we got into
yard which was surrounded by wall
twenty feet high. In the yard l had
planted beforehand a long jOist The
nature of the work upon which had been
engaged in the yard in the daytime
had enabled me to do that. BY means
of the ioist I got over the wall, and was
free. The alarm was given almost immedi-
ately. and four prisoners were caught on
the wall l made straight for Connecti-
cut by rail"
But how did you manage that without
money!
Il jumped a freight train-a goods train
YOU call il over here. Yes, | had to
lump it while it was going, of course
got on to New York during the night by
means of a train which beats the express
namely, the perishable goods train, with
vegeta bles, fish and so on. When that
train is once going no one can get at you,
no matter where you are on it. That's
the kind of train to take"
You were in prison clothes all this
time2'
Yes, until | got on board a cattle boat
at New York, and how l changed my
clothes then I'm not going to tell you. |
may want TO do it again. On this cattle
boat | went to Germany and got 95 for my
wages for looking after the cattle. 1t
was worth it. The vermin on that
boat were awful The first time anything
/
How did you get on in Germany?'
"Well in Germany they have no spit
boxes. How other travellers manage
don't know, but before long a waiter
came and said something as long as the
Berlin treaty Sand pointed to the floor.
The end of it was ] had to leave that
hotel and patronize another, where
stayed three weeks. At the end of that
time the proprietor wanted me to settle,
and brought three policemen to endeavOr to
persuade me, | told them it would take
the whole German army to get three
weeks board out of me. | got away and
joined the NOrmannia, bound for New
York. On arriving there l joined a
schooner and loaded her with coal. We
had not been at sea long when the rough
weather carried away her tOpmaSthead
and flying jibboom, and we had to put in
for repairs to Boston, of all places in the
world the very place where L was
| wanted
"And you were recaptured2"
eyes; a bosom friend of mine, being a
! little short of funds, earned the 500 re-
ward which was out for me, and / am
| happy to be able 10 say that that bosom
friend is now doing twelve years.
"Such is the irony of fate, you know
Well, got an extra year for my escape
1t was in November that l was back in
prison again. In JulyI got out again. l
don't mind wintering in prison, but
like to get out for the summer"
How did you manage it the second
time?"
you must understand that before my
! first escape they had built new prison !;
but now they transferred US back to the
| old one. There was an old man there
he had life sentence-who had got hold
of plan of the drains of this old prison.
When it was re-established as the state
/ prison he produced this plan and l saw
| daylight through it. Directly over one
! of the drains was a small house in which
we used to do painting and odd jobs
! Twelve feet under the floor of this house
| was the drain, which was sixteen inches
square; we cut through the floor of the
| little house until we reached the drain.
1t was 215 feet long, and led into the river.
! Down this drain nine of us started one
after the other The last man got stuck
| there, / suppose He went in, certainly,
and he never came out. His body was
| never recovered, so far as | know. The
! last five to leave the drain got recaptured.
! Three got free, and l was one of them
Diving from the end of the drain into the
water | hit my knee on piece of granite.
! With another man, on reaching the bank,
| went to Belmont, to lie hidden in the
woods there which are some miles in ex-
tent, / should think. We had left our
prison clothes, and had put on before
starting down the drain overalls and
! jumpers. We made caps out of the lin
ing of our vests. For two days and two
nights we hid together in the woods At
last local policeman found us, and, al
though we assured him he was mistaken
he insisted on taking us TO the police
station. He took my mate first, knowing
that with my swollen leg l was safe till
his return for me. So he thought.
| Directly he was out of sight | followed in
the same direction OF course the police
man, on his return, thought had fed in
an opposite direction, and that again en-
abled me TO dodge my pursuers. With
five hundred farmers searching Belmont
woods for motor there was another
500 reward on mel was hurrying away
through Belmont itself. In a meadow
found boy with a colt. ! gave him a dol
lar to go and buy me some tobacco. tell
ing him to keep a shilling for himself. He
trotted OF and rode away on his colt.
only went a half mile on the colt. for he
wasn't a steeplechaser, and then | took a
train for New York.
In your fayOrite manner, or did you
pay your fare this timel'
Yes, TOOK a ticket this time. ! could
not wait for a Freight train. On the train
met an old gentleman who was going TO
the Fifth Avenue hotel I told him ! was
q porter at the hotel and would carry his