The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1893-12-26
HEDGEPETH'S SCHEME.
He Was Fully Prepared to Make
His Escape from Jail.
The Daring Glendale Train
Robber Fooled by an Error
of Judgment,

Marion Hedgepeth, who was born
and reared in Cooper county, Mo.
and who is under sentence OF twenty
five years 20 the penitentiary for the
Glendale train robbery, almost es-
capped from his temporary quarters in
the st. Louis Jail Saturday night
The following are the details:
The city Jail is built in a semicircle,
on the south side of the center of the
Four courts. The cells are in three
tiers. In front of them is the rotunda,
where prisoners daily meet for exer
else. Behind the cells is what is
termed the ''bull ring" 1t extends
all round the Jail, and is about ten
feet wide. There are three big doors
leading from the space in front OF the
cells to the passage behind, When
the night watch comes on at o'clock
their first duty Is 10 go round and see
that each cell is securely fastened and
contains its proper occupant. This
examination takes place every two
hours during the night Hedgepeth's
cell is No 81 on the second tier, in
which is known as ''murderers' row."
being reserved on account of their
greater security for desperate charac-
tiers, or those sentenced to long terms
of imprisonment or the death penalty.
Wardens Harmon and Dalv, the Of
ficers for the night, made their rounds
every two hours as usual yesterday
morning and found everything all
right. They had just completed the
round a few minutes after 3 o'clock,
and mad retired to the further end
passage, when
AN UNUSUAL SOUND,
ike the creaking of a window, reached
their ears, followed by Whit Of air
decidedly cooler than any inside the
Jail. On investigating, they discovered
two windows up and man violently
struggling to squeeze and worm him
self between the bars on the outside
In an instant they were upon him
with pointed revolvers and called OF
him to let 60 and drop Seeing thai
he had been foiled, Hedgepeth drop
ped and hesitated for an instant
whether or not he should make a su
preme effort for liberty at the peril OF |
his life or surrender. He chose the
latter course and threw up his hands
and appealed to the guards not TO |
shoot. Still covering him with Their |
revoIvers, Hedgepeth was taken to
his cell. After he was secured, |
notice of an attempted break from
Jail was promptly sent to Chief Jailer
Kraemer. who Immediately returned |
to the Jail and commenced an investi
CATION.
An inspection of the door revealed
the fact that the prisoners
CELL WAS UNLOCKED,
and that he had got out either through
the cell being lett in that condition O,
by means of a duplicate key. In adj
dition to the ordinary lock there is a
paddock. Hedgpeth claims that bis
cell was lett unlocked by accident.
He had by means of a broom-handle
cord, which he had concealed in his
cell for the purpose, so arranged it
that the door would not give. and
when the jailers tried the door they
We're under the impression it was
properly secured.
If that be true, then it will he mat
ter for inquiry how the paddock be-
came unfastened. The doors leading
from the rotunda to the bull ring are
left open every night to give the
guards quicker access in case OF trouble
arising.
As soon as the guards saw what Was
up, they sounded the alarm, which
brought Assistant Chief Reedy and
every officer in the Jail
TO THE RESCUE.
No further trouble being appre-
hended from the inside, Ja;ler krae-
mer and some officers proceeded 10
examine the building on the outside.
Once out it would have been an easy /;
matter for Hedgepath to have
escaped, as the boiler house is immedi- :
ately underneath the window, and.
this being crossed, one jump would
have landed the prisoner on the wall, {
which is only II feet high.
That Heigepeth had accomplices Is :
conclusively proven by the fact that 5
IN the roof of the boiler house was d
/ 1