Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1895-09-06
Harry Hungerford, the Pen Escape,
One of the Men, and Harry
Cable the Other.
Sheriff Taylor Takes Charge Of the
Places Where Illegal Liquor
Selling is Carried on.
Eleven Ipjunctional Orders and
Search Warrants Served, and
Eleven Places Shut Up.
An Ingenious Escapa.

ever made from Jail was plotted and
successfully executed by two prisoners
at the county jail Saturday night. 1t
was planned by Harry Hungerford, who
was awaiting trial for an already equally
smooth escape from the p~enitentiary a
year or so ago, and Harry Gable, a hobo,
who was confined on a charge of grand
larceny, having stolen a set of harness
rom the Gull River Lumber company.
The men had studied.out as neat a plan
of escape as was ever laid, and when the
time was ripe, they carried it into sue
cessful execution.
To understand just how the escape
was made, it must be known that in the
eteel cage, where the men are confined
there is, in front, a corridor, enclosed by
transverse plates of steel, about fifteen
or twenty feet long and three or four in
width, in which the men we're allowed
to remain during the day. This is en-
tered by a door from the left, and lead
ing off from this corridor are three cells,
side by side. The doors to these cells
are closed by means of a lever from the
outside, which controls an iron bar,
which, when the lever is applied, slips
over about an inch, upon the cross bars
Of the doors, and fastens them securely.
It is the custom of the authorities to
close up about dusk each night. The
jailor approaches the outside door to the
corridor, directs the men to enter their
cells, close the doors, and the iron bar
is shot in place from the outside. Then
the jailor enters the corridor, and fastens
the doors with a paddock, as All addition
al p%recaution.
Now the plan Of Hungerford and
Gable, as successfully carried out was as
follows: A piece Of rope, which the
sheriff had been using for some repair
ing, was secured and drawn into the
corridor. This was spliced to a piece of
cord, long enough to reach from the
door of the center cell, back through
one of the apertures between the steel
bars in the back of the cell, to the right
through the back of the second cell to
the right and into the third cell. As
there is no way 70 get from the back of
one cell to the back of another, a cake
Of soap was placed in a tobacco pouch,
fastened to the string after it was passed
! through the back of the center cell, and
then the rope was swung back and forth
back Of the cell by this means until it
flew over far enough for the other pris-
oner, standing inside the third cell, to
reach out through ar aperture, catch it,
and draw it IN. The idea was certainly
that of a genius at invention only equaled
| by Robinson Crusoe.
This done, a pair Of pants, or rather
two pairs tied together, we're hung up
along the third cell, from top to bottom,
just far enough away to exclude from
anyone outside, a view of the edge
of the door. Then a dummy man
was rugged up and placed in bed in the
center cell, and thetwo birds waited.
Eugene Varney, who is a trusty in the
Jail, went up to lock up about half past
8. 1t was rather dark, and the interior
of the corridor was not plainly visible.
The men were told to 60 to their cells,
and Hungerford stepped into the third
cell. Pulling the arrangement of rope,
the door to the second cell slammed
shut, as though the other prisoner had
gone inside. Then Hungerford slammed
his own door shut, but Immediately
opened it again, just far enough to allow
the iron bar which fastened it, to pass
on the inside, instead of the outside
of the doors, and it's being slightly open
was hidden by the two pairs of pants
which had been apparently carelessly
hung up there.
Varney shot the bar into place, all I'm.
suspiciously, and entered the corridor.
Cable, the second prisoner, instead of
entering his cell, had concealed himself
behind a tub and some buckets in a
corner of the corridor, and in the imper-
feet light, the fraud was not noticed.
When Varney started to lock the third
cell, and found the door had not been
caught by the bar, Gable sprang from
his hiding place and knocked him down
with a chair leg, and the two men
skipped out Of the place and down stairs.
Gable went out by the west exit and
broke the outside screen door to pieces,
followed rapidly by a bullet from 3 re.
volver which Mrs. Taylor had secured
and given to Varney as he staggered
down stairs. The bullet missed Cable
and buried itself in the door step. When
Varney went to follow Cable, he became
| antanplaI in the debris nf tho SCREAM