The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-12-27

four months, when he was recaptured,
and served out the balance of his term.
IA female prisoner. also in the same
prison, made a very bold and deSper-
ate attempt at escape. which came near
resulting fatally to her some time In
1873. Her name was Mary Hatfield.
She was committed for only two years.
Her man having been previously COM
mitted for q term of five years, his
term Of imprisonment expired about
six months after her commitment. He
was allowed an interview with the
woman on the day Of his discharge on
the pretense that he was her husband.
The woman was noticed to become
very uneasy and restless after he left.
This continued during the day, and In
the evening she became very inSolent
and rebellious. She was placed in
punishment in tower which was used
for a solitary or a punishment cell, this
being on the fifth floor Of the admins
tration building, where the female
prison was located. With the use Of a
saw that her man had slipped to her
during the interview, she cut one of
the bars supposed by her to be located
Immediately over the roof Of the cell
house. She had miscalculated her
window, however, and had taken one
several feet outside of the line Of the
inner coping Of the cell house roof.
She then tore up her blankets and
made rope, estimating it's length suf-
ficient to let her down on the roof 1t
was a dark, cloudy, windy night. The
writer, while passing through the cell
block that night, heard the cry Of a
female voice, and, on passing out into
the prison yard, found a woman lying
insensible beside the building. Having
miscalculated her location she came
down about six feet from the cell house
roof, the wind blowing in the direction
from the cell house, blew her around
the tower and away from the roof,
making 1T impossible for herrtO reach
that building, and left her suspended
on the end Of the rope 100 feet from
the ground. She did not have strength
to draw herself back, and when eX-
hausted fell to the ground, breaking
one Of her hips, her collar bone and
one arm, and otherwise injuring her
internally, making her cripple for
life. It Is needless to say that she did
not again attempt to escape
Another clever plan to escape,
which was successful in letting out
eight prisoners, occurred early in the
seventies in the same prison. A new
wall guard came on duty. At that
time it was customary to pass through
the prison yard, open an iron door at
the bottom Of the tower, pass through
and relock, going up a pair of stairs
to the top of the wall, the guard house
and walk being on the level with the
top of the wall and around the inner
angle Of the tower. A desperate char
acter, whose name 1 have now forgot
ten, conceived a plan Of imperSonating
an officer and taking possession Of the
fort. He secured cap, coat and pants
of one of the guards by. some means,
dressed himself up, presented himself
at the door of the tower below, and
called to the gaurd to let down the
key, as he wished to relieve him, as
the deputy warden had instructed him
to relieve him and to tell him, the
guard, that he was wanted to assist
in guarding one Of the shops inside of
the prison. The greenhorn complied
with the request, let the key down
to him, and the prisoner entered the
tower, took the guards gun, the guard
passed out into the yard, and returned
the key by the means of a rope with
a small hook let down from above.
While the guard was looking for the
deputy warden, the prisoner who had
assumed the guards attire, let in seven
other prisoners. There being several
guns at the post each prisoner supplied
himself with a gun and commenced
firing upon the guards at the other
posts, one going down a rope at a
time on the outside until all had va
Gated the post and retreated under fire
to the timber located about one-half
mile distant. All were captured but
two, the same day. Under pressure
the guard concluded that prison life
was not his forte" !