The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-01-12
ESCAPES LIKE MIRACLES
FROM PRISONS THAT HAD En-
HAUsTED THE MASON'S ART.


Their KeePerS-Human brains Are
Superior TO stone WaIIs-Christmns
Surprises at Louisville - Baron
Trenek's ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS nj
the BastiIe.
From the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Marshal Turenne used to define impreg-
nable forts as "citadels that have had the
luck TO avoid a competent siege, and the
history Of jail deliveries makes it probable
that the strongest prisons OF the world
would forfeit their reputation 20 the enter
prise of some OF our expert criminals.
Incessant surveillance requires the as
sistance of many deputies that may not
ali be bribe-proof. and no mechanical con-
trivances Of the jail-breaker's art have as
yet dlsproved the old saying that all
mans handiwOrk may be undone by the
work OF other human hands. Masonry has
proved so Inadequate 20 resist the i'm
provements OF modern burglars tools that
prison architects have come TO rely chiefly
on the resisting properties OF heavy steel
plates. and IN the Louisville city jail the
lavish use of such plates had been com
bined with the cage-Within-a-cage"
plan Of the Cherry Hill penitentiary. The
door locks could not even be touched from
the inside Of amy cell. and altogether the
building was considered so safe that the
present jailer thought il superfiuous TO
adopt special precautions for the safe
keeping OF such guests as murderers and
highway robbers. Those guests took their
measures accordingly, ana but for the ac-
cldental vigilance of fellow prisoner the
mOdus operandi of their escape would
nave seemed as mysterious as the deliv-
erance OF medium from a tangle OF
ropes and handouts Christmas had
brought the usual surplus of charitable
donations, and the new jailer, Col. Rich
ard Watts, had treated his wards to
halliday nd 1ff ffFafH
IN MS ofilce chatting pleasantly with his
turkeys and some incidental evening
visitors when loud cries, rising presently
20 70 Whoops; called attention to some trou-
bic at cell No. g."
No. is one of those combination cages
or prisons within "A prison that disfin-
sulshed the new county jail from an old
pan calaboose. 1t is protected in front
by massive iron ratings. which prevent
Nlsltors from approaching prisoners near
er than four feet from their celldoOrs,
ana contain twenty-four Single cells"
ranged in three tiers of eight each tier
is covered, iianked and backed by STRAIT
UNI OF steel plates five-eghths OF an inch
thick. These plates are riveted in sHch
a way that they can be dislodged only
by trlp-hammer strokes, yet when Turn
key Patterson reached cell No s. he
found that seven of the worst birds of the
iron cage were flown. Not less than three
OF them We're murderers. Charley Linn 8
cell! Look in Inns cell, on the top tierr
shouted the prisoner who had given the
alarm, and on entering the specified man
trap the Keeper could hardly trust his
eyes when he saw a gaping hole in the
ceiling and just below a pile of mat
tresses and blankets. Those stepping
stones to the gate of freedom had been
constructed with contributions from adj
Joining cells, but how had the fugitives
contrived to force the easement OF heavy
steel2
Investigation then ELECTED the follow
ing facts: The murderer, Linn, occu-
pant OF the broken cell, had somehow
contrived to procure a brace and an as
Sortment of eXtra-tempered steel drill
six OF them, or possibly more. since he.
probably took part of his outfit along
for future contingencies. With these inn
PIGMENTS he drilled out circle of small
holes in the ceiling of his cage. How he
prevented the noise of that operation
from becoming too audible seems as mar
Vicious as his perseverance, but the turn
keys conjecture that he managed to Sc
cure supply of lard oil or kettle grease.
After finishing a perforation he stopped
up the hole with a plug of soap and
blackened 1t with candle SCOT. His pre-
even further, Accident might bring an
inspecting officer to his cell, and to miti-
gate the suspicious appearance of those
circle spots he had daubed the whole
ceiling with arabesques as fanciful as
those OF Moorish temple, and had fes-
TONED his window with flags and little
chromos. Christmas comes but once "a
year" he would explain when one of the
turkeys happened to scrutinze his OPP
erations-who could tell, this might be
the last time he had chance to celebrate
1t in any way.
Ed Neaves, the man who gave the
alarm, believes that the jailbreakers
worked chiefly in the afternoon when
the sound of their operations was drown
ed by the noise of street clatter, for at
that time of the day he sometimes heard
a mysterious scraping and tapping, but
was not sure If one of his fellow pris-
oners might not be whiting out bone
flows fpr tln holt
days.
At certain hours the prisoners were per-
mitted to walk the corridors, and Neaves
now and then noticed Linn holding Wits
pered communion with a trusty, the col
ored prisoner, Bill Rider. For some
days" he says, Il noticed that Linn and
Rider We're in close and earnest converse
ton. On one occasion l walked near where
they were talking, but Rider turned upon
me tiercely and threatened to have me put
with the niggers in the old Jail. After that
they would separate when any one ap-
preached them while they were talking
Still suspicious began to be whispered
from cell to cell. and Charles Linn the
manager of the plot decided to forestall
traitors at the first favorable opportunity.
That chance came on Christmas evening,
and in the twilight of December 25, while
the dusk of the winter cleaning was thick
ened by river fog, Linn, Rider and five
other prisoners gained the loft of the jail
with a coil of ropes constructed of sheets
and blankets, cut hole through the roof
anu III swirl succession clamD0feu down
into an alley on the outside of the Jail.
Their original project, ii was afterward
learned. included the plan of replacing the
steel plates, hiding all traces of their route
of escape, and leaving forged letters to
convey the impression that they had left
the building by the main gate while the
turnkeys were az supper. Inquiries would
establish the impossibility of that achieve
ment; the mystery would become too COM
plicated for solution. and the secret gate
of escape might remain open for subse-
Quent use in case of recapture.
Circumstances modified the details of
that programme; still the conspirators
had taken their measures so well that
for the time being all seven escaped,
while the streets were still crowded,
about $40 p. m, or a. few minutes before
NeaVeS alarmed the turkeys. Before 6
O'Clock every policeman in town had been
notified, and detectives hurried off to
watch the principal points of escape Col.
Watts Immediately offered liberal re-
wards for the recapture of the fugitives,
and their description was telegraphed to
every town and railway junction within a
radius of 500 miles. Amateur detectives,
too Joined in the chase. The depots fer
ries, and principal pike roads were close
ly guarded, but for all that the jailbreak-
ers contrived to get out of town.
The event, however, proved again how
often the conquerors OF apparently hope
less difficulties succumb through careless
ness in the encounter Of trihing collateral
perils. Mrs. 10th and the spouse of the
pious Aencas, after escaping from the
FreStOrm of burning cities, could not keen