The San Francisco call., 1897-03-18
Actua1 Size Of the Sharp Glass
Found in Lee Weller's Tobacco
Box.

declared that he would never be returned
to Australia alive; that be would commit
suicide first. So Mr.. Baldwin decided that
the City prison is not sufficiently safe.
At that place Weller has been permitted
to receive his sailor friends and females
whose admiration for murderers over
comes all modesty. He saw that with
hundreds of persons coming and going
through the City prison, many of whom
have made Weller presents of cigars,
fruit, candy and bouquets, there was
plenty of opportunity for some one to
pass to the prisoner vial of poison or
even sharp knife with which the sailor
might fulfill his threat and end his life.
The fact that morphine had already
been found on the prisoner of itself was
sufficiently alarming to warrant making q
change.
So yesterday Marshal Baldwin called
British Consul J. w. Warburton. to whom
he stated the case and asked if the British
Government would stand the expense of
hiring special watchers to guard the pris-
oner in the County Jail until the Presi-
dents order OF e1tradition and the trans
fer OF Weller 70 the Australian authorities
arrives. Consul Warburton appreciated
the situation and stated that after going
to so much expense the Government
would not hesitate to e1pend few dollars
more to insure the safety of the prisoner.
Accordingly the latter was removed in
hack to the County Jail, much to his dis
gust. To him the change meant no more
cigars, candy, flowers or fruit; no more
gossiping with friends and misguided
and sentimental females.
Weller was assigned to cell 40, but be-
fore being placed in his new quarters Chief
JaiIer SatIerly searched the prisoner thor
oughly. Among his effects Weller carried
q cigar-box in which were g mum ber of
cheap cigars and quantity of cut-plug
smoking-tobacco. In the bottom, care
fully concealed by the tobacco and cigars,
was found large piece OF sharp glass
with which the prisoner could easily have
ended his life.
He smiled grimly as the glass fell to the
floor, but made no answer when asked
what he intended to do with it.
The glass was apparently broken from
the side of a small whisky-hask, and one
edge curled up close to where the neck tits
to the shoulder of the bottle. The lower
part of the glass had been broken so as to
form gradual bevel terminating with an
edge like knife. 1t was sharp enough to
have cut wood. On the upper part also
was sharp beveled edge that could have
been used to deadly effect by q desperate
man with the prospect OF the gallows star
ing him in the face.
VI course, the prisoner would not tell
how he became possessed of the glass, but
it is suspected that he enjoyed the con-
tents of the bottle before he broke out the
large piece fer future use, if he decided
that drastic measures were necessary.
Every other portion of the mans cloth
ing and effects were carefully examined,
but nothing else of an alarming nature
was found. He was placed in cell AZ but
to-day he will be placed in cell 40. From
now on two of the Sheriff's men, depu-
tized as United States Marshais, and
man from the MarshaFs office will take
eight.hour watches with the prisoner until
the necessary papers arrive from Wash
in ton. The Marshal will feel greatly re-
Ieived when he is finally free OF his bur-
densome charge.
Butler was constantly revolving schemes
in his mind for the purpose of delaying
his inevitable departure for Australia to
stand trial for his crimes.
AT the time ne was anxious to procure
morphine from newspaper man, Victor
s. Wolf, prisoner who is waiting lis pre-