Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1898-09-13
HIS LAST ESCAPE.

Twelve at night; u stormy, black night;
some flashes of lightning upon a granite
prison; also a vision of a man saving
savagely at his iron bars in the second tier.
He stops to squeeze a sponge OF oil upon
the glittering saw.
He has sawed two above, two below and
two on the left on previous nights and
secreted his work with bits of soiled bread.
rubbed into the filings. Now he has cut
one and is at work upon the last.
The window is far above the floor, and
he stands upon a stool.
He suddenly stops as a fash comes upon
him. He sinks back out of sight and
buries his face with his hands.
An instant passes. He RECEIVERS. He re-
appears at the CRATE, seizes 1t In bis enor-
nous hands and wrenches it madly. 1t
yields, breaks and he staggers back With
it in his hand and falls upon the floor,
stunned and bleeding.
Although a murderer, he prays to some
power which he blasphemously calls his
God and leaps to his feet and grasps Il
bunchy. tattered coil Of stripped bedcloth-
ing, atfixes it to u stump of q remaining
bar and plunges outward and downward
by the wall.
1t is the work of a minute. His palms
are scorched, but he forgets them, reaches
the end Of his rope, trelnbles, shuts his
eyes a~nd-drops.
1t is but a few feet. He dashes for the
outer wall. A shed is one round Of his
ladder, a bakery is another. He crawls
across upon his stomach, gains the farther
most edge and throws himself downward
in the midst of a horrid burst Of sound, a
glare of light and 10, 900 shouts of alarm.
Nothing stings him, no shot has struck
him of the six hurled at him.
He plunges through the water to his
lips, gains a road and tears along, whistles
shrilly with his remaining breath, is
rushed upon by two men in goats and
muflers, is seized, thrown into a wagon
and whirled away.
His name is Richard Starkweather, a
mar so fierce that they have caught and
Gagged him for his crimes a dozen times,
but u dozen times he has escaped.
This last time he has been shut up and
guarded with great closeness, but this time
also, like all the rest, he has broken out
and is flying rapidly.
Two friends have communicated with
him in some mysterious way and supplied
him with the necessary implements, and
these same friends now are driving him
of to safety.
He does not know where they drive, for
he has nearly tainted. They know, how
ever, and rush onward and into a forest,
where there is u hunters hut. y
Into this they carry him and hide him.
They battle him tenderly and care for him
like women. Two days pass. He il we'll,
though weak and nervous. On each day
n of the men goes away and M back
laughing at tho tumult Starkweather's
escape has made and bringing food with
him. .
They say ", 900 reward is offered by the
state for his body, and they laugh all the
more, and Starkweather joins them heart
lily.
On the third day he lies partly covered
with moss within the hut, with his eyes
closed, trying to sleep off his nervousness.
Ono of the men comes back from the town
and after looking at him a moment goes
outside to talk with the other, while he
listens curiously.
One Of them says, "He Is asleep" And
then they continue. AS he hears what
they say his eyes open wide; they stare
out of his head. He strains his ears; his
breath forces itself from him. He hears
il calm and quiet. They look in upon
him again and again say to each other,
HE Is asleep"
An hour after they awake him to say
that there is. danger, and they must so to-
morrow at night and hide elsewhere. Hs
smiles gratefully. Tomorrow comes.
Night comes. He hides all iron bar in his
shirt, and they get into the wagon "a
tiously, one on each side of him, and drive
off. They come to a road which forks.
They take the right. He puts his hand
into his breast and says:
"Take the left!"
They stare at him and keep IN. He or
ders them again:
"Take the left or haiti"
They suddenly seem to comply. They
turn the horse sharp to the left, tho fore
wheel gets under the body Of the wagon.
and it is hurled over and falls with u
crash. A shrill whistle bursts upon the
night, and 50 men and so lights arc on the
road at once.
There is u great shout. a sharp cry, .
scufle, with desperate blows. and they
have him fast. He is cut and bleeding.
His two betrayers stand before him and
all the rest about him. He glares at them
and gasps. His mouth is filled with dust,
and hs can say nothing at first, but finally
bursts out like a wild animal.
"Look here, men!' he shouts, nodding
at the two before him. 81 heard them
plan to turn me over to you. / heard them
plan out the blood money between them
They have played me false! They are be-
trayers when they pretended to be friends.
They helped me out Of jail in order to
surrender me again!'
He is in a horrible fury. He bursts
from his captors with his hsrculean
strength and with the iron bar falls upon
the two like u thunderbolt. Two dead
bodies fall together upon the sod.
They all rush upon him and drag him
off and hold him tightly; then to a tree.
A rope follows, q knot Is seen, a pale face,
q throw is made over a limb, SO lights
dance in the air, so shouts Of vengeance
are heard and a pinioned form. writhing
and distorted, shoots into the air and
struggles. 1t becomes quiet and still.
They prove that 1t Is dead, they toss
their lights together and cheer flercely and
disappear in 80 different paths, with one
murderer and two %sooundrels the less.-