Evening star., 1898-07-08
A DARING ESCAPE.
Convict Gains Liberty by a Novel and
Dangerous Method.

Dangerous Method.
From the Chicago Inter-ocean
1t Is one thing to catch a thief and it Is
another thing to hold him During the
meeting of the chiefs of police of all the
larger cities of the United States and Can
ada, which occurred at Milwaukee the past
week.. there were "reminiscences without
number of remarkable captures and of es-
capes which bordered close upon the mirac-
ulous. Tones of criminal history were
taken from the shelves of memory and
opened at chapters of thrilling interest by
the men who had been themselves the prin-
clpal actors History? Yes, that is the
proper word but most men would pronounce
IL romance. Listen to- one of the hair
breadth escapes by the edge OF feather
bed, as Lancelot 'Gobbo would say re-
counted by some gTayfaired chief whose
MES history consists of page after page OF
TINS sort of thing, and then cease to doubt
that truth is indeedistrsanger than fiction
II ne most remarka ble,escape from prison
That can recall, said William A Pinker-
ton to group of chiefs and superintend-
ents, was that of FSrahk2 Steadman from
the San Quentin prison: But I'll not tell
You about it, for here is John Glass, who
Quentin. IT,
Chief Glass stEaig ghtened his six fee three
INCHES and pinched the brown imperial on
hls unHer LIP 'refiectivelysfori a moment be-
bent upon him by thoss who were not ia
miliar with the story.
The escape to which you refer Plnker-
ton, was made after / sent Steadman to San
quentin and not before. l was not the for
tunate one to get him altar that last won
derful break. And to tell the truth l have
never taken to myself much credit for TAX
ing him the tiEle l did for 1t was to a con-
siderable degree matter of good fortune
You see. we We're just at that time keep
ing our eyes open for bank robber by the
rame of Barnes, who had gone into one of
the banks out there. covered the one man
who happened to be alone N the place at
the time. locked him up in the vault and
then coolly walked out-of the bank and, out
OF sight With all the funds he could get his
hands on.
One day man answering closely the de-
scription we had of Barnes stepped of the
train at Los Angeles. We took him in tow
at once, but found we did not have the bird
We were after. However, we managed to
hold him long enough to find out that he
was Frank Steadman, who had become no
torious even at that time as a successful
jail breaker He had four or five escapes
from prison In southern Indiana credited to
MIN, had got away from Joliet, ard had still
seven years to do at the Illinois prison, had
also been at San Quentin, and had es-
capped from there with five years unfinished
Steadman was a burglar by profession,
and udchinist by inclination. When he
was sent back to San Quentin to finish his
time he was put to work with other con-
Victs In the engine room. 1t here that
an idea came into his brain that for abso-
lutte daring and tearlessness was. typical of
the man.
He had noticed that every evening at the
time the men working in thc engine room
We're lined up to be marched away the ma
chinery was stopped at exactly the same
moment. He had observed as well that a
window leading to an adjacent roof was not
far from the top of the big driving belt of
the engine. From that roof 1t was possible
to reach the outer wall of the prison. Be
yond the wall was freedom. He had escap-
ed so many times that his mind reverted
again and again to the window, high up on
the wall of the. .engins room. Apparently it
was beyond all possibility of being reached.
NO ladder was TO be obtained. Had such
thing been even standing in place against
the wall, TO break from the line and scale
1t with catlike dexterity although the work
OF but a few seconds, he well knew would
be futile. possibly fatal. Bullets travel
faster than legs, and the guards were not
bad shots. But desperate deeds demand
desperate means. Some minds may work
with All ingenuity born of despair, but
Steadmans was of different caliber. His
plans were the outgrowth of steadfGst op-
timism. He never ceased to scheme, he
never ceased to hope for liberty.
''One day there came to him, if by in
spiration. the thought that the big belt
might be tho means Of carrying him to his
goal. He found that it was impossible to
count the revolutions Of the driving wheel,
bul tACic were ldClIlSS III lHe Deit,
which he was able to, distinguish as a sort
of blur as 1t passed sigiyen point. For days
and days he counted, and in his cell at
night he spsnt his time in calculations. He
discovered the exactsnumber of revolutions
the wheel made per mintlte. He learned
also, Oy constant observation. just how
many times the belt went round after the
engine was shut DOWN.
One evening when the line had been
formed as usual at the close of the days
work, and as the big wheel began to lose
Its momentum, suddenly convict sprang
from the line, leaped No fhe belt, with out
stretched arms grapphngi both edges of the
broad leather. He dad calculated wall the
strength that would be required, for the
terrific wrench did not loosen his grasp
Outward and upward he swang until he
reached the topmost point OF the circum-
ference. The nicely of his calculation had
reaped its reward. The belt stopped He
leaped to his feat. spraag through the win
dow and was gone before conyicts or guards
had recovered from their astonishinent. He
Caught up a guards coat an1 hat, dropped
from the wall and got away in the dusk of
the evening. am inclined to believe that
as mathematical proposition that was
about as perfect piece of work as any
man ever accomplished.
And did he get away without recapture?"
some one asked.
NO, / am almost sorry to say, he did
not. answered the Los Angeles chief, "for
that ought by rights to be the dencuemsnt
or such story, whicn combines SO much of
daring and cleveraess. Steadraan was
taken again in a short time and put to work
at mis- old job. There are bars over that
high window above the big drive halt now,