Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1899-01-05
"a FEARLESS CONVICT.
STEADMAN'S DARING ESCAPE FROM
SAN QUENTIN PRISON.
One OF the woat Remarkable Cases of
Jail Breaking on neutrality-suspicious.
by q Feat which Almost Bordered ON
the Miraculous.

1t is one thing TO catch a thief and it
is another thing to hold him. During a
meeting Of the chiefs of police Of all the
larger cities Of the United States and
Canada, which occurred at Milwaukee,
there were "reminiscences Of remarkable
captures and Of escapes which bordered
closely upon the miraculous.
1.-THE most remarkable escape from
prison that / can recall" said William
"A. Pinkerton, twas that Of Frank
Steadman from the San Quentin prison.
But III not tell you about it, for here
is John Glass, who caught Steadman
and sent him back to San Quentin"
Chief Glass pinched tho brown i'm
periai on his under lip refiectiyely for
, moment before he responded to the
looks of inquiry bent upon him by those
not familiar with the story.
1.-THE escape to which you refer, Pin
kertDn, was made after / sent Steadman
to San Quentin and not before. / was
not the fortunate IN to get him after
that last wonderful break. And to tell
the truth, / have never taken to myself
much credit for taking him the time |
did, for it was to q considerable degree
a matter Of good fortune. You see, we
were just at that time keeping our eyes
open for a bank robber by the name of
Barnes, who had gone into one of tho
banks out there, covered the one man
who happened TO be alone in the place
at the time, locked him up in the vault,
and then coolly walked n of the bank
and out of sight with all the funds he
could get his hands ON.
"One day a man answering closely
the description we had of Barnes step
ped off 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 successful
Jail breaker. He had four or five escapes
from prison in southern Indiana credit
ed to him had got away from Joliet
and had still seven years TO do at the
Illinois prison; had also been at San
Quentin, and had escaped from there
with five years unfinished.
'sSteadman was a machinist by pro-
fession, and a burglar by inclination.
When he was sent back to San Quentin
to finish his time, no was put to work
with other convicts IN the engine room.
1t was here that an idea came into his
brain that for absolute daring and fear
lessness was typical of the man. He had
noticed that every evening at the time
the men working in the engine room
were lined up TO be marched away, the
machinery was stopped at exactly the
same moment. He had observed as well
that a window leading to All adjacent
,oof 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. Beyond the wall
was freedom. He had escaped so many
times that his mind reverted again and
again to the window high up ON tho
wall Of the engine room, Apparently it
was beyond all possibility Of being
reached. No ladder was TO be obtained.
Had such a thing been even standing
in place against the wall, to break
from the line and scale it with catlike
dexterity, although the work Of but a
few seconds. he we'll knew would be
futile. possibly fatal. Bullets travel
faster than lega, ard the guards were
not bad shots Bat desperate deeds do
maud desperate means. Some minds
may work with an Ingenuity born OF
despair, but S%teadmaa's was Of a differ
ent caliter Ills plana were tie out
growth ct s'e2afast optimism
"One d0g t rsne 70 him as if by
inspiration tne ,it that the big belt
might be him to