The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-06-19
JAIL BREAK PREVENTED
Patsy O'Brien Caught Talking to
the Prisoners.
THROUGH OPEN WINDOW
Was Promptly Arrested, for the Midnight
Hour and His Actions Gave Rise
to Suspicious on the Part
of the Officers.

| What might have heen a jail-break at
the county jail Saturday night was avert
ed by the vigilance of officers. AS it is,
man who was communicating with the
| prisoners, and possibly passing them
tools, is under arrest and will have a hear
ing to-day.
Under Sheriff Morgan has a sleeping
apartment adjoining the Jail and COM
municating with it by window Late
Saturday night as he was retiring he put
his head through the window as is his
custom to listen for any suspicious sound.
AS he did so the sound of murmuring
voices came to him from the far end of
the jail near a window. He dispatched
Deputy Sheriff DAILY to the outside of the
Jail. The deputy stole quietly between
the building and the one next to it, and
came upon man lying fiat upon a graf
ing talking down to prisoners below him.
Daily pounced upon the man and took
him inside The prisoner proved to be
Patsy O'Brien, notorious character who
has served terms for petty larceny
OBrien vouchsafed no explanation of his
conduct.
The window through O'Brien was talk
and faces a followed out area under a
sidewalk. In this sidewalk is the graf
ing through which O'Brien was talking
The window itself is grated and is COW
cred on the inside, as rule, by wire
screen. This screen had been removed
evidently by the prisoners. After OBrien
was taken into custody a search of the
jail was made, but nothing was found. 1t
is believed O'Brien was discovered before
Ia nod hno oh 10 To Il;
whatever it was 1t would have been
easy for him to pass any small article
through the grating and thence through
the open window to the prisoners inside.
Possibly his only endeavor was to pass in
morphine or other forbidden drugs to a
friend inside.
Prison authorities throughout the coun-
try have to be constantly on the lookout
to prevent weapons, tools, morphine or
other dangerous articles being struggled
into prison. and oftentimes are outwitted
A sort of freemasonry exists among GRIM
inalS in. and out of jail and they are en-
abled to communicate many times when
the authorities think communication is h.
soutely impossible.
An instance is on record in this state
where vigilant official himself unwit-
tingly carried the coveted morphine to a
confirmed criminal A friend of the Grim
inal met the officer on the street and ask
ed him to take bag of fruit to the pris-
oner The officer complied, but before
allowing it to go in had the fruit exam
ined carefully to see that nothing was
concealed in it. A few hours later look
at the prisoner showed he had secured
morphine. The fruit was uneaten. Then
a rigid search was conducted After hours
Of patient investigation it was found the
paper bag in which the fruit had come
had double bottom pasted in it. Be
tween the false and real bottom the NOR
phine had been concealed
Newspapers are frequently used as a
means of sending morphine. Two copies
of newspaper are procured and from one
of them a column of printed matter is
carefully cut out. The morphine is scat
tered over the corresponding column in
the other paper and the clipped column
Is pasted over that tenacious paste being
used and being put along the edges. The
prison authorities open the paper, glance
through it, and unless familiar with the
trick or gifted with exceptional percep-
ton, overlook the pasted column
Oranges and bananas are frequently
used as mediums to convey morphine, and
even files and saws. The drug or the tool
is placed in the heart of the fruit, the
skin being first cleverly parted to admit
it. Then the wound in the skin is patched
up in a manner to defy detection.
The simpler form of direct communica-
ton from the outside, such as OBrien
used, is rarely resorted to, but now and
then is successful, though the chances
of detection are great. O'Brien. haa he
not been discovered could have passed
tempered saws and files through to the
prisoners and assisted them in saving
away the bars to liberty.
O'Brien's standing as a criminal is
clearly established. His last term in ia.
was served for the theft of garden hose.