El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-09-30

ty of tools at hand, with which he soon
cut the hook from the outer door and
gained access to the prison yard. He
ran to the west wall, forty feet in
height, which he scaled in a daring
manner, by means of frail rope lad
der, which he had made from thread
stolen from the shoe shop. The guard
who was locked in the tool house
raised such a howl that the prison
was soon aroused, and in a few min
utes the walls were surrounded, but
it was soon discovered that the bird
had flown, the rope ladder pointing
out the way. This being the first escape
that had occurred from Joliet in years,
every effort was made for Steadman's
recapture, but not the slightest trace
of his whereabouts was obtained until
year later, when, under the name Of
Frank Wheeler, he was arrested for a
burglary at San Francisco and sent up
to San Quentin prison, where he was
at once recognized as the person who
had made a most daring escape from
the place a few years before. Stead
man was a burglar by profession, and
a machinist by inclination. When he
was sent back to San Quentin to finish
his unexpired term he was put to work
with other convicts in the machine
shop. 1t was here that an idea came
into his brain that for absolute dar-
ing and fearlessnesS was typical of the
man. He had noticed that every even
ing at the time the men working n
the machine shop were lined up to be
marched away the machinery was
stopped at exactly the same moment.
He had observed as well that a win
dow leading to an adjacent roof was
not far from the top of the big driving
belt of the engine. From that roof it
was possible to reach the outer wall
of the prison. Beyond the wall was
freedom. He had escaped from va
rious prisons so many times that nis
mind reverted again and again to the
window, high up on the wall of the
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 cat-like dexterity, al
though the work of but few SecoAus,
he well knew would be futile, posi-
bly, fatal. Bullets travel faster than
legs, and the guards were not bad
shots. But desperate deeds demand
desperate means. Some minds may
work with an ingenuity born of de-
spair, but Steadman's was of a differ
ent caliber. He never ceased to
scheme, and he never ceased to hope
for liberty. One day there came to
him as if by inspiration the thought
that the big belt might be the means
of carrying him to the goal of liberty
He found that it was impossible to
count the revolutions of the driving
wheel, but there were lacings in the
broad belt which he was able to dis
tinguish as sort of blur as 1t passed
a given point. For days and days he
counted, and in his cell at night he
spent his time in calculations. He
discovered the exact number of revolu-
tions the wheel made per minute He
learned also by constant observation
just how many times the belt went
round after the engine shut down.
One evening when the line had been
formed as usual at the close of the
days work, and as the big wheel be-
gan TO lose it's momentum, suddenly
a convict sprang from the line, leaped
to the belt with outstretched arms,
graphing both edges Of the broad
leather. He had calculated well the
strength that would be required, for