Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1902-08-30
A WESTERN MAN HUNT
Chase After Tracy Recalls a DARING 7
cape from Prison n Cali
fornia.

The long chase after Tracy. the a..
goa convict. recalls 10 the write. H..
sational and ingenious escape flor. ,t.
county Jail at Elreka. Hamboidt cor~-a
Of CAar.es Russell. 4 bicycle THIEF t.
occurred about eight years ago. asa A.
thoaSA not 50 sensational or thriEaa
L1acFS adventure, formed Il Er.y M.
estins criminal chapter.
RUSSELL Was eycio-kieVloWa5.ia. ...
Outside ol S-taang bicycles and uar+. -
bicycles he Lad 70 other criminal gcf,-
Il hen his 1905 WAS discovered, hi 4iea Hs.
!er IN old nil! on an island oBl1s..
EuEeEa, IL was foand &c consist o, >
erai bicycles, ana Of al parts d b:.-e'..
from tires d0"-n % cork handles n.
VAS arrested, and soon made Amealf
tayouJe with the jail atfeEdauts-Surb
saVoritC, in fact that Ia was given d..
usual liberty, and on the day sci f..
his trial he made his escape. lie wa, ..g.
ured with Little trouble within dav a-
TWO, and when he was taken back IN
Jail an Oregon boot, Il ring Of stool
weighing nearly twenty pounds, was hg-
around one of his legs.
Itussel became very dOeila. but began
laying plans for another escape-J8I
the way he made il was daring ami
clever.
The county jail of Eureka consists d.
a large room, in which the prisoner. arr
allowed 10 cougregatc during the ..av
and along the side and across one eaI
is an Il" showed row OF steel cells, py
tending partly TO the ceiling Russell
was confined in the one nearest the ios.
opening into one OF the COURTEOUS cor.
ridors.
On the night Russell intended to e>
cape he maze paper funnel, which FL,
put on top of his cell. Then he took off
his shoes and attached TO them string
which he ran up to the top of the cell
Then he climbed on top just before ta.
taller came in to lock up the prisoners.
1t was the iailers habit to begin At
the cell nearest the door. He fixed Eu-
sell, and always stopped TO talk to him.
On the night in question. when he came
along. Russell answered him sieyD..t
through the paper tube he had HJa.
making his voice sound as though comm.
from his cell; and to heishten the inn
preston that he was preparing for bed
he ratified his shoes on the floor hy
meaus Of the string he had attached %
them The jailer babe him good night.
aud passed on to the oIner cells.
Unfortunately for Russell plans cAe
iailpr had closed the door behind h.g.
when he came in So Russell lay Oh top
of the steel bars Of his cell all might
when the jailer came in the next morn.
ing he passed to the tuI}A-i "ea'.
around the corner d the -, IL order,
as was his custom. to unlock the cells
fartheSt from the door first. lie care
lessly left the main door open, and Rus
sell, slipping from his hiding place, mad
his escape.
His absence was discovered within
fifteen minutes, but he had completely
disappearad-Or boot and all. Con
stelnaa0n reigned in the jail, and depg,
Russell could go through a town of 1p9a
in broad daylight with 4 steel ring on
his leg, without attracting atentiOn, is
most remarkable. BE de did ii, and
was not heard of for two days-tAen he
was seen ont on a ranch over twenty
miles from Eureka. Word was sent and
the man-hunt began. much as in Traey's
case. 1t continued for two weeks. Ru,-
sell did not attempt to shoot any of his
pursuers. confning all his energies to
rGnniug-and he ran like a deer. \ bull.
let brought him down at last in the
MendoCina woods, QAI 100 miles from
Eureka. He was byExy wounded, but
finally recovered, was tried and sent 10
San Quentin for several years.
The Oregon boot was absent when he
was captured. and he told that he got
rid Of it by putting one side of the ring
against : rock and pounding the other
side with an AK until he disintegrated
it. The job took him nearly whole day
For TWO days he wore the boot. hodin.
It up by means of 4 cord.-San Francisco
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