The St. Louis Republic., 1902-02-09
Bl Bloops1AINEp SNOW NOW MARKS SCENE OF CAPTURE

The history OF John and Edward "'ddle.
the condemned murderers. whose escape
from the iaii at Pittsburg. Pa. was Planned
and carried out with the aid of the jailer s
wife. Mrs. Kate Soffel: their stanch re-
fusal TO enjoy the fruits of their liberty. II
its purchase meant harm To the woman
whose hetp they had so traGicaIlv procured:
Mrs. s;uffel's wish To leave husband. chill
dren and home for men on whom the law
was about 10 take extreme vengeance. and,
finally. her desire to die with the object Of
her infatuation. is one wrought of SO many
conflicting human passions as TO make it
singular in the annals OF crime. and. i'll
deed. with few counterparts even IN fiction.
Beginning in q woman's iove-strange and
deep-for a man whose lie was soon to
have paid the debt which justice exactc1
for his crimes the story found its last and
most thrilling chapter i'll the woman
abandonment Of life's most sacred ties, the
wish TO sacrifice life Itself for the
object of a love that seems to have
had its birth in the hypnotic power which
Edward Biddle eXerted not only on Mrs.
Soffel, but on even the widow OF one of his
victims.
Mrs. SoTe!'s part in the escape of Edward
and John Biddle was not the result of sud-
den impulse. Indeed. the woman seems to
have succumbed 10 his power by degrees.
that are distinctly shown. first. in her slight
regard. then in her conviction OF his inno-
cence. later in her deep interest in his
spiritual reform her collusion in the saw
ing of the bars that kept him a prisoner.
d.sertcn of her husband and children. and
lastly her determination to die with the
man she could not successfully free.
Whether the handspring OF her actions was
,t.,r.
little in the consideration Of the catastrophe
to which it led. She has become the CEN
tral figure in a tragedy that romancer
would hesitate to father.
Not less strange than any other particu-
lar OF the case appears her. obvious in
difference to the fate Of her husband or his
assistants. whose lives We're not weighed
among the probable costs OF the murderers'
escape.
Escape of the Biddler.
About o'clock the morning of the escape.
Jack Bddle sent word to Night Clerk
James McGarcy that he was i'll. and re-
quested the officer to bring him some simple
started back He lad just passed the cell
room when he seized by the man he
was to serve, who took his keys from him,
and. aided by Edward. lifted him bodily
and threw him over the railing to the stone
floor fifteen feet below. McGarey struck
on his head. and his skull was fractured.
Reynolds attracted by the noise, rushed
to the officers assistance. BY that time
McGarey had been thrown over the railing.
and the BiGdles turned their attention to
the keepers. Each of the brothers engaged
one Of the officials. Seeing that Reynolds
was about to overpower his brother. JACK
right hip Reynolds ceased resistance. The
Biddles then seized Ross!ow and soon over
powered him.
The men then carried the three jail Of
~. H., hl1n nj kaI he
doors, thrust them inside, locked them in
and ran upstairs to. the Office Meantime
the Jail resembled bedlam The pris-
nneTs. awakened by the noises made by
the fearful struggle between the murderers
and the Jail attaches, set up a demoniacal
bowling in an effort to attract attention
from persons outside the prison. In this
thsv failed however.
The brothers took the keys from Nc
CAREY, VINO snould have left these IN the
Office They ascended the stairs from the
basement. after locking the keepers in. and
entered the general office. The whole af-
fair. according to Kos5.ow. took only about
articles OF civilian dresJ, worn by the keep
ers. who changed attire before going home.
Among these was an oyercoat belonging
TO Warden Soffel. They left their own
clothes in the general office. and it must
have taken some time to make the change.
Passing from the office big steel bars
an Ress o csfs
them to the outer corridor, where great
oak door studded with steel nails kept
them from the street.
But waiting-room stood open. AT the
end Of this room was similar door lead
ing into the reception-room of the War
den's residence. This was also open. and
the men had merely to meet Mrs. Soffei
and walk out into the street.
Mrs. SofYeI n Witness.
Besides the bowling prisoners on the in
side. the woman was apparently the only
other person who saw the terrible affair
being enacted on the inside. Her husband
lay sleeping in upstairs. uncon-
scious of all that was passing. In an
other room lay four children. rot knowing
they were being deserted by their mother.
The escape of the prisoners was discov-
cred when Warden James Marshall and
Guard Samuel Miller arrived at the jail and
found waiting there policeman in charge
OF some prisoners whom he wanted to lock
Up.
After unlocking the outside door the Dep
and found the iron-birred door. which is at
all times locked. aiar, and also the one
leading to the receptioH-room and the one
leading to the residence Of Warden Peter
X. SoYel.
When the Deputy Warden entered the of
fce and saw the suit of guards clothing
on the floor he thought something was
wrong. Then. seeing the open doors to the
Warden's residence and to the reception
room. he pushed the button to the secret
signal police system. bringing twenty Off
GERS from Central Police Station.
In the meantime. with Miller. after each
had secured a gun from the prison stand
department Finding the lights out. but
nothing wrong, he came back to the Ward