The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1903-02-14
a Prison
Tragedy


| ridiculing local doctor. The doctor
! called to demand a retracton. a fight
! cnsued. and the editor had the misfor.
! tune to kill his man lie was sen
! fenced to be hanged but the governor
commuted 1t to imprisonment for life.
! When Horton reached tie prison, he
was made librarian TO the prison Ii
| brary.
After A year or so Horizons wife got
a divorce, his friends ceased to call.
| and he was virtually dead to the world.
There was living in the town in
which the prison was situated young
lady named Calhoun. She used TO
come in every Saturday afternoon at
! o'clock. with papers or other things for
| the prisoners, and sometimes she had
company and sometimes not. Satur-
! day afternoon was a holiday with the
! prisoners-that is, all We're locked up
| In their cells after the MONDAY meal
and could read. write or sleep This
order did not include the librarian and
| certain other TRUSTEES.
one Saturday afternoon Miss Cal.
houn was an hour late. 1t was in
| April. and the day was dark and foggy.
| The order was to pass her in and out
without question. At : o'clock in the
evening some of her friends called at
the prison to say that She had not re-
| turned home.
The country around the prison was
searched all night long and soon after
daylight the mystery was solved The
dead body OF the girl was found in the
! prison yard. On the second floor of Il
storehouse lay the half Laced body,
while hat, dress, skirts ana wrap were
| in heap beside il.
/ About eight mouths after the muir
der, when Horton had been With us for
three years and four months, he made
! his escape by means of a tunnel which
he had been over two years digging. 1t
began in n clothes closet off the library
| and ended n,nCty-tlree feet away out
side the prison walls. What was done
had TO be accomplished between : a. IN.
and p. III. Horton could not bar any
one out OF the library, nor could he
tell what minute some one would en-
ter. No convict ever worked for lib
erty with such odds against him. He
simply took the one chance In thou
sand.
You will want to know how learned
of certain things \ year after IIor-
tons escape we heard Of him in Mon
tana. He had joined "A small band OF
trappers and hunters and was living
among the mountains. After he had
been located it was decided that |
should be sent out to attempt his cap.
| ture. When | reached Gallatiu, |
learned that Horizons party was in the
mountains to the north and enlisted
two men in the search for him We
! were on the trail of the hunters for a
month before we found them. One
evening we rode into their camp pre-
pared to capture or k II the fugitive
murderer, but he was not there Two
| days before he had started out alone
TO inspect some traps and had not re
turned. The rest of the party, number.
ing six, had been out looking for him
on the day OF our arrival hut had
sumed next day. and along in the aft
ernoon we found him. He had fIll IN
over cliff and landed on a shelf about
| forty feet below. His fall had been
broken by a bush, but he bad been Sc
verely injured and was almost dead
when we got him up. He had broken
leg and an arm, aud as there was no
show to get doctor we knew that
death must soon end his snfferings.
During the last day of his life Horton
was not only conscious, but talkatiye
and free from pain. He insisted on
telling me all about the tunnel bust,
ness, and OF course | was interested
In the details. | plainly told him that
had suspected him from the hour of
finding Miss Calhoun's body and that
figure II out as | might no one else
had the opportunity that he had. lie
did not answer me for several minutes
and then quietly said:
81 will give you my Idea of that af.
fair, though of course il may be all
wrong. When Miss Calhoun and
separated, she started for the exit and
for the library. There were several
TRUSTEES about. and no doubt one OF
them spoke to her and she may have
turned aside. 1t was dark. foggy
day. you remember, and the man might
have clutched her by the throat to pre-.
vent an alarm and carried her TO the
storehouse He took great risks but
was not discovered | have always
felt much grieved over the fate Of that
poor girl.
what motive do you think the mur.
derer hadF" | asked.
Probably TO don her clothes and
pass out to liberty"
But why didn't he carry out his
plan?'
Probably something threw him of
his nerve as he approached the wicket.
He could have gone out uuquestioned.
but something happened to make him
suspect that be would be nabbed.
And you will not confess. realizing.
as you must, that death is not far
awayT
My dear man" Horton replied az a
smile played over his pale face ie, :
talk about that tunnel and drop all dis
NAL subjects SO all Of you called Il
an excellent BIT Of civil engineering.
eh? Well. | think it was was very
proud Of that tunnel and sometimes
felt like going back to have looA at
#"
q