Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-08-03
A SAIL IN A TUNNEL.
Arizona Town Has Cooler Gut Out of
 Solid Rock.

Solid Rock.
 It is strange ln this enlightened aga to find in use dungeon hewn from the solid rock after the fashion of the his- toric Chateau dIf But such place ex- is the cooler" of Clifton, Ariz. It is cut off into the rock side of the moun@ tain, a sort of T-shaped tunnel, with an adobe hut at the base of the T for an en- trance. There are two small apertures to admit air so cut above that only for few minutes on sunshiny days do the rays reach the two cells which compose the jail.
 The crossbar of the T tunnel is divided into the two cells, each by 12 feet, and when visit was made to the place a few weks ago, says the San Francisco Chron- icle, they had six Mexicans in one cell and four Chinese in the other. When the suns rays disappear candles are lighted. Reading or even card playing is impossible. One candle Is allowed to each cell.
 Sanitation there is none. Drinking water is brought to the prisoners in cans and as for baths and shaving that would sound to criminal of that country like stopping at the Palace Hotel After g hundred days in such place a prisoner reappears looking like dime museum representative of a wild man.
 To intensity the bad conditions, the weather in-that part of Arizona is almost continually hot. To think of place not as large as an ordinary bathroom con- taining 12 or IA drunken Mexicans, as is often the case after pay day, carries one far back in history.
 The jailer is about as queer as the jail. He has 8 grizzled visage, covered with almost white whiskers, and hair to match. Neither hair nor whiskers have been cut or trimmed for years. In the past he has done duty as a miner, but now he earns his three meals by keep ing the keys to. the iron door and bring ing food and water to the prisoners.
 The Jail was blasted out of the rock in 1880 by the Longfellow Mining company and used by them to put away the miners when they had partaken of too much firewater.
 As the town of Clifton grew and be- came more pretentious, 8 jail was found necessary and the city officials have. with the permission of the mining cons pany, made use of the dungeon.
 The river flows between the city s4 the cooler" story is told how. during the flood of 1891, a character of Clifton known as Friday came near passing in through the route said to be in force in some of the Russian prisons.
 Friday had done something which put him out of society for short retire. ment. and was enjoying the solitude when the food broke on the town. The river rose in a single night and carried away the only bridge for known dis tance that led to the other side. Higher and higher rose the river, and by the middle of the next day 1t had touched the adobe house at the entrance to the jail. Friday had been forgotten in the excitement Tn viewing the rise of the water someone thought of poor Fri day" A brilliant thought struck the sheriff. He painted a large sign, Get Friday out of the Balliwax. and stood it up so that the miners on the other side could read it. Signals were passed back that it was understood, and shortly they could be seen working along the cliff to the jail. It was impossible to work the bars free. so they had to cut another opening down through the top.
 This was ticklish work, for 1t meant blasting and heavy charge would have finished Friday" All day and night they worked ' taking the rock away in blasts as large as, they dared use, but 1t was slow work at the best and by morn ing 1t became a race between the res- cuing party and the flood. Just before noon, nearly 24 hours after the sign had been painted, the last charge sent g shower of rock on the poor man and the opening was made large enough to set him free. Friday was found in the water to his waist and bleeding from the last blast;s but by the time the waters had subsided and he was able to get to town he was none the worse for his ex- perience. except that he had become Q better citizen through his wholesome fear of the county jail.
 AMERICAN LITERATURE.