The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-09-13

when the door was closed and black
when it was open. Lynchehaun had
noticed that the inspecting of these in
dicators throughout the prison was
done late at night. He borrowed a
book from the prison library and in this
way got paper, with a small piece of
which he made white the black part of
his indicator. Then, with a piece Of
wood, he plugged the socket of the
lock bolt, so that it could not be shut.
As final precaution, he secured the
door with another wedge shaped piece
of wood, so that, should a keeper push
it, the door would not give. He had
determined to escape that night, hop
ing to delay the chase for him by foot-
ing his jailers for a moment or two
longer. he stuffed part of his clothes
inside his bed so that it would look as
if some one were sleeping there. and
left his shoes on the floor beside it.
Then, waiting until after midnight for
a favorable opportunity, he slipped out
in the hall in his stocking feet
Luck aided Lynchehaun in making
his escape, for not only was his prison
new one and in an unfinished state,
which left an avenue of escape from 1T,
but chance gave the convict an oppor-
tunity Of discovering exactly where the
weak point was. The prison is four
stories in height, with four galleries,
reached by large StaircaSe-the top
gallery opening on the roof which is
surrounded by a parapet wall. The
prison authorities had been struck
with the idea that it would be well to
close this way to the roof by an iron
gate, and, as luck would have it, as
signed Lynchehaun to the task Of plac-
ing the gate in position. For some rea-
son the important duty of putting a
lock on this gate was delayed, and of
this carelessness the convict took ad'
vantage when he made his escape
Sinking UP the long staircase, he
passed through the gate and so got on
the roof. Then he discovered that an
air shaft projected from the prison
wall, and down this he made his way,
resting his feet on the5 spikes in the
shaft, and finally dropped safely in the
yard. Then, however, there was the
prison wall, twenty eight feet high, to
be climbed. Again the man had cause
to bless the fact that the prison was
unfinished. Scaffolding planks y. and
ropes lay about the yard, and by means
of one of the planks he got up the waH
at a corner where the ground slopes
upward and the drop outside is lowest
In his hat he held a rope. Knotting
this, he placed it across a cleft in the
wall and let himself down on the other
side. From the moment his feet touch
ed the ground, however, the trail"
ends. The first news of him since
that time came from Indianapolis.
The story of the search for Lynche-
haun and of how one man after an
other was arrested for him is too re-
cent a one to need retelling. A clergy
man even, who bore just the slightest
possible resemblance to the pictures of
Lynchehaun, was arrested while leav-
ling a game Of cricket at the fashions
able Oval, and obliged to prove that he
was not an escaped '1ife" man i'm dis
guise. Other suspects included a mis-
sionary. a lunatic, an honorably dis
charged soldier with a fine record; and
looked so much like the police pic
lures Of Lynchehaun that he was ar
rested twice. e-NrH'e - ~