The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1906-01-10
TO THE HOUDINl, iNTERNATlON-
AL PRISON BREAKER AND
HANDcuFF KING.
RELEASED ALL INMATES
Of Murderer's Row and Transferred
Them Into Other CelIs--Was Hero
of a Very Sensational
Exploit


condemned murderers, four others un-
Ter Indictment, and two noted Grimm
lis were released from the United
States jail on Saturday and for a brief
ime tasted a counterfeit liberty
Harry Houdini, the international
prison breaker and handcuff king, as
le is styled, was the hero of sensa-
ional exploit. On the invitation OF
Warden Harris and the Jail authorities
ie ravaged bolts and locks. Hondini
escaped from the Jail in which Char
es j. Guiteau, the assassin OF Presl-
lent Garfield was confined, released all
he other inmates of the murderers
,'ow cells and transferred each into
some other cell than the one to which
re was originally committed.
Hondni was invited to examine the
cell arrangement and was shown the
murderer's row, which comprises II
cells containing Walter w. Hamilton,
entenced to be hanged, last Noyem
ber but now living through stayed
proceedings; Richard Chase, sen
enced to IL years for mansiaughter;
Thomas E. Whitney, John Mercer, Ed
ward Ferguson, Jeremiah Donovan and
Henry Gaskins-these having been in
lcted for murder.
Wanted mo. b.
Hondini was chiefly interested In
Cell No. 2. the one occupied by Guiteau
md presumably the safest of the lot,
although it was from the outside of
his cell that "Ayenger" Jones shot
INTO in his efforts to kin the assassin.
# now holds Hamilton, who is alleged
have smothered his wife to death
md then sat all night beside the body
)f his victim, indulging in a drunken
1rgy. Howard Schneider, who muir
Tered his wife and her brother, and
Schaefer, the murderer hanged short
time ago, also occupied this cell.
All the cells are brick structures,
with their doors sunk into the walls
fully three feet from the face OF the
outer corridor wall When the heavily
barred door is closed an arm-like bar
runs 10 the corridor wall and then
bangles to the right and slips over a
steel catch, which has spring that
fastens the lock. The latter is only
opened b va key, and there are no
less than five tumblers in the lock.
Eonefrsy opens al the doors ip the cor
rider, ,,r...s s,! ,,afa. tN,a . j.,
With lIoudipi there, it was very ma.
ltual' thats everybody SHOULD express
the ardent desire to have ham them
and there go into a cell ana see If he
could, release himself and. Hondiqt,
with his. accustomed courtesy, yieided.
ready acqniescence. He insisted
however, thar ne preferred to try Cell
No. . for the reason that it is the
hardest one 10 get out of alive, as he
expressed it, ana because Of the motor
ious murderers who have spent their
last moments on earth within its
whitewashed walls. "
Thought Him a Ghost.
This was agreed upon. and then he
was stripped to the skin and locked
into No 2~@ith Hamifron, the negro,
who crouched in the far corner of the
cell. presumably laborng under the be-
lief that one of the arch fiends was al
ready there to get him for a red-hot
furnace In two minutes Houdini was
out of the cell. free, the lock holding
him hardly longer than II took him to
get into the place and get his bearings.
Then. without the knowledge of the
waiting off .cials who had retired from
view, Hondini fairly ran to the cells.
where Whitney, Mercer, Ferguson.
/ Donovan, Gaskins. Backus and Hewlett
were confined. To each occupant he
seemed like an apparition from some
other world. and the astonishment he
created when he commanded each 10
come. out and follow him can be bet
ter imagined than described,
Chase gave a cry of fear. and then
cried Have you come to let me
out2 what are you' doing without
clothes?" .s :. E
He was assured that Hondini was
an escaping prisoner. He followed at
! HOndinis eltOW. ana the cell-Dreaker
passed with him down to the end Of
the corridor. where he opened the cell
containing Clarence Howletts
What are you doing hefe?" said
Hondini to the 'astonished Hewlett.
what are you In for?'
I'm hoHsebreaker.' said the pris
oner. as though making MS last CON
fess'on 49, -
YOU'RE a bad one" said Houdini
"or you would bet not Of here. Come
along Hewlett followed his strange
csptor. and HOndini then thrust Chase
into the cell and rushed Hewlett ur
to Chase's cell This secene. strange
and strenuous. vas repeated again
and again until every desperate mar
was changed into another cell thar