The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-12-15
ROSEBUD'S TRAGICFIUSTNIGHV
NINE. MODJESKA'S "AORIENNE'
IN THE SAGEBHUSH.

silent Dead NAen ami Silent Living Wen
.'g,- lA thc COrVldOr Of a Prison After a
suppressed Uprising of thc COnViCts.
The theatres2 Yes. l like them. For old
bachelors like mo there are few places we
could spend the time between dinner and
supper with less harm than at the theatres.
And a man must be- somewhere ut that time
or else be gets into mischief
Im a first niRhter. l admit It. There's
something about the first performance
which never gets into a play again at all
and the longer il runs the further away Il
runs from that same something.
The player folk are conscious OF every
thing on the first night, and that makes them
remember not to appear se~lf-conscious.
They often forget il later. and an actor who
does not appear TO be unconscious Of his
p real self is u thing to drive me out OF the
Iheatre.
But of all the first nights l ever saw. that
| saw in a little Nevada town called Carson
City was the strangest. | was on the way
from San Francisco when | got "A word from
" friend OF mine who was raising potatoes
and a family IA little way out Of Carson to
stop of at Reno and run up and see him
and the missus and the latest kid. He was
an old New York hoy. and IL tic him good
10 see one OF us now and then, to hear "
the dear old lane ran as crooked from Grace
Church to Central Park as IL did when we
used TO skate in the park.
Well, we came in from his ranch to the
hotel in Carson after Id seen the big pO-
tatoes and the little kiddes. and he WIS TO
stop overnight with me 10 see me on early
in the morning. As we were talking of old
q times IA man rode into town on a horse he'd
u T,ntaA s.rn,oI bard and vallai nbf ma hA
went on TO the telegraph Office that the
prisoners had broke out at the State PRISON
a few miles out of town.
Tom. that was my friends namc-you
may mind me telling about him taking
me to soc a bare fist fight near Virginia
C~ity-iumps up and says we must GO out
there, Tor the warden was a friend of his.
This warden's name was MatthesOn. A
drawer man never wed.
We got the horses we'd ridden in from
TOMS ranch and went out to that prison.
l never had a right to boast Of my riding.
can stay on the back Of a horse when
that's the proper place for me to stay,
but that's only from my habit of doing
what 1 have TO do. But I'm not a stylish
rider. nor a rough one.
We made thai trip in less time than you'd
believe if told you the distance. Tom
was the pacemaker. | hung on. IL ia
one of the pToudest thoughts Of my life
that l hung ON.
Many stories have been told in print
OF that prison break. I'll not tell You
half that we saw or learned. Put I've given
you the real name Of than warden and I
must tell what his part Of that tragedy
was. because if he ia alive and you print
this he may see it.. Id like him to know
| remember a brave man.
- There was in that prison more bad men
than were ever gathered together before
or since in an American prison | was told.
l believe il.
In the prison yard was a quarry and a
building where shoes were made. That
day the warden went mp stairs in the shoe
factory in the regular course Of his job.
ID He carried no arms. A gun in his pocket
would invite some one To knock him on the
head and take iC.
r At a signal a hundred men were around
him. They all had sharp shoe knives.
Give no alarm" said they. cor a knife
in your throat"
For answer to that threat he kicked out
a window IA they hustled him down the
stairway. He took a chance hat they
wanted him alive.
lnJO bht NdIu NNtN uTlF llils NlTtlhlk
around him, with knives az his throat.
end whirling toward the open gate of the
Zig wall. It was open "a let the wagons
out from the quarry. Guards with rides
patrOlled the top Of tho wall.
shoot" says Mattheson.
The guards ran along the top Of the wall
to each side of the gate. They could
scarce see the warden in the muddle %
prisoners.
shoot, damn you" says the warden.
A prisoner put his knife against the war
den's throat and said. "Shoot. and he gets
this"
shoot" says the warden once more.
A guard fired and killed the man with his
knife at the wardcn's throat. But the same
LulIet broke the warden's arm.
The muck Of them were circling toward
the gate. Some got out. Guards rushed
20 help close the gates, but before they
closed them the crowd of prisoners had
the warden almost there and the guards.
seeing what the first shot had done. were
afraid.
-Shoot! Never mind mel" yelled the
warden again. and a volley was fired. Tine
warden dropped. and so did n dozen pris-
Opers.
They got the gates closed then. Three
prisoners were killed and a lot wounded.
The warden was wounded twice, but he
picked himself up and organized the pur-
suit and saw the last prisoner locked up in
his cell before the surgeon got "A chance Ia
cut out the bullets he had stopped.
He was sitting up in his bed smoking
a cigar with the surgeon swearing at him
for an obstinate fool when we arrived and
we're taken in to see him. II is good to SEE
a brave man.
The surgeon took US To the corridor where
the bodies lay. Some prisoners had beer
taken out Of their cells TO watch the meL
who would never need more Watching
But II il the.way.
spoke to one Of them and he looked Al
me fairly ugly but made no reply. | spoke
TO each of the watchers in turn and got
only scowls. The surgeon was smiling al
my nervousness. He explained afterwarC
that the warden had imposed the silenc'
rule. But | never heard the word Of maj
= that gave me the oreeps like the wordi