The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1908-03-11
THE MORNING AsToRIAy. ASTORIA @ OREGON
lA0LE IN lHE ROCK
ne Story Of an Attempted Es.
cape From Gibraltar.
suRRoWlNa OUT or PRISON

1
The Wonderful Secret Work That Con.
vlet ResIH Performed IN ths Tssth oi
Constant and Systematic Supervised
by HIS JaIIsrs. f3gM
Ambrose IsealfY was undergoing d
lifo sentence on the towering rock OF
Gibraltar for scuttling his ship for the
sake Of the insurance money. The
governor told tho story Of RcaIff's at.
tempt 10 escape: \ ssEagH sb'Eg
'.rhat fellow led rowing lIfe--a
daredevil that obcycd every Impulse,
good Or bad. And yet for three whole
years found him u model prisoner.
At first he was employed as carpen-
ter. and little later we put him on
the harbor works. But suddenly 10
this Wild nature came nm unqucncha.
bio thirst Tor freedom AT that time
Realff was In charge Of all the labor
ers' pick handles md wheelbarrows In
tho Rosia quarry. where he was In
stalled in q little iean-to shed against
b hollow In tho mighty cliff. Every
report put before me extollcd the
mans good behavior.
"Well. every afternoon at 4 the work
Ing party OF convicts would form up
and return 10 the prison which. AZ
you know, contains some OF the tough
est characters Of both east and west
and IN officer would 50 10 Realtf's
shed to unlock him and bring him
along with the rent. a
"But this afternoon the door was
opened In vain. Realf was not there.
And yet twenty minutes previously he
had bcen seen through the little win
dow when visited by the chief warder.
He had even answered 10 bis name as
he stood planning ut, his bench In q dark
recess He was gone, how or where
not n soul knew Unquestionably the
shed was locked ON the outside, and
the lock had not been tampered with.
And there appeared no other exit ex-
cept the door. nothing but solid rock.
The little shanty was ransacked. emp.
tied. but without result.
"Could the man. wondered. have
discovered some secret recessf You
know the whole rock is fairly honey
combed with holes, both natural and
artificial. like Gruyere cheese. Alarmed
At tho results such an escape would
have on the morale Of my dangerous
gangs, I had torches brought and per-
sonally examined every nook and cram
ny Of the cliff against which the shed
was built, Then my best officers went
over II oil with hammer and crowbar.
But no. nothing but solid rock. Now
for tho floor. II was level and fairly
smooth. Just covered In places with q
little loose shIngle.
bring me bucket Of water !
cried with sudden inspiration. When II
came. threw II carefully out, and we
all watched More and moreg We
fairly inundated the floor and shouted
with excitement as we saw It ebb nj.
most us swiftly as we poured. &t Wy
"Mere absorption was impossible.
The rock was not porous. There must
be a cave or tunnel below. The man
hunt was growing hotter now Relent-
lessly we traced the ebbing streams to
a dark and distant corner, where had
to get down on MI fours to crawl un-
der a massive rock shelf, Here the
last trickle disappeared.
"Like fash our crowbars were at
work. and, 10, big block was pried
up. revealing dark gulf below. l ap-
preached It cautiously. Now. Realff.'
l cried sternly, It's all upl We've got
your
"There was no reply. My chief
warder poked pole down and found
depth Of eight feet. He and two
giant subordinates got out their re-
volvers. seized lanterns and swung
themselves In - as ticklish job as
routing out wounded tiger from his
lair. We above waited long and
breathlessly Suddenly faint shout
Travelled up to US, followed by sounds
OF a desperate struggle In the cavern.
BY and by back they came. with Realff
securely handcuffed. Lowering ropes.
we hauled him up, battered. but smil-
ing.
''He faced his disappointment with
rare pluck, flashed smile on me and
said, Better luck next time, colonel
THAT was the end OF four long and
patient years Of endeavor. think he
discovered the pit shortly after he
was FIRST put In the shed. And he had
not only enlarged 1t with a scrap OF
iron and the patience Of another Baron
Trench, but be had also extended II
laterally, no doubt hoping for ultimate
escape to the sea by the subterranean
passage. s'sg y.
"But even this In any event was only
the flrst stage. Realff's provision went
much farther. He had actually built
himself boat out Of i nondescript
scraps of canvas, old sacks and odds
and ends Of timber. II was a marvel
of constructive skill, vet surely none
but a desperate man would think Of
committing himself to the Mediter-
ranean or Atlantic In such a crazy
skiff--a mere tiny coracle barely capa-