The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-05-17
INT OFFICERS
FIIVHLLT CAPTURE
CLEVER CRIMINAL
Frank Hart Who Figured in sensational Escape From Seat
tie Jail Thirteen Years Ago and Travelled in Pr
anO Box, Is Now in Salt Lake Jail.

After being at large for more than a
decade, Frank Hart, alias Morgan, alias
Lamb. is being taken back to the county
jail of Kings county, Washington. at Sc
attic. from which he escaped thirteen
years ago through the aid of a piano
box Hart is in the custody of Police
Captain W. +. Laubscher and Deputy
Sheriff Bert c. Thompson of Seattle, who
stopped IN Salt Lake last night with their
prisoner, taking him back from Alma
Kan, where he was captured. to Seattle.
Hart was confined last night in the city
jail.
The story of Harris thrilling escape from
the county Jail at Seattle. thirteen years
ago; his ingenious efforts to elude his
pursuers, and his ultimate capture, afford
material for an interesting detective
story.
Work an Old Game.
Hart, with Louis GoOdfriend, alias
Jones. and Michael Golden, alias
''Sheeney Mike" was arrested in Seattle
on the charge of buncOing Amanda and
Anlnda Anvick out of $3.50. The game
worked on the young women was an old
one. They met the girls on the water
front and by their pleasant manner gained
their confidence. Then they produced a
bill of lading of some freight which they
said they had in Seattle and also GER
several thousand dollars. By telling a
plausible story of the freight and of their
unlimited resources. which, unfortunately
were in such shape that they could not
be drawn on for the present they induced
the girls to part with $3.50.
Shortly afterwards the girls discovered
they had been the victims of confidence
men and the arrest of the three resulted.
While awaiting trial Golden died of con-
sumption and GOOdfriend was released on
bail. Hart was arrested on May 81, 1904
and committed to the Kings county jail
on June to await trial. He was tried
on a charge of grand larceny, convicted
and on June %. 1894. sentenced TO seven
years in the state penitentiary at Walla
Walla, Wash.
Wholesale Jail Delivery.
Immediately after sentence was passed
the attorneys for Hart appealed the case
TO the supreme court and while it was
pending Hart was kept in the county Jail
at Seattle. In the meantime Tom Blank,
a highway robber. was arrested for the
murder of a Seattle saloon man. While
in the county jail Blank fashioned out of
a piece of wood a revolver which had
all the appearance of being a genuine
revolver. When Turnkey Yerberry came
into the Jail Blank held him up with his
wooden gun. The turnkey. believing the
revolver was a real one, lost no time in
throwing up his hands.
Taking the jailer's gun and keys, Blank
liberated thirteen or fourteen prisoners
whom he did not like. These two he
locked in their cells. Hart was one of
the men liberated by Blank
After a chase through the country in
the vicinity of Seattle for two days Blank
was shot and killed by one of the pur-
suing officers. Eventually every one of
the men liberated by Blank in his whole
sale Jail delivery, except Hart, was re-
captured.
Escapes in Piano Box.
1t was afterwards learned that friends
of Hart had cOntriVed an ingenious plan
to SaGrh i'm i'm al
a piano box and, placing Hart inside
shipped him to Sacramento. A small air
hole was made in the side of the box,
which was labeled Household Goods. -
Buffeted about in this plano box by dray-
men. express messengers and depot hands,
Hart finally reached Sacramento without
serious injury. Under cover of night
Hart stealthily made his escape through
a secret trap door in the piano box and
easily got out OF the express room in
which the box was stored.
Weeks afterward, when no one called
for the household goods" the box was
examined and found TO be empty save for
the scraps of lunch which Hart had left
behind him. An investigation showed that
the box had been shipped from Seattle.
and later II was learned positively that
the empty box had been the temporary
home of Hart the escaped convict.
The county was flooded with circulars
by the Washington officers, containing
the photograph and description of Hart.
but every effort to obtain any trace of
him proved fruitless. Although Hart,
with the disguise of a mustache, was busy
working his confidence game in every
section of the country, and had been ar
rested for various petty offenses in all
of the leading cities. including Salt Lake,
he was never suspected OF being the man
who had escaped in a piano box from Sc
attic until his arrest in Alma, Kan, three
weeks ago.
The Final Capture.
Hart was caught by Special Agent Ros-
sitter Of the Rock Island and charged
with working his confidence games on
board a passenger train. Since his liberia
ton from the county jail at Seattle Hart
had committed so many other oftenses
that he decided to again shave off his
mustache, believing that since he had out
witted the Seattle officers for so many
years there was more danger or his ar
rest for subsequent offenses than for the
charge that was hanging over MN III
Washington. This proved his undoing.
Special Agent Rossiter is an old detec-
tive and with the instinct that comes or
long training he recognized IN Hart the
counterpart of a photograph he had seen
years ago. He did not remember in what
connection he had seen this photograph
of the criminal but resolved TO lnVeStl-
gate. He went TO Kansas CITY ana IN
the rogue's gallery of the police depart
ment of that city went carefully over
every picture until he came to the one
of Frank Hart, sent out from Seattle at
the time OF the 1Sll DItdh- nc saw HI dAl
instant that this was his man.
A telegram was sent TO the Seattle Of
ficers and Captain Laubscher and Deputy
Sheriff Thompson were sent from Seat
tie with the necessary papers with which
10 extradite the prisoner. Captain Laub-
scber had known Hart for several years
prior to his arrest in Seattle and instantly
recognized him as the man wanted. Hart
denied his identity for time, but fin
allv admitted that he was the man the
Seattle officers wanted.
Governor Hoch accepted the Identified
ton of the police captain and honored
the requisition papers.
Since the arrest of Hart at Alma II
has been learned that Hart was arrested
under various aliases in several cities,
Including Omaha, Portland, Sacramento.
Chicago. Denver and Salt Lake. In most
Instances he was picked up on suspicion
of being a confidence man and released
with the understanding that he was to
leave the city. In some OF the cities he
served short jail sentences on vagrancy
His Salt Lake Record.
Hart was arrested in Salt Lake. under
the name of Frank Morgan, on sept. 10.
1868 by Detectives Raleigh and shannon.
He was suspected of being one OF three
men who were classed as srafters ana
~ ~ a charge