The Sauk Centre herald., 1909-02-18
The Hool;gan
Claim
Copyright. by Shortstory Pub. Coz
BY H. A. CRAFTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

OF genius. The plan was suggested
by Commissioner Boyd, who was
something of crank. However, his
worst enemies admitted that he had
= good idea now and then Mr.. Boyd
in his lifetime had seen rock quarried
from the mountains at an immense
expenditure Of labor, transported long
distances, shaped into blocks by
much tooling, and then laid up into
: masonry walls Seeing that the town
OF Grayclif jutted up against a fine
large ledge Of limestone he did not
see the utility Of quarrying out q
mass of stone and shaping it into &
!, jail, while the same amount of labor
would quarry a jail into the ledge
just as well, and the Jail would be SO
much stronger that there would be
no comparison whatever with the Or
dinary Jail
The ledge had given the town its
name. 1t was IN fact cliff, with its
perpendicular face fronting the east,
and its crest towering at least hun
dred feet above the level ground that
formed the town site of Graycliff.
When Commissioner Boyd unfolded
his scheme before the board, it was
|. received with but slight favor. The
N'Other members smiled at first then
shook their heads slowly and sagely.
The plan was so novel that the mind
of an ordinary county official was
hardly capable OF absorbing it. But
Mr.. Boyd expatiated SO brilliantly
upon the many advantages of the plan
that he finally brought his fellow-com-'
missioners over to his way Of think
ing, and by some judicious sounding
of public opinion 1t was found that
the ci'iZens Of the county were also
Favorable to the plan. The immense
superiority of such Jail over one
constructed In the usual manner was
at once recognized, and the board,
, fortified by the almost universal ap-
proval of their constituents, submit
ted Mr.. Boyd's plan to the county at
torney. That official returned an elab-
crate opinion, to the effect that the
clifl 'was clearly portion of the pub
lie domain, but could not very we'll be
filed upon as agricultural land, as
upon 1t. He accordingly suggested,
and was duly authorized by the board,
to file a mineral claim upon it, run
ming to John Smith, the then acting
sheriff of Carbonate county.
The rock which composed Graycliff
was found upon trial to be easily
duarriGd AZ first a circular room
EaDoGt ten feet IN diameter was exca-
Frated This was called The Rotunda"
-. f5r,a urne 1t served for the fncar-
eersti0n OF sueh few malefactors as
found themselves ensnared within
the meshes oi the law in Carbonate
county Then, as the demand for room
Increased, Corridor No. l North"
was started, and as this progressed,
cells were excavated one after an
other as they were needed. The cells
were located between the corridor
, and the outer face of the cliff, the
rwalls on all sides being left at thick
ness Of two feet. An opening between
each cell and the face of HE cliff,
about two feet square, was cut, in
order to admit light and air. These
were heavily grated with steel bars in
sarder to make them secure. The en-
frances from the corridor were secured
by heavy steel doors. The Jail be-
came all that Mr.. Boyd's fervid
imagination. had pictured for it. 1t
was convenient and secure, and no
culprit, once incarcerated within it's
Adamantine walls, had ever escaped.
This class of individuals were faceti-
Ously called "Cliff-dwellers."
The cost of construction was great
ly reduced by the large amount Of
penal labor expended upon it. While
the law did not impose hard labor
upon the involuntary inmates of Gray
cliff jail, those who expiated their
crimes within its walls were permitted
, 10 shorten their time of service by a
NSittle wholesome muscular exercise,
and as it happened that many miners
and quarrymen were numbered among
them, much skilled labor was secured
without expense to the county. When
ever there occurred an extra demand
for cells, contracts were made with
professional stone workers, and exc
cuted with due diligence.
Among those who had more than
once suffered duress in this substantial
bulwark Of the law was an incorrigible
named Tim Hooligan, burly SON of
the Emerald Isle. whose besetting sin
was an inordinate love Of whisky.
Tim was miner, and when not in the
clutches OF the law, worked in the
mines in distant part Of the county.
In q drunken brawi he had Knocked
down q man with a beer glass and
was now serving sentence of six
months in expiation. Tim was tract
able enough when in jail. but, like the
majority Of his race. was "agin the
gov'ment" and always went around
with a chip upon his shoulder. While
suffering Incarceration, Tim always
preferred work to idleness; not that
he was particularly desirous of short
ening his term Of service. but because
the ennui of prison life became al
most unbearable unless he had some
occupation. So he was set to work
On the extension Of the north corrt
dor. AZ the work progressed the de-
bris was hauled out at the main en-
trance Of the Jail and thrown over the
dump. Tim was an expert miner and
could Judge Of the nature Of piece Of