The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-03-18
Fam,u} Safe Blower Sets Fire to His tell and JOI-
 lies the Guards MIN NIGHT AND DAY ARE WATCHING THE PRISONER Barton and Tennessee Dutch Speak Several Languages and Keep Up Running Conversation All
 Day Long,

"Gentlemen, l will probably be moving about all night and the clanking of these chains might disturb you, and for that reason 1 have placed both cuffs on one leg as I can walk much better this way than with both legs chained and also keep the chains from getting noisy" said George Barton, alleged postoffce safe cracker and federal prisoner who is con- fined in the county jail, and upon whose legs chains were placed last night after he had set his cell on fire early yester day afternoon.
 Handcuff kings of the theatrical world pale into insignificance in comparison with Barton United States Deputy Mar shal George Brown placed leg chains upon Barton shortly after o'clock last night at the request of Sheriff Higdon, fastening the cuffs very tight around Barton's ankles A few minutes after ward Barton was discovered with both cuffs on one leg, and made the above explanation for the act.
 Fastens Them Tighter.
 Deputy Marshal Brown paid him an- other visit and fastened the chains again, this time fixing them so that it was not believed the prisoner could work them off. This didn't lease Barton. however. In a short space of time he had per formed the same trick of placing both cuffs on one leg, and in very sympa- thetic tone was expressing to his guards his desire to keep from disturbing them by rattling the chains, which he. could not help from doing with both legs chained Then he appeared to become dissatisfied with having them on that leg and quickly changed both to the other leg This was repeated by him several times.
 Another Trick He Played.
 Barton cool nerve and quick -wittedness was exempified in way shortly after l: 80 o'clock yesterday afternoon that gave Warden Ed Newman and the inside guards decided start.
 The prisoner is kept in one of the con demned cells just over the warden's of flee. the outside wall of which is even with the wall running around the jail yard The cell is ceed with wood and Barton quietly made his plans to burn a hole in the wood and then dig the bricks out of the wall with d piece of iron, which he had in some way broken from his cot.
 United States Deputy Marshal Oscar Fulgnuul udu Dccil 6udltiHS tiO SSAA NAAe- had just stepped down stairs to be re- lieved by Deputy Marshal Brown. In- side Guard Joe Lantsnester smelled burn ing wood and then noticed a thin stream of smoke coming from the condemned row. He sent a stevedore racing up the steps to find out about it.
 "'rennessee Dutch," pal of Barton, oc- cupies a cell directly across from his pal, and he informed the stevedore that the smoke was blowing in from the Kitchen, and that the cook was burning pine lxnof The stevedore also noticed that the smoke was coming in from the cor ridor window, and going down stairs ln- formed MT Lantsnester that the smoke was blowing in from the outside and that the prisoners thought the cook was burn ing pine knot.
 This information was looked upon with disfayor by Lantsnester and he took trip to the condemned row, only to md out that the smoke was coming in from the outside He was still suspicious and going downstairs stepped into the jail yard. and then noticed small, dense cloud of smoke coming from Barton's cell. He sounded the alarm immediately and several trusties with buckets or wa fer went running towards Barton's cell and in a few moments the ire was ex- tinguished.
 When the guards entered the ceH Da1- ton was lying on the cot with wet handkerchief over his face and a blanket pulled up over him, and when ~I.est1oned professed entire ignorance of there be- ing fire in his cell.
 Placed Paper Over Hole.
 The fire had burned hole nearly foot square in the wood. piece of wet paper had been placed over the place, probably after the stevedore had first come up to find out where the smoke was coming from.
 Deliberate plans for the digging out of the bricks had already been made by Barton, line having been scraped in the wall with the iron to work by. Barton's keenness was also shown by the manner in which he placed the blan- ket over him and switched the draft coming from the corridor so that it caught the smoke, then carried 1t under the blanket and out of the ceh window, it being impossible to sec the smoke from the corridor.
 The wind had quieted down and as the smoke cured out of the window 1t waited around the corner of the building and was drawn back inside by the draught