The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1911-03-18
THE way OF THE
TwRANSCRESSOR'


clerk of Reno who escaped from the
county jail only to be captured at
sacramento. was returned and taken
to the penitentiaryy last evening. Tell
inc of his experience to a Gazette re-
porter. Cunningham told the following
story:
ooh. its is almost like a nightmare.
7 was sitting in my cell talking to
Shelor when Cadle entered the room
and unthinkingly left the door open.
Immediately the thought of the escape
entered my mind. ! went behind the
screen, turned on the water and sneak
ing out the door and down the stairs
stepped out of the Jail door into the
darkness.
81 took a deep breath of the cool
Nevada air, then sped swiftly around
the south end of the Jail and along
Court street, running west until /
reached the Riverside stable. I then
ran to the river bank and made my
way along the river until / came to
the pipe line across the Truckee. /
crossed this and running as fast as !
could along the road soon came to a
fence which / climbed. | then sat and
bHouShb " a ioHR tinC utDdblu&
whether i would go back and give my
self up and make it appear as a joke
or to keep going. Finally ] decided
that having made the attempt / would
continue my effort.
Stole an Overcoat.
81 liked along the river until | came
to Rick s road house. There / entered
a barn and looked for a place to sleep,
but saw no hay, and began looking for
something to cover me. Finally ]
found an old overcoat. | appropriated
this and rolling up in it remained in
a manger in the barn for the night.
early in the morning ] made my
way a little further along the river I'M
til / came to an Italian ranch, just
east of Laughton's IS. There | crawled
into a h~aystack for a time.
Bought Bread and Meat.
"At last | became so hungry that |
had to have something to eat, and
/ made my way to the italian ranch
house where | bought some meat and
bread. / think that the Italian first ate
all the meat off the bones and then
gave them to me. / got this bread
and the meatless bones and went back
to the haystack. / slept in the hay
stack at the Italians Monday night
and Tuesday night | made my way to
Laughton's and slept in the bath
house. That bath house was freezing
cold despite the steam but | slept
there two nights, going into the straw
stack at Laughton' 8 and hiding there
during the day.
"After securing some more meat
and bread at the Italians ! made my
way to a place known as Twenty-Five
Mill hill. / hid in the brush along the
river like a hunted wolf, drinking wa
ter from the river and eating dry
bread and cold meat. Arriving at
Twenty-Five mile hill, | erept into a
sort of cabin made of ties, and there
/ remained until I was running short
train No. 90 was late, secured a
cork from an empty bottle and painted
my face with it after burning it. |
pulled the fur cap | had Town over my
head and when a freight train came
along | ran out and swung under it.
As / did so a brakeman yelled, Hey,
get out of there, niger; we don't al
low black men to ride on this train.
81 met a hobs on the train and talk
ed with him a little and on arriving
at Truckee was thrown off. / went to
a cheap lodging house and finding that
that train No. % was late, secured a
room and went to bed.
Slept at Truckee.
81 remained in this room most of
the day and finally went into a saloon
to get something 20 eat. While there
the constable entered looking for a
negro who had lone some shooting
near the Truckee roundhouse. He walk
ed up to me and jerked me around ask.
ing me where | had been ten minutes
before. / told him that | had been in
my room all day and in the saloon
about half an hour. He seemed salts
fled and left the saloon. Later in the
evening some women entered the rear
of the saloon and one of them, looking
at me keenly, saw that ! was a white
man. She laughed and told the 9th
ers and | left the saloon.
"On my way to the depot / met sew.
eral men and I must have been a pref