New-York tribune., 1913-05-25

paraus was constructed Of an old coccpo connecting
with the spout of which tin and glass tubes fastened
together with pieces Of rubber string and canvas pres
entng a most groteSque appearance, but capable Of
producing distilled liquor drop by drop quite deadly
as the most approved Tennessee moonshlne The sub
stance used for the disation the drppngs from the
moaSses barrels in a cghborng room OF the basement
Indeed it these drppings that first suggested to the
tr1stv who had seen rum made in the West Indies the
possibility of making still. A little premedtatcd care
essness on the part of another truSty whose duty
to draw the moasses for the cook supplied the still
bountifuv with material, with the result that illicit
Iduor of home manufacture became medium o traffic
among the Ctys elect for several months teaspoon
full Of moonshne was worth good chew OF tobacco THE
usual basis of City traffic. at any time, and good
business had been carried on in all kinds Of articles Of
exchange.
ONE Of the most desperate attempts TO escape ever
" recorded came about through gross carclcssncSs in
the kitchen of one of the Walled Cities. In this nsttu-
ton the kitchen knives Of them long deadly dag
gere weapons, supposed to be chained IN place at all
times were detached from their chains and allowed To
lie about the room. because the COOKS ound II more con-
venent to have them 50.
The convict who played the leading role in the trag-
edy was a man named Barker who had been detailed
TO help in the kitchen Like most Of the Work about
Walled Cities good part of the kitchen duties are done
bv inmates The kitchen of a City having thousand
inhabitants is ordinarily under the management Of per
haps three paid cooks and keepers, assisted by dozen
or more inmates Naturally, JncSc HfIdIc5 arc care
fully selected and presumably are "trusty' patients;
but it is easy to understand how mistakes may b made
in these selections since the men are not only Conyicts
and prisoners, but insane.
Although a lOng-tcrm prisoner Barker was gwen
nositon in the kitchen at the request o the cc be-
cause Of the mans reputation a good cook and gen
eral worker Closely watched at first, he gradually
Gained the confidence Of the chef and other cooks by
diligence and good behavior; until finally he was given
practically as much liberty about the kitchen ~ the
keepers themselves.
Almost everything about the kitchen was under lock
and kev-a great inconvenience during the rush hours
of getting out the meals And it frequently happened
that lust when the chef his assistants were elbows
deep in some important culinary operation some
thing would be needed from the carefully locked rctg
orators or soerooms To stop and wash the hands, get
the KEYS from the pocket, and open the doors was IN
convenient And so many times Barker was asked to
fish out the bunch Of keys from the chefs pocket and
do the crrand.
The KEYS opened only the doors 70 the rciugeraors
and storcrOoms-all but one. This one, Barker had
Observed opened the door leading into the bascment
and as there were doors leading from the basement to
the outside world he drew the natural conclusion that
this same key would unlock them also.
One dav when he was busy scrubbng some pans he
was given the bunch Of keys and asked 10 do n GRAND
in the refrigerator At that time, in the dish De was
washing was a cake Of hospital soap which had become
sotcncd bv living in the water. Picking up the cake o
soap Barker took the keys and started for the rrgcr
ator as usual On the way, however he selected the
KEY to the basement and as he walked along he pressed
it firmly into the sur
face Of the -ottcned
Va. tri rtlc