Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1926-09-25
"W1fhin Prison
Walls.
Wins Fame Behind Prison
WdHS..RendrkdZ1/e tx.
Derience of a Brilliant
GO/Ored Man.

school and prison 80 continuously
that prison sentence became to
him only raven Of refuge for that
period OF time. Strange as it may
seem however he could always create
following amongst simpler minded
crooks who looked to his type as a
leader and In and around Detroit he
had justly become known as leader
of gang OF men who were desper-
ately sought after by the law. AS
IS always the case his gang event
ully fell and one of the weakermind-
ed split the beans" or in other
words confessed to their depreda-
tons
WAS INFURIATEL
This, of course, infurated Gypsy
Bob and when they were all sem
fenced to the states prison tire two
of them agreed to meet on the first
of the ensuing year in the prison
yard and battle 1T out between
them. Just two days before the
first and keeping with Gypsy Bob's
kind he demonstrated the streak
that was in him to always cheat,
not only the law but in all matters
pertaining to his own welfare and
coming from the dining hall one
evening he stole up behind his form
er buddy and without warning stab
bed him so fatally that he later died
in the hospital. For this brutal as
sault Bob got life in Marquette and
was transferred there the week after
the writer first arrived there The
writer and Gypsy Bob were always
good frineds. Why shouldn't we
be? 1 was doing time with him.
COULD MAKE FRIENDS
hadn't anything personally
against him and I possessed, the fac
ulty of making friends with all
types. From Gypsy Bob learned
a good zeal about a side of life that
j otherwise would have never known
and from me Bob learned a great
wany points that he could find USE
full. If anything Bob was shrewdly
cunning and possessed an extraor-
binary amount of mother wit" He
was not type that you would call
"a "squealer" but he Immediately
recognized conditions as he saw them
in Marquette Prison and having life
to do he realized that he must lay
up to Warden Russell in order to
help himself Others realized the
same condition but refused to yield
either to their pride or principle to
secure the desired end. However
Bob did. l can say truthfully that
! don't believe he ever caused any
one else any trouble in reaching tn S
end but he did play up to the
Warden in his peculiar manner. He
pretended to show that never before
M his life had he been understood.
INTERESTED IN HIM
Never before did he ever have half
a chance, that Warden Russell vas
the only one who ever took an in
terest in him and tried to show him
the better side of life So real did
he play his part that the Warden
fell for his mannersms and 1t was
not long before the Warden gave
Bob the very best openings in the
prison, merely to prove to his own
satisfaction. yhat he could do with
a desperate killer under his humane
system of administering penology.
Bob secured even in his first and
second year OF a life sentence every
privilege that the prison afforded.
He became librarian and official pho
tCgrapher at which he could legiti-
mately maze rom fifty to one hun
bred dollars a month. He had the
privilege OF wear ng outside clothes,
of going fishing and to picnics, out
c. IL tI,n yol l., I..xy oil.
days. Bob was also shrewd enough
to never betray the trust imposed
tn him, at least not at that stage Of
the game. BY such actions he yon
the implicit confidence of the Chair
man of the Pardon Board who also
took a persnoal interest in Bob and
for political reasons would po mt to
him as an example of what modern
and enlightened nenoloyy would do
to the most hardened. Through all
these manouevers the deputy warden
hoyever saw through and, thought of
Bob only as one more lifer who had
sufficient personality and common
horse sense to prey upon the weak
ness of the Warden and reap the
fruits therefrom.
Bob was shrewd enough to sense
the real feelings between himself
and the deputy and yhen shortly
after the Warden died and the depu-
ty had been appointed Warden Bob
, fignred that his reign of power" as
Bob would often express it, would
, come to an end.
THE NEW WARDEN
The new Warden told him point
blank though that he would not de-