The Bamberg herald. (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, December 20, 1906, Image 3
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CUT THROUGH
PRISON BARS
Bessemer Steel Yields to Saw
Made From a Federal
Convict's Sock.
1
YIRN, SAND AND DUST USED
Remarkable Feat of an Inmate of Leaven*
, ~ worth Penitentiary Which Surprised
Keepers and Scientists-^irst
Case on Record.
Vav
Out of pieces of woolen yarn unraveled
from a sdck and twisted together
a prisoner in the new federal prison at
Leavenworth, Kan., constructed an instrument
which he used to saw through'
the top and bottom of a three inch
? steel bar. This information was given
to the St Eouis police by Mark A. Shipley,
special agent of the Fidelity and
Casualty company, who resides at
iff
GUARD NOTICED HIM WORKING HIS
HANDS BACK AND FORTH.
x 4636A Cook avenue, when he returned
from Leavenworth. A photograph of
the sawed bars showing the opening
made yas given to Mr. Shipley by the
warden. Shipley was one of the men
1 +Ka man
MfuniniHum i m jcuuiug luc uiau w
prison.
That a common piece of yarn could
be made to cut the strongest steel bars
. teeted with acids and resisting steel
saws is a discovery that not only surprises
police and keepers of jails and
penitentiaries, btft scientists as well. It
is the first case of the kind on record
^ as far as can be learned, and the prisx
oner who used It in the Leavenworth
penitentiary is the originator.
\ The prisoner was confined in one of
the isolation cells. A guard standing
on a tier above noticed him working
his hands back and forth around the
bars and notified the guards on the
1 lower floor. They investigated and
found that the top had been sawed
through. The bottom was about half 1
through. The prisoner readily con*
feased and showed the warden how he
had accomplished the feat
^ The ravelings of his woolen sock be }
had twisted together as a tailor would
pieces of thread. He had made them
compact by frequent wettings. Dust
I and sand picked up in the quarry were
kneaded into the string. When finished !
it was almost as hard as a piece of
j emery stone. It required two days, he I
said, to saw through' the bar with the
string, several new strings having to
be made, as they wore out quickly.
The warden doubted the statement
at first. The prisoner offered to show
him and made one of the Instruments
??A. Qmnll ninAAa r\f
VQV U1 iiMimimi i,rr iuc. uuian yivvvo v*.
a broomstick were used as handles.
With this the warden had the prisoner
* finish sawing through the bottom of the
bar. ,
When plans for the new penitentiary
were made it was decided to use bessemer
steel for the window gratings, it
being deemed harder and nearer saw
jroof than the iron which had been
l- ^ ased. The bars at his window were the
ones sawed. The opening made was
large enough for a man to have crawled
through.
'The fact that bessemer steel bars
have been successfully sawed without
using steel makes it more and more
t necessary that guards be constantly on
the watch out," said Mr. Shipley.
'Prisoners have made saws of tin cans
and the like, but never before of common
yarn."
Killed hy a Tight Collar.
The Inquest into the death of Alex- p
^ ander Alcorn, forty years old. who was
found dead in Philadelphia sitting in a
obalr< revealed that Alcorn had been
strangled to death by a tight cellu'oid
collar which he wore. The coroner's
physician who made the postmortem
examination testified that he had found
a ring mark about Alcorn's neck made
by the collar and that the man had ac^
ddentally strangled himself to death
while sitting asleep. "The man was
in a weak physical condition," added
ttie physician, "and the pressure of the
light collar on his neck was sufficient
to produce strangulation."
PLAN TO STUDY THE SOUL.
Fund of 925,000 Contributed to Maintain
Scientific Research Institute.
Endowment long deferred has at last
come to the American Institute For
Scientilic Research, which has actively
begun work under the direction of Professor
James II. Hyslop. says the New
York Herald. Six well known'New
York men, whose contributions were
made on the condition that for the
present their names should be withheld
from publication, have given $2o.000,
which will pay expenses for two
or three years. The institute has taken
over what remains of the American
branch of the Society For Psychical
Research, which went to pieces after
the death of Professor Hodgson.
Professor Hyslop now has charge of
roforda /-if invf?s:t'ipratnT*'?
and delvers into psychic lore. He has
surrounded himself with a large library,
filing cabinets and banks of card
indices, and he and a stenographer are
busily at work getting the newly endowed
society into running order. The
Institute has the help and the co-operation
of the British Society For Psychical
Research, although it has no official
connection with it.
It will extend its labors to the field
of investigation which has l-een entered
by the Institute General Psychologique
in France, which has recently
been subsidized by the French
government. Its principal work for
the present-will be the examination of
phenomena connected with abnormal
and supernormal psychology.
The institute, which is at present at
519 West One Hundred and Fortyninth
street, New York, will be moved
in a few weeks to a suit of offices In
the lower part of the city.
"We do not intend," said Professor
Hyslop, "to investigate the claims of
professional mediums and to examine
into their materializations. Our time
will be given to the Inquiries into the
experience of those whose names will |
not be made public. We do not intend
to waste time with those who make
claims to mediumship. At some later
date the institute will take up the application
of hypnotism as an agent in
healing, and if the funds be forthcoming
will open a hospital where the effects
of mental states upon the body
may be studied. Within six months
we hope to obtain a large permanent
endowment fund."
COMMANDMENTS ALL BAD.
So Says Bernard Shaw, Who Deems
Them Very Unsafe Rnles of l>ife.
George Bernard Shaw, the critic and
dramatist, lecturing at Manchester on
the subject "The Ten Commandments,"
said, according to a London cable dispatch
to the New York Sun, that he
had been thinking them over and was
surprised to find that instead of being
safe rules of conduct they were extremely
dangerous and undesirable.
" 'Thou shalt not swear.' That,"
said Mr. Shaw, "is too painful a sub
- -1 11 T?_l ? f.
jeci ior me xo awen on. rwiug au
Irishman, I have sworn more than
most Englishmen. Englishmen eat
their words more than Irishmen do,
and that is probably because they obey
the Second Commandment Swearing
Is a safety valve. Do not swear too
much,'but when you feel that you must
do something violent, swear.
" 'Thou- shalt not kill.' Why not?
My own opinion is that we don't want
to kill people enough. We confine our
killing too much to foreigners. There
are large classes of people in the community
who ought to be killed. Every
citizen ought every few years to be
brought before a public board and asked
if he could justify his existence. If
he could not make it clear that he did
as much for the community, as the community
did for him he should be sent
to a lethal chamber."
Mr. Shaw described the marriage
contract "for better or worse" as completely
immoral, for all contracts ought
to be for better and nothing else.
He objected strongly to the commandment
"Thou shalt have no other
gods before me." They were told In
another part of the same volume that
they were not to worship Mammon.
He himself was a tremendous worshiper
of Mammon. Money was the
most important thing in the world, and
all the evils we had to struggle against
were due to the fact that children were
not' taught that from their earliest
years.
Sort of Scene Shifting at Home.
There's a new order of interior decoration
in the house of a New York
matron who has a well established
reputation for good taste, says a correspondent
of the New York Press.
Adopting a custom of old Japan, her
rare collections no longer are crowded
together. They are separated, and once
a month they take their turn in the artistic
composition of the rooms. Of
course this calls for a big storeroom or
several of them, in which paintings,
bric-a-brac and all the art treasures
not actually in use may be put away
until they get their little day in the
public eye. This departure, it is said,
tends to increase the collector's appre- \
elation of her possessions, as they are i
not seen so often as to become tho fa-j
miliar. '
.
Moose For the Adirondack*.
The forest, fish and game commis- I,
sioner/ Mr. Whipple, has made ar- i
rangements with the management of i
the Yellowstone park whereby he has
obtained a,herd of seventy-five moose
for distribution in the Adirondacks,
says an Ogdensburg (N. Y.) special dispatch
to the New York Herald. The j
moose will be shipped this winter and
will be placed in charge of the Brown's
tract guides. A few of the animals
will be allotted to each county in the j
Adirondacks region. The moose cost {
the state nothing except the expense
of bringing them east and distributing
tb?*n. i ,
' > I
o ?O
Borrowing a
Bear
By C. B. LEWIS
Copyright, LUG, by P. C. Eastmeut
6 G
Joe Whitman, cowboy, rode up to
the Circle ranch house one day to see
old Colonel Meecham about some lost
cattle, and ten minutes later he had
lost his heart to Miss Rose, the colo
nel's daughter, who was then a girl of
nineteen and her father's housekeeper.
Circle ranch had been a great ranch
in its day, but the colonel had met
with all sorts of bad luck and couldn't
pay his debts. He had a few cattle
and one cowboy left, while a ^colored
woman assisted Rose about the housework.
Rose Meecham had not been educated
in the' east. She had been born in
the ranch house and sent to a school
not a hundred miles away, and her environments
had been of the plainest.
As the adoring father said of her more
than once after his wife died:
"Rosie is good looking and honest
hearted and will make some man a
good wife. There's nothing of the coquette
or flirt about her. She doesn't
know what a flirtation means. She's
Just a plain girl, with her heart set on
doing all she can for her old daddy."
That was the colonel's way of putting
It, and it simply shows how little
the average father knows of the average
daughter. Miss Rose was good
looking and honest hearted, but she
would flirt with a cross eyed cowboy.
Any other girl in her situation would
have done the same thing. There
wasn't another girl for fifteen miles
around, while there were about fifty
cowboys within that distance, and, besides
there was the fort only five miles
away and soldiers passing on the road
every day.
Trta whitman mav have been above
the average cowboy in looks and education.
Miss Rose had decided within
five minutes- that she liked him.
Within another five she was smiling
so sweetly and talking so nicely that
she had Joe stammering out his words.
That was the beginning of things.
He had driven home a bunch of the
colonel's cattle that he had cut out of
}iis herd, and though he wanted to
linger at the ranch and talk about the
price of beef on the hoof, the drop In
hides and the dry summer, he wasn't
equal to the occasion and was almost
bucked off his pony in taking his leave.
Joe rallied when he got back to his
cattle and began to lay plans, and from
that day on it was a cold day when he
did not bring in some of the colonel's
stray stock. v
It was a puzzle to the old gentleman
why his cattle should wander six or
seven miles after pasture when they
had better at home, but It was no mystery
to Miss Rose. Every time a bunch
of the missing cattle came back Joe
had to stop to explain and to call for a
drink of water and to hang around for
a good half hour and that girl, who
didn't know what a flirtation meant,
laughed to herself after he had departed.
Jim Taylor,'the lone cowboy in the
colonel's employ, was past forty, had
a wife somewhere in the east and was
out of the running, but he was no
wooden head. When those lost cattle
were driven up he would go to the
Ayvi/v?t/vl **rwl AaaIqyr\ of o/\rnnhnriXT TTQa
W1UUC1 auu u^viai C luul ktvauvwwj ft ?* #
driving them off that he might have
the privilege of driving them back
again, and that if Miss Rose were his
daughter he wouJd put his foot down.
Then the colonel would look up in an
innocent way aid exclaim:
"Lord love us, but you don't think
Rosa drives off our cattle and then
drives them back again!"
"No, I don't, colonel, but don't It
strike you that Joe Whitman Is coming
here mighty often?"
"Is he? Well, he has to bring back
the strays, you know, and it is very
kind of him indeed. I don't always
see him, but I hope that Rosa returns
my thanks In a proper way."
Joe was working the cattle business
for all It was worth and calling at the
Circle ranch between times with oranges
and boxes of candy sent to him
from Denver, when a rival suddenly
entered the field.
Sergeant Smith, from the fort, came
along one day with a squad of men and
stopped at the house t*> make some inquiries.
The sergeant was a good looking
man. He had-a taking way with
him. A flirtation was started almost
at once, and when he took up his line
of march again he promised himself the
pleasure of another call.
Three days later he rode out to the
ranch and began to make love In earnest.
He had served Uncle Sam for
twelve years, saved up $200 and was
looking for a wife. While he continued
to be a soldier she could have a place
as one of the laundresses in Company
G.
Before the sergeant got away Joe
Whitman came riding up. The two
men instinctively recognized each other
as rivals and glared and muttered,
but there was no bloodshed.
When the son of Mars had gone,
there was a quarrel between the two
left. Joe's jealousy made it, although
when asked what rights he had he
could not define them. He hinted that
he would bring back no more lost cattle
and was told not to put himself out
in future, and he called Miss Rose a
heartless flirt and rode away with his
broncho's heels in the air.
It is Just as easy for a man to make
;i fool of himself on the plains of the
vest as at Newport or Saratoga. When
J ve had cooled down he admitted that
I
he was in the wrong, but it require?!
more moral courage than he posses- ju'
to ride over and make a confession. Iu
this emergency lie haunted the spring
until he found out from Martha, the
colored woman, that on a certain day
and date Miss Rose and the sergeant
were to take a two mile walk to a certain
limestone cave on the banks of the
river.
Every man has a friend somewhere
if he will only hunt him up. After
thinking things over Joe decided to go
to old man Barnes, who kept a saloon,
eating house and a sort of menagerie
in town, and when his case had been
Btated the old man replied:
"Easiest thing in the world, my boy.
You want to run that sergeant off the
ranch and make a hero of yourself at I
the same time."
"But he don't look like a feller who
could be run," was protested.
"Make no mistake, my boy. You can
run his coat tails out straight if only
you go about it right."
"But how can I make a hero of myself?"
"That's a part of the game. Now
listen to me."
Three days later the sergeant rode
up to the ranch with his chest puffed
out and a complacent look on his face.
He felt that he was a winner. He was
going to honor the ranchman's daughter
by taking her into Uncle Sam's
service.
His welcome wasn't quite as genial
as it might have been, as Miss Rose
was beginning to feel conscience stricken
about Joe Whitman. She had found
on mature consideration that she liked
Joe very much, and when a girl will
admit that and be sorry that she flirted
with another man at the same time she
is very near the point of loving.
The horse was left at the stables, and
the pair started for the cave on foot.
On the way the sergeant got ready to
propose, but a rattlesnake created a
J - --- J? JM
diversion, tie maae reauy a seuuuu
time, but a stray steer had to be
clubbed away, and so the river was
reached without a recruit being added
to the army.
The cave contained three rooms and
was accounted a wonder. A torch that
had been prepared was lighted, and the
couple entered the dark mouth, but
had hardly reached the center of the
first room when they were saluted by
such a growling and clawing and roaring
as held them' spellbdund for a moment.
Then as a monster bear came
rushing at them from one of the inner
rooms the doughty sergeant broke for
daylight and fled at his best pace. The
calls of the girl were unheeded. Hfe
hadn't served twelve years in the army
to become bear's meat. He wanted a
wife, and Company G wanted a second
laundress, but he would try to find the
woman in town. He covered the mile
to the house without a break and then
mounted his gallant steed and set off
for the fort. He even forgot to leave
best wishes behind. ;
Meanwhile Miss Bose had stumbled
and fallen and fainted away. It was
as good a chance as a bear ever had,
but this particular animal failed to
take advantage of the occasion.
In the first place, he was muzzled,
or?/* 5n fho nart Trws Whitman was
hanging on to the end of a long rope
fastened to his collar. When he had
fulfilled his mission he was tied up,
and Joe went out and shouldered the
still unconscious girl and had borne her
nearly home when she revived.
As she opened her eyes and wondered
how she had tasted to th$ bear
Joe pointed out the sergeant riding
away. He also displayed his bloody
huntiug knife.
"Oh, Joe, but the bear?the bear!"
gasped the girl on his arm.
"I came along just in time to kill it
Thank heaven, you are not hurt. Here
you are at home. I am glad I was of
service to you, but I can't come in.
After what was said the other day"?
"You will come in, of course. There
may be another bear around."
There wasn't, but during the next
hour Joe had a talk with the colonel
and both of them shook hands at the
end of it and said they were. glad.
That night when Joe led the bear back
to the town' and his cake the owner
gruffly queried:
"Well, did it work?"
"Beautifully."
"Then hand over the ten. When you
want a second wife come to me and
we will put up some other job to get
her."
Does the Horse Lore His Master f
The horse does not love man nor does
he delight to labor in his interest. If
you think yours does, take him out
neveral miles from home, turn him loose
In the road and see whether he will I
follow .you, but do not try this unless
fond of pedestrian exercise. True, you
may train him by the use of certain
appliances to follow you through field,
flood and fire, but he will do this not
because he adores you, but because you
have successfully deceived him Into
thinking that he cannot help himself,
and that one idea dominates hifia. Do
you imagine that it is personal regard
for Cinders & Co. which impels those
splendid draft horses to toil and strain
at that five ton load, or that It is adoration
which lands Mr. Spenders' roadster
in front in a brush on the speedway?
Not in the least. They believe
they cannot do otherwise, and attempts ,
at rebellion have always proved fruit- i
laoc Ao TTQll QTTVQdf nlrl Mnrlcp tft hflr- I
AVO " \*ll V V<Vk ?w
ness herself to' the runabout and to
come to the door to take you for a
drive because she thought you were
looking pale.?F. M. Ware in Outing
Magazine.
Great Time Saver.
Silas?So Zeke has done away with
his old dairy wagon and takes his milk
to town in one of these new automobiles?
Cyrus?Ye-as, by heck! Zeke says
the automobile shakes so much the
milk is churned to butter by the time
he reaches town.?Chicago News.
<&
t*
FOR CHRISTMAS
?? *; \ *
i >. ??????????? ?>
Ty < >
1 ! ^ ^ ' >>
8 50 rolls China and Jap l\ >*1
H Mattings, latest designs, I? i
8 from 20c to j?oc yard. , 1
? Bed Room Suites from \\ iM
| $15.00 to $50.00. \\ |
1 Sideboards, Chiffoneirs, :? vjj
? Safes, Dining Chairs, Rock= p |J
I ers, Writing Desks, Tables !: :gl
? and Furniture of all kinds p m
g at rock bottom prices. " J
jg A lot of fine Pictures in jg
? frames. Don't let your \\ M
jg neighbor get first pick. jj
S Trunks, Dress Suit Cases j \ |9
? and Satchels in endless \\ if
I variety. . . '
1 Ladies Furs$ito$i5 each j 1
jg Heavy Lap Robes, beau- I
$ tiful designs, ranging from i ^
IJ $1.00 to $10.00. 1 I |jj
H Silk Handkerchiefs of all 1 S
A l^inHc hbc fn $i pflf h.
i^l M. A J W M Jm VWOll? ^ ?..
?i Oneo'f our nice Umbrellas would ||' ''' fm.
9 make a nice Christmas present* N i I.';
B prices range from 50c to $6.00. B - .Jf
? -
|s Call and look through our stock. is 4
|| You can save money by so doing. 1 s
* mi "*?* * ^
H A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to All a I
b / -'M
1H. C. FOLK!
?J Bamberg, . - - South Carolina j |
:I--I- I I ;Ir ;!: ?!: il:- -:i.; ;!: =!: ;!: ;!: -I--T- ill :* -I? -1*5
!B Nfcw Lis i ur ?-" W
(Farms for Sale ?
ON EASY AND REASONABLE TERMS ?
One tract containing 442 acres, more or less; 150 acres cleared and abont m *
250 in hardwood timber; 4 room dwelling, bam and stables and other ITj
outbuildings. This property lies about one mile North of the town of M
Midway, on the Southern Railway. Price $10.00 per acre. Kf v
One tract containing 214 acres, 140 to 150 open lands, balance in mar- m . C
gins of timbers, one tenant house, lafids in good state of cultivation and HI
will be sold at the low figure of $20 per acre to a quick buyer. Ml; . -
One tract containing 650 acres, 500 finely timbered with hardwoods, a fine M
mill site with sufficient water power to drive saw, grain mill, ginnery or LL
cotton mill, has strong dam with some fixtures on the spot. This property &
N M **es near a of ?ne timber and about five miles from Atlantic Coast ft
y Line Railroad. Price only $4,000.
y One tract containing 50 acres, more or less, about two-thirds of which rn
o is covered with pecan trees just coming into profitable bearing. Only
8 those who have noted the increasing growth of the business can venture jW ?&
to forecast its future. This grove is located five miles from Denmark, Ml
Sk S. C., a railroad center. Will go a.t a bargain to a auick buyer. * Ks
X / Price on Application $9
| One tract containing 910 acres; abont 400 acres cleared, more can be Mm
o easily reclaimed. About 300 acres of this tract is well timbered with Kj
H hardwoods. No buildings. This property lies Northeast of Midwav on SB
fv! the Snnthprn Railroad, and a portion lies withiiTfew hundred yards of Qq
IV the depot. Few places its equal for farming and stock. Will go at the DY - I
y low price of $10 per acre. gt
J One tract containing 260 acres. About 100 acres cleared; 4 room dwell* ffi
ing, barn and stables and other outbuildings. A good-portion of this ffl
property is well timbered with hardwood. About two mileaNorth of the jjji ^
town of Bamberg, S. C., on Southern Railway. ?rice $20 per acre. Ml
One tract containing 150 acres. About 75 acres cleared, balance in
hardwood timber; no buildings; lies about one mile North-east of Midway JM jB.
C., on the Southern Railroad. Price $10 per acre. afi One
tract in Three Mile Township, containing 500 acres, more or less; SO
300 open and in high state of cultivation, 200 acres clear of stumps and ids
about 300 acres under wire fence; clay subsoil, mostly level; about 100 ffl
acres in timbers, with dwelling containing 5 rooms 20x20 and 8 rooms ?u
16x16 feet; .6 tenant houses, large barn and stables, all in good repair. Bj
Such properties are seldom put on the market. Call quick if you wish a Q
bargain. Prices and terms on Application. IT '**
One tract containing 180 acres, more or less, 100 acres cleared, balance in g
timbers; 2 tenant houses with 4 rooms each, barn and stables, good W
water, lands in good state of cultivation. Price $3,000.00. M
TOWN PROPERTY ~ K
One brick store, single story, 25 x 75 fe?et on the East side of Main jX
82 street, in first-class order and in business center; also a 6 room dwelling Ml
jx with necessary outbuildings, barn and stables, all in first-class condition Ml
M and an ideal opening for a boarding house, can be enlarged to any reas- .
M onable capacity; a large lot with fruit and shade trees and garden, All
hrt under fence; lies contiguous to the store property and within 150 feet of K
fpj Main street. A bargain for some one. Price and terms on application. jZ
One dwelling, with 6 rooms and bath, on Second street, good water piped flj
through house, kitchen and stables. This lot contains If acres with garden PR
5* fruit, nut, and shade trees, under fence and all in first-class order and a * 4
? bargain at $3,000, but will be sold for $2,800. ' i1 |
Sj One 8 room dwelling fronting Church street; one servant house two ' 1
Sfi bams and stable; half interest in flowing well piped to house and' over ! 9
?j premises; cemented walk and flower pit?lot contains one acre more or J
less?under fence and all in first-class condition. Price on application. 1
S3 6 lots in town of Denmark measuring 25x100 feet on Palmetto and ? *
JH other prominent streets and near railroad. Price on application. S 5
i? One 4 room house and lot in town of Midway. Will go at a bargain. J 5
Two large open lots in town of Midway. Can be had at a bargain figure. ! |
SfT O'lVFA I Real Estate Agent, j
sHJ. 1 . KJ HC/iL,, Bamberg, S. C. !!
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