MOONDYNE JOE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 83, 3 September 1914, Page 3

MOONDYNE JOE.

PRINCE OF ESCAI'JJKS.

tiUm'Ljßi'i >Ehi OF READY .ULVI)

GOVERNOR'S SPORTING OFFER.

Fremaiille August 15. Harry of NwUi Fremaatlc, the other i! iy reafl the story of the daring pritDiior l'ullcn, who calmly walked av.-s \ to whet liberty's pinions were Uutter-ing. Hill ryV <, es Mb «l». and lie eoftiy caressed his heard—a maniion«m of his when vast!'.- amused.

"I'uilcu m; Jenty has all the qualifications of a fUJcresM escapor." chuckled [ lie. "lie .001, methodical, has imagination and a keen, gense of humor." Humor enters into it then; "tinloulil.'.i.y. Only a iluuirori.st would think of taking tihe immense risk lu> did. The inn of walking away in prison clothes in broad daylight would probably appeal more .ttf his love of a J'tlke than his desire for liberty. Tne consequence was that Mb very daring was the means of Irisf success. He reminds me somewhat of Moondync Joe. Joe v.-i-. an annate of the Jflremantk in the .old days of the convicts, •' nvnen 1 wa-. a warder ire tliat instituition, and if he tad lived in these day.?, when novelist® make such a lot of Arsene Lupin and other romantic criminals who extricated themselves 1 from moat cxtraordmar;,' positions, lie would have formed the '.t'lieui# of many a novei.

STRICT WATCH OVER JOB.

"Joe got away and was re-captured so olu.il that the prison authorities wore iamwujjiiiy placed on their mettle. They determined thai a Hose wuccii shouliu -ii- k, [i; un him all day, anil for Chat purpo.fi' ue was placed against the wall, near the boundary. .Joe »a< then put to the prosaic job of cracking stones, tie had little time fur thought asi he bemt over ins job, f"i' a M>iA,ry was t'.-id oil to sio nothing else but kenp a wry wan? f>e «n theliscapec. The only thing in Joe's favor was that the warder had no control Joe's work, and he couJd break atones or dawdle as far as the warder '.vas concerned. The pro*pci-'.,"6 of Joe'.- ,tc::i get-away were a-.-eordtngly very gloomy. "AKE VOU THERE, JOE?"

|"lt happened that the stone that JO3 v.as told oli to break \v,u carted to *•»» l>!";-oii I),- u Uovenmien nam con>- ! pObOii of six cr eight of iijs fel!o» v- | prisoiu s , or 'iiullo'j.v.- I ,' a; lacy |.vre pieaifi-J- t.-kn thenselvi«. Herein v.as revealed the weal; point of the prison supoiviMon. One wisiild lwve thought thai the team that brought the I whole metal would have taken away ! the material broken by Joe, as the nam : desire was to (prevent the escape of such a notorious prison breaker. Vet this important matter was overlooked. "Joe kept pegging away cheufully at the ever-accumulating st'one, and the mas.ii of broken stuff gut so high that at length the sentry had to stand on his ■ tors to look over the head. Very oft.'n the sentry would ask, 'Are you there, Joe';' And Joe would not reply on some occasions, hut would on others teua "ija.-.k a cheerful sally. : Tween visits Joe was employed on the task of making a hale in the wall benmd him, and with 'the imagination which is possessed by the born humorist 1 he perfected his other plans. First of tail he : tied hnnun-r 'handles together, one j across the other, and then quietly plaede | bis inn'per .u toss the handles, with th» 'arms of t'he jumper extended. On top of this went, his hat. and from a cursory lc'»k at this structure anyone would ■have sworn that lit was Joe bending tliv.vn some breaking. This saving 'been accomplished. Joe crawled tiiroreh tint chcdi; hn luid made and ii.und liinj-:elf in the superintendent's vard.

FREE ONCE -MOKE.

It was on easy thing to gel through tile superintendent's' house, for li:c latter did not Ikeep .servants, and (their piaciij being taken by good 'iiduet men, 4t was not liiHis'iwl to see a man in convict dress pass through 'tin: door or tin' hall. Once outc-ide it was an easy matter to get uiukr caver and steal away. -Meanwhile what of :.!ie sentry on watch? Well, he, poor fc : - low, continued t'' walk on and down, keeping a keen eye on the app".untiv ■bent tic-lire of Joe, an.l even am! anon calling out, 'Are you there. doe';' \\'h,.-i lie obtained no response, lie JHlt this •l.nvn t.' tin- fact- that .loe was Raring forty winks. Tea time came, and '.oil o:in we'd imagine the feelings of the sent.'y wlicu l)i' went akng to collect .Joe, an I all th:it he could find was a jianr ol cru.viitl luuhU and a jiumier. Thi-s smart. gct'-away- caused a jrrw.t sematilm both in-ide and outside the prison, and a set of verses was written by cue of tiie many educate'!, (refinc-d and i>rainy men among the convicts. One of ;!ie verses ran as follows: ' 'Tis (Mo who tdU ua —One hour ; f freedom Ts better than ages in bondigr H> erawl; And Ijibirty's pinions are wailtng to speed hint Who likes to take wing through a hole in the wall.' XI!E OnVEKXOU'S RI'OKTIXf! OFFER.

"Thai was not the end of .Woondyne Joe's c-.apades." continued Mr Pa«siiiore. "lie was reeaptured and plaeed under even sterner restraint. The general public wan so amused by these escapades that (Governor Hampton informed -loe that if he ever did get out of gaol again, lie could have his liberty. i .Toe was more than a marked man in that gaol. There was hardly £ moment in the day that someone was not watching him. and. if to add to his hardship, lie was placed in :i special t'e.ll lined with iron. Yet he onee more made his escape. lie is supposed to have got away liy having duplicate keys mi' his cell in hi- possesion. All locks and keys were made in the prison workshop under the charge of a prison warder, who "had to look a.'ter the blacksmith's shop, the fitiing -hop. ami the carpenter's shop. Tfe had so much to do, in fact, that it I v.-a, fairly easily for a prisoner to make a duplicate key in the blacksmith's shop O! doe's nil and to pass it under fie Worthy's door. Anvway. h ' got out again, and the Covernor made good hi-. promise lo allow Joe his liber; v. "!!■■ (iid not stay away long, how■eVer. He could not resist breaking into a wine cellar. anil hack lie came to the .!'rema>it!e jug."