“Soon after this the sheriff came to his room, and consented to take Doty down to the stable to look at ‘his’ horse.
“While in the stable Doty espied a mason’s trowel lying upon a box near him, and succeeded in slipping it unobserved into his side coat-pocket, and upon his returning to his room secreted it in the straw mattress of his bed.
“Feigning illness, Doty disrobed with the exception of his shirt, drawers, and socks, which he retained, and prepared for bed, after being handcuffed as before.
“The officers again left the room, but to Doty’s dismay they took his clothing with them, and gave him the comforting assurance that at nine o’clock—it was then just dark—an officer would return and remain during the night with him.
“No sooner had the officer reached the door below than Doty was at work at the lock with his trowel.
“Screw after screw fell upon the floor, and the door stood open. Stealthily making his way through the halls, and past the open doors of rooms where persons were sitting, he finally reached a lower floor, and following a rear passage-way, threw open an outer door, and started back almost in utter despair at the prospect before him—the prospect was certainly not an encouraging one.
“About three inches of snow had fallen, and the flakes were still rapidly descending. The situation was not a pleasant one for a man in pursuit of liberty—clad only in a thin shirt and drawers, with light socks—no coat, hat, pants, or boots—heavy irons upon his wrists, and a blank space of unbeaten snow before him to receive his tracks, and to enable the officers to follow him with unerring accuracy; but, as ‘Old Sile’ expressed it to our reporter, ‘a man can never tell what he can do until he makes a trial,’ and so he bravely accepted the chances, although they were so fearfully against him.
“Plunging out into the snow and darkness, he ran as rapidly as possible in the direction of a small blacksmith’s shop, which he remembered to have seen that morning a short distance from the village.
“Here he effected an entrance without much trouble, and fumbling around among the tools, he found a large file, which he screwed into a vice by the aid of his knees, and, alone in the dark, after repeated failures, he succeeded in disengaging his bruised and bleeding wrists from the irons, and once more started out into the stormy night.
“He thought that if he could conceal himself until after the stage passed by, he could then follow the tracks of that vehicle with less fear of detection. Near the roadside was a small marshy spot covered with high reeds, and here the fugitive secreted himself until the stage passed by, when he again took to the road.