Henry More Smith: The Mysterious Stranger

by Walter Bates

Having by this time, from painful experience become a little acquainted with the depth of his genius, we thought it not impossible nor unlikely, that he might still have the saw concealed about his person, although Mr. Berton, the sheriff of York County, had searched him before his removal from Fredericton gaol. We were, however, determined to examine him more closely, for which end we took off his handcuffs, and then ordered him to take off his clothes. Without hesitation or reluctance he divested himself of his clothes, all to his shirt; we then searched every part of his dress—the sleeves, wristbands, collar of his shirt, and even to the hair of his head; but found nothing. We then suffered him to put on his clothes again, and we carried out of the gaol his hat and shoes, and every article he brought with him.

The prison in which he was confined was twenty-two feet by sixteen; stone and lime walls three feet thick on the sides, the fourth side having been the partition wall between the prison rooms. This partition was of timber, twelve inches thick, lathed and plastered. The door was of two inch plank, doubled and lined with sheet iron, with three iron bar hinges, three inches wide, clasped over staples in the opposite posts, and secured with three strong padlocks; and having also a small iron wicket door secured with a padlock. There was one window through the stone wall, grates within and without, and enclosed with glass on the outside, so that no communication could be had with the interior undiscovered. The passage that leads to the prison door is twenty feet in length and three feet in breadth, secured at the entrance by a padlock on the door; the outside door was also kept locked, so that no communication could be had through the passage, without passing through three securely locked doors, the keys of which were always kept by Mr. Dibble, the gaoler, who from his infirm state of health, never left the house day or night.

Having learned a lesson by former experience, we maintained the most unbending strictness, suffering no intercourse with the prisoner whatever. In this manner secured, we put on his right leg an iron chain no more than long enough to allow him to reach the necessary, and take his provision at the wicket door. The end of the chain was fastened to the timber of the floor by a strong staple, near the partition wall, so that he could not reach the grated window by five or six feet. He was provided with a bunk, straw and blankets, as a bed; and his wrists having been much swelled with the handcuffs, I considered it unnecessary to keep them on, especially as he was so thoroughly secured in other respects. In this situation I left him, with directions to the jailor to look to him frequently through the wicket door, to see that he remained secure, intending at the same time to visit him occasionally myself.

The jailor came to look at him frequently at the wicket door, as directed, and always found him quiet and peaceable, either sitting up reading, or lying down in his berth; he never uttered any complaints, but appeared resigned to his confinement. I visited him once or twice in the week to see, for myself, that his irons remained secure: and always finding him as yet, in the same state of security in which I had left him, I made up my mind that we should be able to keep him without any additional trouble. He manifested good nature as well as resignation, for he always came to the wicket door when I wished to see that his irons were in order, with the greatest seeming willingness.

On the twelfth day of his confinement, I was informed that Mr. Newman Perkins had heard an unusual noise in the night, which induced him to think that Smith had been at work at the grates. On making more particular inquiry, I learned from Mrs. Perkins that she had heard a noise like rubbing or filing, late in the night; and by holding her head out of the window, she considered the sound to proceed from the jail. Knowing the situation of the prisoner, chained, that he could not reach the grate by five or six feet; and knowing, also, that after the search we had made, it was impossible that he could have retained about his person anything by which he could operate on the grates, we judged it more than improbable that the sound could have proceeded from him. Nevertheless, we did not treat the information with disregard or neglect. I went immediately to the prison, accompanied by Moses Foster, George Raymond, Allen Basten, and Mr. Dibble, the jailor, with several others. It was then the evening, and we carried with us two or three candles. On opening the door, we found him lying in his berth, chained just as I had left him. I said to him, “Smith, you have not got out yet;” he answered, “no, not quite.” I then examined every bar of the grates as closely as possible, as also did every one present again and again, until we were all satisfied that the cause of the alarm was only imaginary. Smith all the time lying quiet, answering readily any and every question that was put to him.

Mr. Basten had yet continued searching and examining the inner grates, when it was discovered by all present that there was a small chip lying on the flat bar of the outer grate, which was supposed to have been there accidently. Mr. Basten, however, being fully satisfied that the inner grate remained secure, was led rather by curiosity, to reach through his hand, and take up the chip that lay on the bar of the outer grate; on doing this, he thought he could perceive that the bar was inclined to hang in a small degree. This led to further examination; and to the utter astonishment of all that were present it was found that the bar was cut one-third off, and artfully concealed with the feather edge of the chip. Our astonishment was increased by the fact that it was impossible to reach the outer grate without first removing the inner. This gave the hint for a more effectual examination, when it was found that he had cut one of the inner bars so neatly, that he could remove and replace it at pleasure, having contrived to conceal the incisions in such a manner as to almost preclude the possibility of detection. There is little or no doubt in two or three nights more he would have effected his second escape, had not his works been discovered, through the very means which, artful as he was, he employed to conceal them. On being asked what instrument he used in cutting the grate, he answered with perfect indifference, “with this saw and file;” and without hesitation handed me from his berth a case-knife, steel-blade, neatly cut in fine teeth, and a common hand saw file. I then asked him how he got to the grates, or whether he had slipped the shackles off his feet? he answered me, no; but that he had cut the chain in the joint of the links, a part where the cut could not very readily be discovered.

On being asked where he got his tools, he answered that he had left them in the gaol when he went away, and that those he had given me were all the tools he had left. But perceiving from the shape of the knife, (it having been much thicker on the back than the edge,) that the bars could never have been cut so neatly through with that instrument, we were induced to make a stricter search, and found, in a broken part of the lime wall, near the grates, a very neat spring saw, having a cord tied at one end. I then asked him who gave him those tools; to which he replied with great firmness:—“You need not ask me again, for I never will tell you.” After I had finished these enquiries, I searched his bed and his clothes, and renewed the chain again to his leg, fastening it firmly to the floor with a staple; and putting on a pair of strong handcuffs of 7-8 bolt. We then left him, it being about 11 o’clock on Saturday night. On the next Sunday at 4 o’clock, I revisited the jail, when the gaoler informed me that the prisoner was lying in his berth with all his irons on, and had been enquiring of him if the sheriff was not coming to examine his chains. About 12 o’clock the same night I was alarmed by a man sent by the gaoler, to inform me that Smith had got loose from his irons, and having worked his way through the inner grate, was cutting the outer grate, and had nearly escaped.

Here, at the dead hour of midnight, when it might be expected that every eye would be sunk in the stillness of sleep through the vigilant attention of Mr. Dibble, the gaoler, this astonishing being, who set handcuffs, and shackles, and chains at defiance, had all but effected another escape. Mr. Dibble, on finding him to be at work at the grates, was determined, if possible, to take him in the act; and by fastening a candle to the end of a stick three feet in length, and shoving the light through the wicket gate, he was enabled to discover him at work before he could have time to retreat to his berth. Mr. Dibble, on perceiving how he was employed, ordered him to leave everything he had, and take to his berth; he instantly obeyed, but as suddenly returned to the grates again, placed himself in a position to which he could not be seen by the gaoler. Remaining here but a moment, he went quickly to the necessary, and threw something down which was distinctly heard, and finally retired to his berth.

Mr. Dibble maintained a close watch until I arrived at the gaol, which we immediately entered, and to our amazement found him extricated from all his irons. He had cut his way through the inner grate and had all his clothes collected, and with him ready to elope, and had cut the bar of the outer grate two thirds off, which no doubt, he would have completed long before morning, and made his escape. I said to him, “Smith, you keep at work yet;” he answered that he had done work now, that all his tools were down the necessary. The truth of this, however, we proved by letting down a candle, by which we could clearly see the bottom; but no tools were to be seen there. His return to the necessary, and dropping, or pretending to drop something down, was no doubt, an artifice, by which he attempted to divert our attention from the real spot where his tools were concealed. But in this also, with all his cunning, he overshot the mark, by his over eagerness to tell us where he had cast his tools, instead of allowing us rather to draw the conclusion ourselves, from his return to the place, and dropping something down. We next proceeded to strip off and examine his clothing, carefully searching every hem and seam. His berth we knocked all to pieces, examining every joint and split; we swept out and searched every part of the prison, knowing that he must have his instruments in some part of it; but all to no purpose—nothing could be discovered.

We next replaced all his chains with padlocks; put on him a pair of screw handcuffs, which confined his hands close together, and thus left him about 4 o’clock on Monday morning. On the day following, Mr. Jarvis, the blacksmith, having repaired the grates came to put them in, when he found Smith lying on the floor apparently as we left him; but, on examining the new handcuffs, which screwed his hands close together when put on, we found them separated in such a manner that he could put them off and on when he pleased. On being asked why he destroyed those valuable handcuffs, “because,” said he, “they are so stiff that nobody can wear them.”