Handcuffed, Ironed, and Locked in Cell, He takes only 16 Minutes to Get
Out and over the Wall
Harry Houdini, the young man who, apparently, cannot be held in
restraint by steel bars, handcuffs, prison locks, or other restraining
measures, gave the Boston Police Department a terrific jolt this
forenoon when he escaped from double confinement in the city prison,
commonly known as the Tombs, a prison which the heads of the police
department had confidently believed to be escape proof.
[Illustration: SUPT. WILLIAM H. PIERCE, WHO LOCKED CELL DOORS]
Superintendent of Police William H. Pierce personally superintended the
confinement of Houdini, himself locked the wizard into a cell on the
second tier of the prison, after he had clamped handcuffs on his wrists
and leg irons about his ankles, and the superintendent's face wore a
smile of confidence and assurance after he had locked the cell doors
and went down into the office of the prison to await results.
The superintendent's smile didn't wholly come off when, a few minutes
later, he learned that Houdini not only had escaped from his cell, but
that he had escaped from the prison, and was nearly a half-mile away;
but the smile was faded and frayed at the edges, and no questioning
could get the superintendent to say what he thought of the wonderful
performance. All that could be gotten out of him was, "I have nothing
to say."
Heretofore the police have believed that no one locked in a cell at
the Tombs could possibly get out; but Houdini not only got out, but
he opened door after door after he had removed the handcuffs and
leg irons, and walked from one part of the prison to another with
apparently as much freedom as though he wasn't met every few feet with
a lock that had been considered impregnable.