Show WIZARD WITH IRONS Something About a Very Clever Crook JAMES ARMSTRONGS LIFE Man Who Killed Himself in Colorado Col-orado Pen Was Smooth i Most Desperate Criminals That Officers cers of the West Have Ever Had Experience With James Ryan the convict who committed suicide by hanging himself with nn electric elec-tric wire In tho Colorado penitentiary at I Canyon City on August ISth was beyond any doubt ono of the deforest crooks If not tho prince of thorn all in tho Weat The man had an alias every time ho was arrested and haM served time In dllforcnt prisons unrler the names of James Young I James Armstrong Johh F Hines nnd J W Russell He was one of the most des perato criminals that the officers of the West have ever had any experience with ami seemingly no precautions could betaken be-taken that would prevent his escape when he had a strong desire for freedom COULD NOT BE IRONED Ho wan a wizard with tho handcuffs and could unshackle either bin feat or his I hands with apparently no trouble whatever what-ever I was his boast that all he hud to do WOH to blow upon the lock of the handcuffs and his arms were free An Oregon bootleg was removed with little more trouble than the handcuffs LIVED IN CALIFORNIA The career of Young or Russell or by whatever cognomen ho may beat be known was begun In California when ho was a young man of 21 years The tlrst big offense for which he was convicted was a case of robbery and ho served six years In the Jail at Sun Quenten for the crime On July i 1SJU his term In tho April 15 1S05 he was given two years for burglary In the States prison of this State He wa released November I C0 1S35 and In the following January was sentenced nnl tenced to eight years In the penitentiary of Idaho He went under the names of Illnes at this time IInes tme IN PRISON IN IDAHO rho offense for which he did time In Idaho was the holding up of a Chinese establishment Ho with four others was captured by tho Boise police and locked up In the county Jail at that place During Dur-ing the night Hines made J key from tho polder that he scraped from the plumbing pipes In his cell and was missing tho next morning leaving the key In the lock of the door Just to show what contempt he had for the place I was but I short time until ho was recaptured and upon his conviction con-viction and sentence to the penitentiary he boasted that he would not be there a month Notwithstanding the careful watch that was kept upon him ho proved good as his word and cut his way out before tho time stated but was unsuccessful unsuc-cessful In getting away Three times after that hocuhi8Wa I X out of his cell > nnd was only uiacuveruu m 1110 mot 01 time on each occasion to prevent his escape COIES TO UTAH In April 1802 ho breathed tho free air again and came to this State to engage In his nefarIous calling He took up with the convict William Brown now doing a forty years term In tho State prison for tho murder of tho Chlnamnn Gco Yom who was killed at Ogden After committing commit-ting tho murder on the Ogden river the two partners In crime cume to Salt Lake to turn u trick or two On May 1 I9 v they were arrested on the charge of holding hold-ing up o man named Campbell near tho Eagle gate Walter Clawson was chosen as a victim on this occasion and upon hit running when ordered to throw up hiM hands ono of the robbers shot him In the shoulder SAWED THROUGH BARS Tho two men were placed In a cell on the second Jloor of tho old city Jail They were both carefully searched before being be-ing placed In the Jail but the search was not ns careful as It might have been That nhihl Sergt Smith heard the grating of a saw on the steel unrl a daring attempt to brenl Jail was frustrated This desperate criminal who went under the name of RU91cl at the time had removed his Oregon Ore-gon boot and had nearly sawed tho bars from tho window of his cell when detected cel ed Brown had his ball and chain Btlll on but tied about his leg and body In such a way that walking would have been comparatively easy had tho two made their escape KILL A CHINAMAN I was next discovered that they were responsible for the death of the China man at Ogden and they wero taken to that place to stand trial for thc graver offense For some reason Brown was taken to the county Jiill and Russell was conllned In the city prison Russell had his little flaw with him nnd made good USC of the tool during tho night Ho cutoff cut-off ono bar In the door of hid cell and when the Jailer entered the corridor and passed down the hal hI slipped through tlm aperture and out of tnt door by which the JaIler had entered Before leaving ho replaced the piece of ba ho had cut out with a length of broomstick which was covered with a layer of blanket the same color ns the Iron hari In the door In this way his escapo was not readily discovered and he was many mlle away when It was flint not d that coil thero was nothing but n dummy In his GOES TO COLORADO After escaping trot Ogllen from which ulico Ills partner Brown was sentenced a I to forty yeas In the penitentiary for Yams murder Russell went to Colorado J WAS but a short time when he was arrested ar-rested for burglary and given eight years at Canyon City upon his conviction 1 was whllo serving this sentence that he led the big prison break recently made at that Institution The genius of the man In the criminal line was displayed even In tho manner of his suicide A pleco of electric wire answered an-swered his purpose In making the noose from which he suspended himself by tho neck Ho also took the precaution to place a dummy In his bunk that his designs de-signs on his life might not be discovered before he had strangled Such Is a brief history of the long career I of ono of tho worat nnd most desperate criminals that ever Infested the country I |