On this date in 1916, citizens of Fargo were reading about an attempted escape from the Cass County jail. According to the local papers, "Only the eternal vigilance of Sheriff John Ross and his force of deputies" prevented the escape from happening.
During a routine sweep of the jail cells that occurred every Sunday, officers discovered homemade master keys for the jail. The keys were creatively assembled "by a master hand," according to the Fargo Forum. They were made out of metal tablespoons that were flattened and shaped using heat from a flame fueled by collected grease from meals. The tools used included a safety razor blade and some spring steel.
The report appeared in the Grand Forks Herald, which reported that the keys opened all the jail doors except one. The amateur metal worker had used a cardboard pattern that had been supplied to him.
The keys were hidden in the jacket pocket of Halsten Wing, one of the prisoners. Halsten had tried to escape a month earlier. However, Police weren't convinced he was fully involved in this scheme, or even involved at all; they believed it was the work of J. E. Shannon, who was recently arrested.
Shannon was being held in the jail awaiting trial for the charge of attempted burglary at a Fargo drugstore. Since his arrest, he had almost escaped another time; and he was considered the only man in the jail who was both willing to make the attempt and have the skills to craft keys.
J. E. Shannon had many aliases, but it was believed his true name was John Samon, and his escapades had taken him all around the country. His acts mainly included burglary and pickpocketing, but also arson and drug possession.
Shannon, or Samon, pleaded guilty to his crime in Fargo, and was sent to the prison in Bismarck. He left quite an impression on his jailers, who considered him "one of the smoothest crooks that ever graced ... the Cass County jail."
Dakota Datebook by Sarah Walker
Sources:
- The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican, Thursday evening, August 24, 1916, p1, 8
- The Grand Forks Herald, Friday evening, August 25, 1916, p2
- The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican, Thursday Evening, August 25, 1916, p1
- The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican, Tuesday Evening, October 3, 1916, p5
