Alcatraz_ A Definitive History of the Penitentiary Years - Michael Esslinger [139]
Before the escape could be attempted, a few of the inmates would have to leave their cells and try to displace one the window bars, during a period when the guards would be performing duties in the main cell house. This was a risky undertaking, since they would have to leave their cells when noise levels allowed some degree of cover, also taking care not to be spotted by any of the custodial officers. During the early evening hours when the cellhouse inmates were herded into the dining room hall for dinner, two of the inmates left their cells to work on the window bars, while another went to act as a lookout, keeping an eye on the guard inside the gun gallery. The inmates manipulated a wrench to exert enough force against the bar, which snapped free from its foundation. Using putty and cement, they set the bar was back in its place to avoid raising suspicion. As the inmates worked, other prisoners around the cellhouse banded together to flush toilets and make various other subtle noises, in order to keep the guards from hearing the inmates working outside their cells in D Block. Once they were able to sneak back into their cells undetected, with the window bar prepared for easy removal, the inmates were ready to make their escape.
On the fog-laden morning of Friday the thirteenth at 3:00 a.m., the guard in D Block performed his customary counts of the inmates, thinking all of them to be asleep. At this hour there was only one guard on the cellhouse floor, and one in each gun-gallery. After the guard finished the count in D Block, he walked over to B Block and started his next round of counts. As soon as the path was clear, the escape accomplices bent out the lower bars of their cells, which they had been preparing for weeks, and made their way to the window. Karpis later wrote that Ty Martin was the first to climb through the window, and when his large shoulders became stuck, he hung helplessly attempting to squeeze through without making any noise. With Stamphill’s help he managed to painfully cram himself through the small opening and drop to the path eight feet below. After the five inmates had all made their way out of from the cellhouse, they stealthily hiked down to a small clearing at the water’s edge, and then started to gather wood, attempting to build a makeshift raft. The harsh waves pounded against the jagged rock forms as the men stripped down to their underwear, using clothing to tie the pieces of wood together.
By 3:30 a.m. the guard had started making another round, and he reached the disciplinary section at about 3:45. In a shocking discovery, he found one of the D-Block cells empty with the sheet stripped from the bed. He quickly ran to the administration phone and called the Armory, anxiously communicating the news of the escape. Minutes later, sirens and searchlights saturated the fog-shrouded island, and a quick phone call was placed to the Warden. Johnston quickly dressed himself and was met at the front door by Associate Warden Miller. Little information was available other than that the inmates had all been present during the 3:00 a.m. count. Captain Weinhold had been awoken, and he quickly reported to D Block. It was found that the five inmates, all of whom shared adjacent cells, had sawed through the bottom bars of each cell and were now missing. Meanwhile down by the water’s edge, as the sirens