Escape Artist

 

   Harry Houdini is called the greatest escape artist of all time, but he has a rival who made his escapes without an audience watching. Camillo di Rudio escaped the guillotine, Devil’s Island, and the massacre at the Little Big Horn in that order. Houdini used skill and intelligence to make his escapes. Di Rudio relied on dumb luck of which he  had an infinite supply.

  Rudio was born in 1832 into the aristocracy of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia which was then part of the Austrian Empire. He was sent to an Austrian military academy, but at age 15 he dropped out and joined a band of Italian patriots trying to form a united Italy. The revolution went badly so he left for America. His ship went down and he was rescued and taken to England where he married the 15 year old daughter of a confectioner.

    He fathered six children and made a living giving Italian lessons. Growing restless, he joined a four man conspiracy to kill Emperor Napoleon III who was seen as interfering with Italian independence. That went badly and he was sentenced to face the guillotine, but at the last minute his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment on Devil's Island off the coast of South America thanks to his wife's letter writing campaign. Not long after his arrival on Devil's Island, di Rudio and several other prisoners stole a fishing boat and escaped to British territory. Soon he was back with his wife and kids in London.

   Growing restless again, he took his family to America in 1864 and enlisted in the Union Army as a private. He was just in time to join the siege at Petersburg. He said he had no problem working with soldiers of color and was promoted to lieutenant in a Black regiment. When the war ended, he requested to join the regular army, but failed the physical exam. Also, the army discovered his colorful past. But somehow he was taken back in as a lieutenant and was eventually assigned to Custer's 7th Cavalry. Some of the soldiers called di Ridio "Count No-account” because his yarns sounded unbelievable. You can't blame them.  

   So there he was with Custer on June 25, 1876, facing an enormous Indian encampment on the Little Bighorn River. Custer famously divided his force that morning. Technically, di Rudio should have been with Custer, but Custer didn’t like di Rudio and moved to one of the companies that attacked the far end of the village.

   The attack was a total fiasco. Custer's men were wiped out. Di Rudio’s commander quickly realized his force would be annihilated if he persisted. He ordered a retreat to the bluffs overlooking the river. Di Rudio lost his horse and had to hide in the underbrush until darkness fell and he was able to make it across the river and join the survivors on the bluffs.  

   Di Rudio remained in the Army another 20 years, fighting Indians all over the west. He retired in California where he enjoyed a long retirement as a celebrity in Los Angeles not far from Hollywood, where there's no such thing as a story too far-fetched. 

Stone marks diRudio's last escape.