Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1858-04-08
The Jail Delivery AT Indianapolis-.Ingc.
NOUS Jail Breaking.


An extra from the Office of the Indiana
journal gives the particulars of the escape
from the Jail in that city of J. B. Shears.
J. Wood. j. McRay. Geo. Wagner, Jas.
Vanness. and j. A. Taylor. conterfeiters.
Lee Overman. burglar, also vamoosed; and
Henry Brooklocker, indicted for the muir
der Of man named Mr.. Fall. and Michael
Gallagher, who killed Costello. the murder
that caused such an excitement few weeks
ago. are among the missing. The man.
ner OF the escape was most extraordinary
The Journal thus states it:
Shears, either from his wife, who visited
him day or two before. or by the assist
ancc of Lakin, another counterfciter who
is out on bail, obtained a key with which
he could unlock his cell. This key he had
to use outside. paiie he tas inside of the
grated iron door. The way he did it was
Ingenious. He got poplar stick about
three feet long. and about the middle of il
made mortice. in which the handle of the
key would fit, and through the morticc.
and. of course. through the ring or bulge
of the key. he drove a peg. so as to keep
the key from falling out. This stick he
put through the grating, aud slipped up
and down till he got the key into the hole.
Then he pulled it as far as it needed to go.
Now the puzzle was to turn the key
This he accomplished as ingsniously as he
did the other process. He fastened a string
to the upper end of the stick, drew it through
the grating. and pulled down as far as the
hole in the grating would allow, and then
he passed it through another hole lower
down, and again pulled, and so on till he
got the key turned round and the door un-
locked. He then went to all the other
cells. unlocked them, and set all the pris-
oners loose.
Before doing this, he had planned the
way to get ont Of the Jail. lie and the
prisoners in the cell with him had managed,
probably by using the timber of their
chunks" to pry up the stone covering Of
tho cell far enough to allow the body Of a
man TO pass. This is the most extraordi-
nary part Of the whole feat. as it would
appear impossible to move the huge block
by any means. much less by such contri.
vances as could be manufactured in a jail
cell. 1t ipas moved. however. and propped
up. The way into the garnet Of the jail
(Shcar's cell being in the upper tier mex,
to the roof, was open. From the gsrre'
small chimney rises. and this afforded
the only means of exit to the Jail roof, ex-
cept by cutting through. BY some means
Shears forced himself far enough mp thi,
chimney to be able to pick out some Of TIT
bricks above the roof. and finally to make
a hole through which man could crawl
In fact, as it appears from the street. thu
chimney was nearly cut off at the roof
The road out was open now. and it is prob
able that at this time the other cells wer,
unlocked. While this was going on,
the prisoners were singing. rs they fire
lqucntly do. vociferously. probably to drown
the noise of their operations. When al
was ready, about three o'clock. they crawl
cd out upon the roof, and thence let them
selves down into the yard by a rope mad,
of their bed clothes, which they tore NJ
and tied together. This rope was lying il
the yard when we were there yesterday
By means Of plank they scaled the wal
Of the yard and were safe. The feat is on
that deserves place beside those Of Jacl
Shenh. r,l