The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1859-12-17

CHARLEsTowN, Va, Dec. lG, M-The
sentinel stationed near the Jail reported that
at quarter past eight o clock lie observed
d man upon the Jail wall, whom he challcng-
ed, and, receiving no answer, he fired at
him The head of another man was also
seen above the wall, but he rctrcated rs soon
as the first had been fired at. The man on
top of the wall seemed at first determined
to persist and was about making an attempt
to Jump down, when the sentinel declared
his intention of impaling him on his bayo-
net He then retrcated into the jail yard
with Coppic, andtgavc themselves up with
out further resistance. Cook afterwards re-
marked that it he could have got over and
throttled the guard, he would have made his
escape The Shenandoah mountains are
in ten minutes run of the Jail wall and had
he reached them, with his knowledge of the
moudtains his arrest would have been diff
cult especially as but few of the military
could have followed him during the night.
They had succeeded, after two weeks labor
| whenever they were alone, and at night,
when t heir bed clothes muffied the sound of
| a saw (Which they had made out OF an old
| barlow knife), in cutting through their iron
shackles, so that any moment they should
have their work completed. They had also
made a sort Of chisel out of an old bed screw,
W
offeredi in removing the plaster from the wall
and then brick after brick until a space for
them to pass through was open i all eX
cept the removal of the outer brick. Part
of the wall on which they operated, was in
| the rear of the beds on which they slept,
| and the bed being pushed against the wall
completely hid their work from view. The
/ bricks they took out were concealed in the
! drum OF a stove, and the dirt and plaster
removed in the course of their work, was
placed between the bed clothing. They
acknowledged they had been at work
whole week in making the aperture i'll the
wall. Their cell being on the first floor the
| aperture was not more than five feet above
| the pavement Of the yard, and when freed
| from their shackles, their access to the yard
! was quite easy. Here, however, was e
| smooth brick wall, about 10 feet high, to
| scale. This difficulty was soon overcome
| with the timbers of the seatfold on which
] Capt. Brown was hung, and which were
| intended for their execution on the sue
| ceediny day. They placed these against the
| WALL and even succeeded IN reaching the
| top from which they could have easily
dropped to the other side had not the vigil
ance of the sentinel on duty, so quickly
checked their movements. They were ar
rested in the Jail yard by Gen. Talieferro
and an officer of the day, who rushed to the
Jail the moment the alarm was given. Sher-
if Campbell and Capt. Avis, are, of course,
much chagrined at the narrow escape of
then prisoners, especially rs they had re
sisted all interference of the military with
the interior discipline OF the Jail. The pris-
oners were shrcwd and cunning fellows, and
they were undoubtedly without any ac-
completes in their undertaking. The friends
| who are still here, were fearful that they
might be suspected of having knowledge OF
the attempt The general impression is,
that if the prisoners had waited until mid
night or later they might have reached the
mountains. But it IS presumed they We're