Juniata sentinel. [volume] (Mifflintown, Pa.) 1846-1873, 1871-10-04
THENEyADA srATEPR1sos STAMPEDE
Exciting Battle Between the Prisoners
alf 30 and the Guard. " .E .

From the Gold Hill News, Sept. 13. 1o7
About six o'clock last evening (Sun-
day. the convicts at the State Prison,
situated mile ard a quarter from Car
son city, made the most desperate and
successful attempt to escape ever yet
known at that establishment. On Sun
day the prisoners have nothing to do,
and are permitted TO stand outside their
| cells in a common room allotted to them
In addition to this, their design of escap-
ing was aided by the wind, which swept
impenetrable clouds of dust into the val
ley. Shortly after, the captain of the
guard came into the large room to scat
ter the inmates TO their different cells to
be locked up for the night He had just
stepped inside the door when he was
knocked down by blow on the head
with bottle by one Of the prisoners,
another striking him over the left eye
!. with slurg Shot at the same time. He
fell bleeding and almost senselsss to the
Aoor, and was seized by Pat Hurley, one
1 Of the convicts, aud thrown into cell
near by and the door closed This was
done without alarming the guard or any
one else outside the CRATE. The prison
ers then climbed to the top of the upper
tier of cells, and with an axe cut hole
in the roof large enough to crawl through.
Each prisoner was armed with sort of
slung shot, made of bits of iron or other
metal, sewed or surreptitiously tied up
in strips of cloth, while few had knives
made by themselves or obtained The
roof was too high at the point of egress
for them to jump to the ground; there
fore, calculating the distance correctly,
they passed along to just over room at
the head of the main staircase leading
from the second story to TIE ground
floor Cutting hole through the roof as
hastily as possible, all the scamps i'm
media,ely jumped down through, and
passing down the stairway were directly
in possession of the Office and armory.
The guards and officers of the prison
were taken completely by surprise. but
as soon as the alarm was given the fight
ing commenced 1t was a desperate
haud to hand conflict, in which the guards
aud officers stood up to it manfully, and
the prisoners fought with all the energy
of desperation. 1t sas of short dura
ton, however, when the convicts becom-
ing master of the situation, twenty y-nlne
of them took leave of the prison. There
were seventy-two in all confined there,
but the remainder were secured before
they could make elftc:ual resistance.
AT this time Lieutenant Governor Den
yer, with his family and a few guests,
were eating supper in the warden's room,
while Bob Dedman. life convit', sen
fenced for murder, was serving the table.
Suddenly the clanking Of The prisoners
chains were heard on the roof immediate
" above their heads The whole party
thought i. was an earthquake, and started
in dismay. Meantime the convicts had
cut through the roof of the next apart
ment At the head of the stairs The
cause of the uproar now became evident
Some of the ladies ran screaming down
the stairs, just ahead Of the prisoners.
and into the front yard, not knowing
what was about to happen. Two of the
prisoners came to the dining room, when
they were met by Lieutenant Governor
Denver and Dednan. Denver drew bis
revolver and shot one of them, Clifford,
While Dedrn an drove the other back with
a chair. Both retreated down the stair
case, but Clifford subsequently returned
and gave himself up. desiring to be hid
der away from the rest, as he said they
would kill him because he had opposed
this break before it was made. The con-
vic.s, now well armed, were fighting des-
perately with the guard below. and some
Of them tried to come up the staircase,
but at the top were met warmly by Gov.
Denver and Dedman Denver gave them
wha. he had in his revolver, while Ded-
man fought with all the chairs he could
get hold of, knocking them down stairs
one after the other. One fellow came at
Bob three times with a loig knife, and
each time he was knocked down. The
third time he was knocked or pitched
over the balustrade head first. Mean
while Gov Denver was shot through the
hip or hesby part of the thigh. and re
ceived one or two severe scalp wounds
from blows on the head. He bled pro