The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1874-03-04

Immediately seized by several men,
handeuffed and gagged One Of the
maskesfufii tus rus hetl atvhim with
uplifteH Hknif& &exclaip1ing, Knife him,
Knife BIN ~ But be. was prevented
| from be commissioh of his murder
'ohs DECD by Lawlek, who threw him
sseIf bftyveen the dssailant and his
yictimI Commanding dbim to desist, as
fthere wns no need1sof blood work.
The door was then closed behind
them, and the whole prison was thus
within their CONTROL, to do whatso-
ever they might wish. Mr.. Rulings
was picked up by Hurlburt, who con-
veyed him to the cellar below in his
arms, und here his feet were bound
with chains, his body securely tied
around chair, with his head thrown
back until the position was one Of the
most excruciating torture, and in this
condition he was left until some one
should discover him in the morning
The whoie party nextG returned 70
the corridor Of the prison, into which
they let out Big Frank and Hope,
and a convictedl mnrderer lnamed
Frazier, who was undergoing life
sentenee'for the kiHing of a Mr. Ella.
son, at Middleton, about ten years
ago.
The, work which brought bitkerI
the rescuing party being established,
it only remained for the entire party
to clear the prison, which they did
in a very short time, retiring in the
same manner by which they had en-
tered--by the ladders over the wall.
In their flight the party left behind
them two very powerful iimmies, one
of which was entirely new, while the
other showed some signs Of use.
They started away with the prison
KEYS, but threw them into the yard,
scattering them in all directions.
These were found this morning where
thew had been thrown; but no diff
Guilty had been experienced in open
ing the prison doors, as another war
den held a set of duplicate keys.
None of the other prisoners within
the Jail were molested, and there was
no nterfcarance with the prison in
aay Of its Departments. The bank
burglars took all their property with
them. Frazier had sent away the
most Of his goods several days pre-
viously, as if in anticipation of the
escape. ....
Tie flight of the bank burglars
was not discovered until between s
and I O'Clock this morning, although
the prison is usually opened before
that hour. Mr.. Ridings' custom IS
to call one of the prisoners. who does
the cooking, but as he had not been
awakened. he slept long after his
usual rising hour, and silence reigned
within the prison until the baker
Knocked at the gate to deliver the
bread for the morning meal. This
brought the day warden, MIR Griffin,
from his room, who discovered at
once that the burglars on the lower
floor had escaped and Mr.. Ridings
was missing. He at once began a
search for tn, missing warden, and
finally found him 10 the cellar, where
he had been left some five or six
hours previously, and in the same
position, Le being unable even to
move, let alone eXtricate himself
Unable to speak and almost dead
was the condition Of Mr.. Ridings.
Evcrylimb and muscle of the body
was stiff and swollen, and when re-
leased he could not stand. The gag
which had been applied was about
two inches in diameter, and when it
was removed Mr., Ridings jaw refus-
ed to close, having been distendeG
for SO long time and to such an cx-
tent that the muscles were in
strained condition. But under the
Influence of a free application of
camphor aud by rubbing with the
hand, the obstinate tendons yielded,
and in about an hour the jaws be-
cave movable. so that the full par
ticulars could be told BY the only
witness 10 what had gone on during
the ftHoht