Omaha daily bee., 1874-05-18
LIBERTY OR DEATH.
Details of a Desperate Fight with
Convicts al Jacksonville.

Oh 1ueSlaN, give, lHt ~iOiio"iHS Nv
tails of the desperate fight with con-
victs at Jacksonville, Ind. For
! some time past these convicts had
| been feigning sickness and had been
permitted to go to the hospital, with
their names placed on the regular
sick list as having been excused from
duty. Monday afternoon, four men,
one after another quietly sauntered
out of the hospital room and met at
the iron door, leadinginto the guard
room, ON the outside of which Geo.
Chamberlain was standing as guard.
Some one approaching, Chamber
lain unlocked the door and opened
it. No sooner had this been fairly
done than the convicts simultane-
ously rushed through the opening,
and hurting Chamberlain against
the wall ran rapidly through the
guard-room, from which the way to
the street was clear. The scuffiing
and the noise incident to their
flight alarmed several persons who
were sitting i'm the offices, and Mr..
Willard Immediately endeavored to
intercept the fugitives. Oneof them
instantly drew a long navyrevOlver,
and, with an oath, pulled the trig-
ger, but to Mr.. Millard's good for
tune the load failed to be discharged.
On the steps leading to the street
was standing a "trusty" cOlored
convict named Brown. He, observ-
ing the state of affairs, gave the
alarm, and, while attempting to
impede their fight, was shot in the
face, the ball entering his left cheek
and coming out at the throat, in
fiicting a dangerous wound. The
conyicts had now reached the street
and outside the prison walls. The
shooting had aroused Col. Shuler,
the warden, who, together with the
guards and citizens, gave chase.
In the meantime the convicts
kept up a rapid running fire from
their revolvers, which were long
navy weapons, bright and new.
Their pursuers, five OF six of whom
were also armed, returned the fire
as rapidly as given. Chamberlain,
who was leading the pursurers sew
eral yards, gained on the fugitives,
until he came within forty feet of
Kennedy. The latterhalted, turned,
and, taking deliberate aim, fired at
Chamberlain, the ball striking the
latter almost exactly in the center
of the forehead, ~inficting of course,
4 fatal wound. The pause i'm the
pursuit, caused by Chamberlain's
fall, enabled Kennedy to stop for an
instant, i'm which he threw
off his convict coat and
pantaloons, revealing a full
suit of citizens clothes. Then
the race began in earnest on both
sides. It seemed to resolve itself
into a question of speed, as the
shooting, although fierce and con-
.tinuous, was not sufficiently accu-
rate to be effective. Stanley, get
ting behind, was surrounded by
those i'm advance, and was about to
be taken, when his three comrades
ran to his rescue, firing so holly
that Stanley succeeded i'm breaking
from his captors. a man named
Black, a well-knOwn carpenter, hap
pened to be i'm the way of the fight,
endeayOred to seize one of the con-
victs, who, anticipating his inten-
ton, placed his revolver near his
head and snapped the cap, which
failed to discharge the cartridge, and
his life was saved. When a distance
of nearly a quarter of a mile from
the prison was reached, Newton Port
suddenly threw up his hands and
with a loud cry tumbled upon the
ground dead, his body apparently
having been made the target for
each of his pursuers, as 1t IA after
wards found literally covered with
bullet-holes. This brought his COM
rades to a halt. Then came the
battle. The convicts displayed long
bowie-knives, while their
ammunition seemed eXhaustleSs,
their facility in loading the cham
bers of their re~vOlvers being some
what remarkable. Col. Shuler be-
ing i'm the lead, and singled out by
Applegate, who coolly shot at him
three times, one ball passing through
his pa%ntaloons just above the knee,
without, however, penetrating
the flesh, and another ball
cutting off a lock o. hair from the left
side of his head above the ear. The
attacking party coming up, stones,
powders and whatever missiles
were available were showered nthe
convicts. A well-directed bowlder
brought Kennedy TO the ground,
while two bullets struck Stanley in
the neck, wounding his dangerous
ly and rendering him hOrs de conf
bat.
The capture of the entire party
was then speedily effected, and
with their overpowered prisoners
securely bound, the crowd, which
had swelled to fifty or more, re-
turned to tho prison. The three
convicts We're then heavily ironed
and locked securely i'm their cells.
They preserved a dogged and sui
len silence, refusing TO answer any
questions asked them.