The Osceola times., 1874-10-03
Jail Delivery.

KRIS little DufSh We're startieu ny
the announcement made by the
frightened and excited Jail guards
that there bad been general Jail
delivery, and that even then the
escaped prisoners were within
sight, making railroad speed
through the cultivated field in the
rear Of the Jail towards the woods
beyond. This aroused everybody
in town, and in the course. of ten
minutes there was q general turn
out of citizens armed with guns
and pistols in pursuit OF the fugl'
tives who were ascertaincd to be
four in pumbcr, VIZ: Thetstone,
charged with numbering George
Brandon, Eugene Palace alias How
ard, Bill Williams, q negro who
was in for stealing, and Christian,
another negro, accused of attempt
ed rape. Short however as was
the start Of the fugitlves it was suf-
| ficient for them to make their es-
cape, and the pursuers returned
about noon empty handed, and up
to the present writing nothing re-
Liable has been heard of them. A
visit to the Jail during the day, and
an interview with the guards and
remaining prisoners revealed the
following facts in regard to the es-
cape. 1t seems that tho man Pal
ace alias Howard, who was confined
for having stolen valuable watch
and chain from J. X. p. Hale Esqr.
had been allowed many privileges
by the guards, whom, by "sOft
talk and deceitful behavior" he
completely bamboozled into believ-
ing that he mould rather stay in
Jail than not; in fact, that he could
not be hired to 60 away under any
circumstances. Howard was al
lowed the range of the body Of the
iaiI at all times and though having
frequent opportunities of escape,
never availed himself of them. One
of the young Fares, who were con-
fined for numbering old man Camp
bell on Frenchmans Bayou, being
quite i'll, had also been removed
from the cells, by order of his ply
sician, and his bed was placed in
the body of the Jail in the rear OF
the cells. This fact was taken ad-
vantage of by the deceiving How
ard, who'no doubt, was IN the pay
of Thetstonc from the beginning,
aud while the too credulous guards
were away from the Jail hc made
use OF his "parole liberty to cut
nice square hole through the thin
plank floor of the Jail, directly un-
der Fares bed, where his operations
were concealed from the eyes oftho
guard. When the hole was cut the
next thing was to get the prisoners
who were in the cells lot out into
the body Of the Jail. This was done
by the guards themselves, who came
over just before sun rise to clean
up the cells and turn the prisoners
out to warm. The moment they
unlocked the cell door Thctstone
walked out and after warming at
the stove went to the rear of the
building and stepping through the
hole, vamooscd; being followed by
the other prisoners who had occu-
pied the same cell with him, the
guards meanwhile remaining in
front in blissiul ignorance of what
was Transporting in the rear. The
negro barber who was arrested for
cutting Dan Eagan some time since,
seeing first one and then another
OF his jail comrades disappearing
called out to the guards that they
were making their escape. Mrs.
DR.. Felts who lives near by saw
the exit of the prisoners and called
to her son William who is one Of
the guards, and told him what was
going on, and in the meantime
John Thompson, another guard,
who was inside of the jail at the
time had found out the movement.
Hastily locking in thoir cells the
prisoners who were still in the