The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1876-02-23
CONVICTS CAUGHT.
Locomotive Thieves in Limbo.
BACK TO SING SING.

BACK TO SING SING.
A PART OF THE GANG WHO ESCAPED FROM
NEW YORK PRISON IN A LOCOMOTIVES AR
RESTED FOR BURGLARY IN PHILADELPHIA
The Philadelphia Times of "Wednesday
says: The importance OF the arrest made
by the police in the den in bsinb ridge street,
on Sunday morning, was not appreciated
until the arrival Of two officers from Sing
Sing prison, and their SD bsequent interview
with the gang developed the fact that two
OF them belonged To the party who made
the famous escape from Sing Sing
prison about yesr since In
a locomotive. Doggy" Dougherty's
old den, No. GA Baiubridge street,
lately under the supervision of John
Walker, alias "Skids," has for some time
past been under The surveillance of the
police. 81 q on Sunday morning Chief OF
Police Jones, Detectives Tryon and Jack
son, Lieutenant Crout and eleven reserve
officers made raid upon the establishment,
capturing eight nen comfortably e1sconsed
in tceir beds. and quantity of burglars
tools. The men were taken TO the central
station, where they gave the names of John
Walker, alias ''Sklds," William Wright,
John Gordon, John Jordan, John Stephens,
James Baker, George Gilbert and Thomas
Jordan. They were given hearing before
Alderman Carpenter, and the police officials
stating that they were suspec, ed of being
implicated in several
RECENT BURGLARIEs,
the prisoners were committed in default of
81 800 each for further hearing to-day. The
gang were strongly suspected of being coz
cerned in the burglarious attack made upon
Mrs. Col. Harper's residence, Roxborough,
early on Thursday morning last. At that
time the police made an attack upon the
We nf
revolvers and fired upon the officers. The
police in turn began firing, and after lively
fusilade, thirty shots having been fired on
each side, the robbers retrested in
the woods, leaving upon the
ground one of their number, Frank
Mcguire, severely wounded. Mcguire
was taken to the Pennsylvania Hospital,
where he now lies, and, il is supposed,
"peached" upon his comrades. Four of the
gang arrested in the cambridge street den
were placed in cell No. 1, at the Central sta.
ton, and two reserves detailed to guard
them during Sunday night. A window OF
the cell faces upon the yard Immediately in
the rear of the Central hearing room.
newspaper man, while in the yard, dlscov-
cred amid the singing and hilsrity of the
gang, the sharp cutting sound of a saw.
Word was communicated to the officers and
and four OF them entered the cell, discover
ing the prisoners in the act of saving
through the iron bar, having
ALMOST SEVERED
it. a case knife, nicked similar to a saw,
was the instrument employed. 1t is sup
posed that 1t was Struggled into the cell
concealed in the dinner furnished them by
friend. The prisoners objected to being
removed, but the exhibit of qusrtette of
cooked revolvers finally induced them to
submit, and they were transferred to securer
quarters. Owing, il Is supposed, to Mcguire,
the wounded mans confession, the Sing
Sing authorities were telegrapned to yester-
day, and last night Captain Hilbert and
Officer James Jackson, of Sing Sing Prison,
arrived at police headquarters in this city,
and upon viewing the prisoners it was
found that two of this gang of eight were
part of the party of five who, nearly q wear
ago, escaped from Sing Sing Prison by steal
ing passing locomotive on the New York
Central and Hudson River railroad.
STEALING A LOCOMOTIVE.
At the extreme northern end of the prison
grounds, two hundred yards from the main
entrance of the prison, two sentinels are sta
toned day and night, with loaded rifles.
The railroad track runs through the prison
grounds, and 40 person is allowed to walk
the track without a permit. On the day of
the escape the Eve, together with more than
hundred prisoners, were working in the
psison qusrries, just outside of the wall.
There is high hill to the east,
the side of the hill over the
railroad. to the bank of the Hudson river,
where a new wharf was being built. Over
this tramway the earth was carried In
barrows to the wharf. AT 7:30 o'clock in
the morning freight train approached at a
very slow rate, having hardly got started
stter stop for water ST the Sing Sing Sta
ton. about an eighth of a mile to the north
As the engine approached, five of the con-
yicts made break, ran upon the tramwsy,
and thence dropped to the tender, and,
overpo~ering the engineer and fireman,
took possession of the engine, uncoupled it
from the tender, opened the throttle, and
made
BREAK FOR FREEDOM
The engineer, before leaving his engine,
pulled the pump wide open. and, as soon as
the conviets opened the throttle, the rush Of
water was so great that one of the cylinder
heads was Immediately blown out and the
escaping steam 30 enveloped the engine that
the guards could find no MARKS for their
bullets and the convicts actually rode out of
prison in cloud of steam. The locomotive
went at full speed until Tarrytown was
nearly reached, when the other cy Under
head blew out, and the engine, of course,
stopped. The convicts then escaped to the |
woods and thence to New York City, |
and, although an active search was made, |
nothing more was heard of opy of them till |
the two were arrested there on Tuesday. |
The blowing out of the second cylinder |
head was all that saved the five convicts |
from almost instant death, for the superin-
tendent of the railroad in the Grand Central |
Depot, New York, having heard of the es-
cape, Immediately sent an order by tele- |
graph for switch TO be opened at larry |
town which would throw the locomotive /