The Lamoille news. (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1877-1881, 1877-09-19
APRISON TRAGEDY.

prs.on.rs ~ lTbs ,Isrderer- Forced to surs
render.
The Connecticut State Prison at
Wethersfield was The scene Of a cold
blooded murder at an early hour one
morning a short time ago, the victim
being Wells Skipman, who has been Tor
some time the night Waterman in the
main hall of the prison. The murderer
was Henry Hamlin, of New Bedford
and his accessory to the crime was VII
liam Allen, of the same place. In ac-
cotdance with usual custom the prison
ers were taken to their cells after their
DAVIS work had been done, and their
meagre supper served out to them at SIX
o'clock. The cell doors were then locAed,
but not bolted with the slide bars, this
latter operation being done at about $3.50
PM, when the watchmen make a tour oil
the prison and take count of the prls-
onets. After the convicts were locked
ND. Hamlin opened the door of his cell
by means of a false key, which he or
some of his friends had made for him
ont of bits of steel and steel nails at
tached to a part of a wrench which was
used by Hamlin in his work on a shoe
machine. Before leaving his cell he had
fixed in his bed dummy, made out OF
one of his shirts stuffed with straw,
which he had taken from his mattress,
ON leaving his cell, which was on the
third tier, Hamlin went up one flight Of
stairs to the fourth tier, and climbing to
the top of this tier of cells, he lay down
to await later hour, when he hoped to
secure freedom for himself and his part
ner, Allen.
The good night inspection of the cells
was made soon after eight o'clock. The
watchmen reported the count all right,
and left the prison in charge of Mr.. Ship
man. The lights were turned down, and
after waiting until midnight, when all
was clear, Hamlin left his hiding-place
and went down to the third tier again,
where his partner, Allen, was waiting for
him. The slide bar was pulled, and with
the skeleton key Hamlin opened the door
to Aliens cell, and the pair of prison
breakers were ready to work. The noise
made by the sliding of the bar was heard
by Mr.. Shipman, who called out, and
fred a shot at a point where he thought
he heard the noise. The shot failed tC
hit either of the convicts, who, in the
darkness, managed to reach the ground
floor. Mr.. Sbipman fred at the con
victs again, and again missed them
whereupon they jumped upon him
gagged him with a part of a broom han
die and two leather thongs, and fastened
his hands behind his back with pair o
handouts. These they probably obtained
from some friend outside, as they were
! new, and of pattern not used in the
prison. In some manner Mr.. ShipmaI
p got the gag out of his mouth, and again
cried for help, but all the men slep
soundly and no help came. Hamlin, WIFI
= had secured Mr.. Shipman's revolver
= then told the Waterman that anOthe
word would result in death; but Mr.
: Shipman again cried out, and Hamlin
placing the muzzle of the revolver clos
e. to the breast of the PROSTATE man, fired
e Shipman was shot in the left breast, tw
g inches below the nipple, and it
+ thought that the bali grazed his heart
+ The muzzle was held so closely to tn
e body of Shipman that his clothing wa
T. burned by the powder.
e The shot quoted the Waterman, fc
o the wound proved to be fatal one, bit
e it aroused the attention of Warde
}, Hewea and the guards stationed aroun
d the prison walls, who hurried to til
+ main prison hall to render any assistant
J. that lay in their power. The first tw
10 guards that arrived fired at the hyin
Il convicts, who had climbed to the top
the box of cells, but failed to hit eitht
of them, and before the exact location
the prison breakers and murderers coul
=" be ascertained, they had managed, wit
'e an iron box, to break through the Gel
e ing over the cells, thin sheet of lat
3 and plaster which also formed the flot
Il of the prison garnet, and they were safe
y CHARTERED in the garnet, where they we
u secure. The guards, knowing that IL
10 convicts were armed, dare not go in
u the garnet, either by the hole throue
y the ceiling or by way of large do
= which opened into it from the Carr
:, over the warden's quarters; but in tt
!" meantime the warden's sons had alarm,
70 the towns-people, and in half an hour 6
" ~ ter the alarm the prison was entire
" surrounded by guard of men, ARM
70 with rifles and revolvers. While I'll
= :, guard was being placed, Hamlin al
~ Allen had made their way from the gf
70 ret into a belfry which surmounts t
main prison. There they remained u
~ molested until discovered at about da
- break by one of the guards, who fir
~ two shots at them, neither of which to
70 effect. When daylight came the prise
~ ~ ers, finding that they could not possit
~, 49, escape from the belfry, offered to sure
- der, and finally came down to the grou
- floor and gave themselves up to the WI
~ den. They were locked up in the da
S t'a cells, where they will be kept to ansv
~ to charge OF murder IN the first degr
w. Mr.. Shipman fingered in semi-c'
20 scious condition until eleven o'clo,
when he died.
Henry Hamlin and William Allen,
in murderers, were sent to the State prit
SO in September, 1871, for term of Ell,
av years, for series of robberies commit
n Mt the cottages near New Lond