Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1879-05-07
THE SHERIFF'S DAUGHTER.
How She ElOped with Her Fathers
Prisoner.
From The Portage Register.


thursday light, Sheriff ConkIin, who lives
at and tends the Columbia Jail, thought he
heard noise below, he being in bed in the
second story. On rising and going down
stairs he found the front door open. He
had, on going to bed at abou: 10 o'clock,
locked it, leaving the key on the inside of
the door. He also found the FIVE doors
from the hall 10 the cell 10 which the pri-
soner John Wood (who had been arrested
In kilbourn, in January last, on a charge
OF burglary at the railroad ticket offce) WAS
| confined, unlocked and that Wood was
gone. He also found that his second daug b :
ter, girl of about IL years, who had be zen
sleeping when he went to bed, In a room
on the first floor, adjoining the paror, hau
| vacated her room and that the window OF
her bed room WAS open.
The keyes of the various doors between
| the hall and the cell had been left, the
| evening before, in their usual place in a
| small locked closet, which had been opened
| and the keyes taken
AT the first it was reported that none of
| her cloths were missing except al old dress
| pair Of shoes and a small shawl, aud there
were some circumstances from which it
was charitabIy believed that she had been
| forced TO yield up the. keyes and been herself
spirited away. But on further investiga
| ton, it was found that one of her best
| hats was gone. 1t had been also found that
Thursday evening she purch ased, at one of
| the stores, small suit OF mems clothes, too
small for Wood, with blue Shirt saying
that her father was going to give the clothes
to boy who had worked Tor him, and that
tie shirt was for a prisoner. Tracks show
that she got out OF the bedroom window,
and woman's track beside mans track
pointed away from the Jail.
! The alarm was Immediately given by the
Sheriff. kilograms were sent out in all d.
rectons, and descriptive postal cards nail
ed by every morning train; in the latter,
the father describes the daughter as follows:
"My daughter is II years old, tall and
slim, dark hair and eyes, with 6ongs None
of her clothes are missing. but an old dress
and shoes she wore yesterday, and the ight
dress she had on last night
| Wood is handsome young fellow, the
beau ideal of the average stage-robbing
dime-novel hero, and be doubtless smote
| the pretty, romantic little girls heart a.
first sight. The Sheriff says his daughter
was never known to have had any commun-
|
Mr.. Conklin has not kept as good watch OF
his daughter as he has of his prisoners. 1t
| now turns out that decidedly armorous
messages passed between Wood and the
girl, the notes being hidden in the often
specially prepared food. Wood was gen
eral favorite and was apparently assisted in
his game by the other prisoners, who aow
assert that they have all along been cogni-
zant of the progress of events-and it is
limited that the girl had made arrangements
by which there should be general Jail de-
livery that night, it being only frustrated by
the Sheriff being awakened by the noise
kicked up on the escape of Wood and bis
| iadnordto.
1t seems that they left for the south,
along the Madison Portage Railway;
they were tracked along the road bed fol-
twelve miles, as far as the woods north OF
Arlington station, where the tracks led of
and were lost among the trees.
The excitement in Portage, when the
news FIRST bruited about, was intense.
There were talks of lynching, but there be.
ing no one who appeared to deserve such
fate, the notion was soon abandoned, though
the popular cry was for b-lud, on general
principles. Gangs of men went out on vol
unteer skirmishing expeditions, and by
noon at least fifty men had followed the
tracks down the railroad and were heating
the brush north of Arlington.
Sheriff Conklin and Mr.. A. Thompson
started in pursuit, first thing in the morn.
ing, down the Madison road.
A short distance this side of Arlington
they found where her hair bad BEEN cut and
burned, and they had breakfasted.
A little way further on, Mr.. Thompson
discovered two men trying to escape obser
vation in a small ravine. He started .
wards them, when they broke into % ,
but were soon overtaken and ordered {
throw up their hands at the point ae
volver.
Wood, who was at once recognized o
one OF them, said there was no use in that
as he was unarmed The other perso.
turned out to Miss Copklin, dressed in
suit of mans clothes which she had ppr
chased the night before, and had charged t
the county. When the officer ordered them
to stop or he would shoot, she said ''shoot.
They were brought to Portage with
team, and both placed in confinement
When locking Wood up, last night, tn
slamming of the door Jared out section o
the grating, which he had pulled out ant
placed back. A further examination brough
to light two case-knives made into files
some black paint, aud two skeleton keys
Wood has been in the habit of conversini
through the bars with persons outside, and
in this way formed the acquaintance Of Mis-
Conklin. Wood is q smoOth.sp0ken fellow
| and probably influenced her to aid him il
his escape and 60 with him. She appear
10 be Of rather romantic turn.