The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1879-05-22
THE LATESr
) he ElOpement Of Sheriff COnk-
Inns Pretty Daughter with
Her Fathers / risOner-
The Recapture in
Male Attire.

Portage (Wis.) special Saturday.
The excitement here this morning is
| great on account eff the elopement of
Sheriff Conklin's second daughter, aged
IL years, with John Wood, confined on
a charge of burglarizing the Chicago,
Milwaukee 4 st. Paul ticket office at
Kilbourn, Wisconsin, last January. She
took the keys from the closet in which
they are always kept and passed through
four doors to a ce o ;cupied by another
prisoner, and raised a large bar which
passes the entire length of the tier of
cells in which Wood was confined.
About II o'clock the sheriff discovered
their flight. He Immediately tele-
graphcd to all stations along the rail
real, and had postal cards printed,
which he sent in all directions, as fol-
lows:
n HUNDRED DOLLARS REWARD.
The above reward will be paid for the
arrest OF John Wood, who broke jail
last night at Portage, Wisconsin. My
daughter is missing, and all circumstan-
ces seem to indicate that she has been
lOiClDiS dDuuCtCu. w OOu Is tNCIll, .JlA
years of age, five feet ten inches in
height, light complexion, dark hair,
shingled, smooth face, and wore a black
coat, checked and striped cotton pants
and new shoes laced in front. My
daughter is seventeen years old. tall and
slim, dark al a d eyes, miM bangs.
None OF her clothes are missing, but an
old dress and shoes she wore yesterday
and the night-dress she had on last
night. JONAS CONKLIN,
Sheriff of Columbia county, Wis.
PORTAGE, May >, 1879.
1t seems that the prisoner had been
in the habit of conversing through his
barred window with persons outside.
and had thus formed the acquaintance
Of the sheriff daughter. He is a
sleek, oily fellow, and she an inexperi-
enced girl, with enough romance i'm her
composition to be easily influenced bv
him. On further examination this
morning it was discovered that the
statement in the card in regard to her
clothing was erroneous, us she had Ia
ken one of her best dresses. her best
shoes and her best hat. She had also
purchased a suit of male clothing and a
blue flannel skirt at a store in this city.
and had them charged to the county.
stating that they were for a prisoner.
These also were gone. A trace of the
fugitives was discovered by one of the
shoes she Wore lit being run over at the
heel leading from the Jail to the rail |
road track. Mr.. Thompson took up
the trail, followed itinerary to Arlington.
Wisconsin,, a small station on the Niadi-
son x Portage Railroad. where he fond
where they had cut off her hair and
burned II. Looking up a small rayine
he discovered two males. as he sunnos-
ed, trying hard to escape observation.
Starting toward them they broke into a
run. hotiy pursued by Mr.. THOMPSON
and the team, which by tbs time had
arrived on the scene. After a short
chase they We're brought up at the
point of a revolver in the hands Of Nr
Wells, who ordered them to throw nm
their hands. Wood replied thai there
was no need of his doing SO. as he had
no arms. Ellen Conklin very cooIlv
ola HIM to shoot. Size was dressed in
the suit of male attire obtained hero
and. with her short hair, made a very
hne-looking boy. Both were immed;.
ately brought back and confined in i,ii
the sheriff lock n up his dan rbtar ~
well as Wood. Once befo,e WOOL
made an attempt to escape by ,ss,nltina
the turnkey with a cold-chisel wh:ah ~