Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-11-28
LOCAL INTELLIGENCE.
BOLD JAIL BREAKER.

LUUAL lNlELLlGENUEL
BOLD JAIL BREAKER.
FRANKFORD SHOT IN Tnx CHEEK.
The Wonderful Story OF a Wonderful At
tempt to Escape from Jail.
Early this morning John Frankford. the
notorious horse thief, confined in the
county prison, attempted to make his
escape, and he was SO far successful that
he would probably have been free man
now had he not been discovered when he
was on the wall and promptly shot by
Capt. j. z. Weise, the prison keeper. 1t
was ono Of the best planned attempts to
break Jail that has ever been known here,
and the amount Of work done by the pris
oner was simply wonderful. Such ingenuity
and courage displayed in q good cause
would be worthy Of high commendation.
About ten minutes before two o'clock
this morning, Night Watchman Reed was
walking around the north side of the
prison when he heard noise which
sounded rs though some one was working
at the wall. ue thought they were dig
ging from the outside. and at once went
and alarmed Capt. Weise, who, with his
son Charlie, arose. They went down the
lot into Franklin street and thence into
Orange. They made thorough examina-
tiOn of the wall, but saw nothing wrong.
Mr.. Weise stationed Charlie at the corner
Of the garden, telling him to shoot if any
one attempted to get away, and he him
self went into the stable yard. Nothing
was found to be wrong as yet, aud q Ian
tern was procured and another look was
takeE at the wall. The place where the
noise was heard was where the
air ilue runs from the prison
cellar to the outside wall and where
there is a sort of chimney
on the inside leading from the fue under
the ground to the top of the wall. Mr..
Weise sent his son down to Mr.. Fred.
Brooks house, near by, and he and Mr..
Reed stationed themselves at the above
point. They were there but short time
when the head of a man appeared at the
top of the wall, he having crawled up the
chimney. When the head was first seen,
on account of the shadows of several
lights, it looked as though there were
several men. Mr.. Weise was standing
in Orange street, armed with q breech-
loading gun, and just as the man came up
he fired, being afraid that there were ::
number of them. As soon as the weapon
wa discharged the man, who was then
found to bs John FrankfOrd, cried out,
e My God, Jack, you've shot me-" Mr..
'Weisc told him that he could not help
that it was his duty to keep him there q
prisoner, and he intended to do it as long
as Ec could. FrankfOrd then asked what
tho gun was loaded with and he
kr>I1 / 49,. IL cl~- l.
said that his face had been badly torn. A
ladder WAS at once procured and tho man
was taken down and removed to his cell,
who came in q short time. 1t found that
eight or ten shot had struck him in differ
ent parts of the face and forehead, one of
them entering near the eye. Several
grains were taken out, but some still re.
main. The wounds although quite pain
full arc not at all serious.
After tho escape of the man had been
prevented an examination of the prison
was made to ascertain how he made his
escape from his cell. FrankfOrd was put
into the Jail in September, 1877, aid as he
was known to be desperate character and
had several times attempted to escape, aud
his sentence for nineteen years was dis
posed to make him desperate a cell was
made especially for him. 1t is No. 8 on
the west side of tho lower tier. This cell
is iron clad, the iron being chilled, making
it impossible for anyone to cut through it.
Tie iron plates are fastened with bolts,
which have round heads. Frankford, by
means Of some instrument, fled little
inches across the heads Of several of these
bolts, in order that q screw driver, or like
instrument, could be inserted in them,
when they could be turned. After doing
this he in some way procured screw
driver, or heavy instrument which he
could use for that purpose, and took out
several of the bolts in the eastern end of
the cell. 1t was then an easy matter for
him to remove the plates and by diggin
away the bricks to mako his way into the
cellar. At the northern end of the cellar
is the air ilue. 1t runs under the ground
from the cellar to the chimney Oil the out.
side through an arch. This flue is under
the cellar floor from which trap door
leads to it. Across the entrance to this
fue from the cellar there is q heavy door
DR. gate Of iron rods, which was built into
! heavy stone wall. After going through
the trap door of the cellar floor Frankfort
made his way to this arch door. He there
began operations by tearing away the vail
Will d AC.sy poACi, luu plAlile, Iuc olOucS
on either side Of him. Ho worked there
Cor several hours, aud the noise made by
this handling Of the stones was what at
tracted Waterman Reeds attention.
After tearing away the wall until he
reached tho bottom Of this gate, the pris-
oher dug enough earth away to allow him
to pass his body through. He then
crawled under the arch to the chimney,
across which about five feet from the top
are iron rods which, arc close together and
crossed. Owing to the effects Of the
weather Oh the stone wall these rods have
become loose and it was an easy matter
for Frankford to remove enough Of them
to pass through. He then got up on tic
rods and there he was standing when he
was discovered and shot. He had done
his work we'll and had tried hard to gain
his liberty. only to find that he had again
been fOiled.
Besides the wounds made BY the shot in
FrankfOrd's s face his arms are covered with
ugly cuts and bruises, made while he was
doing his work without the aid Of candle
or any tools except those which he picked
up by chance.
Upon being interviewed this morning by
al lNTELiIGENCER representative, the
prisoner stated that for i long time he has
been 1t work filing the notches on the
bolts IN order to remove them. He says
that he left his cell about 0 o'clock last
night and after getting to the cellar spent
tho rest of the time at WORK at the stonc