Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1883-02-24

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Jefferson City, No.. Dtspasch 70 the Press.
The coovicts in tho state psnitentiary
at this place have long complained Of the
terrible treatment to which they have
been subjected. and tho revolt among
them, which occurred at noon, Friday,
was not unexpected. The convicts had
just marched back from dinner in the
different shops, and were seeking their
various benches, when in recognition OF
some preconcerted signal, eight men EN-.
ployed in the harness shop Of Jacob Strauss
& Co., of st. Louis, led by John B. John
son. a safe blower, seized formidable
leather cutting knives, and the revolt was
opened.
Four of the men took hold of the fore.
man of the harness shop and stripped him
of his clothing. The other four ran to
the floor below and seized Van Horn, the
foreman of the collar department, and
with knives at his throat ordered him not
to resist. Then johnson ran back into
the collar-stufing department and fired
lot of loose straw. This Gone, and salts
fed that the flames would spread, the
desperate man rushed out of the building
and ran to the saddletree faetory of John
C,,I1; NIT ho :,,ta oft
revolt there.
At the main entrance to tho shop he met
Pat Krump, one of the guards, who, seeing
him with knife and a club in his hand,
warned him Oft. At that moment tn
flames burst from the windows of the
Strauss factory and Krump saw that
trouble was ahead. He was not armed.
Krump. however, made an effort and
yelled to johnson.
Confronting n Guard.
"Ono step more, and you are dead
man"'
The desperate turned and ran toward
the northeast corner of the grounds with
the intention of scaling the walls. On
his way, he ran against Jesse Tolin, the
"dresser in" of the prison. johnson
paused, and stood defiant with his knife
and bludgeon, threatening to brain Tolin
if the latter got near enough. TOlin is a
small man, while the convict is giant in
build aud strength, but the plucky guard
walked up to the convict and, placing the
| muzzle of a cooked revolver against his
ear, ordered him to walk to tho blind cell.
The convict lost his presence of mind and
obeyed.
In the meanwhile tho flames were max
ing rapid headway through the harness
shop. So quick did the fire burn that
those in the upper stories were compelled
to leave the building by tho windows.
Fifty escaped in this way and four were
badly scorched in getting out. At the
first alarm of fire the deputy warden
manned the prison hose. The efforts to
carry it into the burning building was met
with desperate resistance. With their
knives the trenzied convicts cut the hose in
dozen places. This gave the fire a
chance to take good hold, but the victory
of the convicts was only temporary one.
Kallying In Force.
| The guards rallied in force and showed
their revolvers and Winchester rifles.
The promptest efforts were made to cap
ture and confne in the blind cells JOhnson's
companions. One Of them was Jerome S.
johnson, doing 25 years Tor murder in the
second degree, from Clay county, and
another Perry Martin, of the stage robbers,
who last sammer terrorized Southwest
Missouri and held up several stages be-
tween Seligman and the Eureka Springs,
Arkansas. Williams, of Kansas City, who
inaugurated revolt in the Ramsay City
Jail last spring, was another of the PAL ty.
While the guards vera attending to the
discipline the alarm was blown, and the
great bell changed out the warning that
mutiny was in the prison. Adjutant
General Waddell came to the front in good
style. The armory was emptied, by his
order of its guns, which, with the boxes
of cartridges, were loaded in wagons and
forwarded to the scene in short order.
In less than ten minutes lines were
formed surrounding the prison walls, and
dignified senators, good-natured colored
men, capitalists, bankers, merchants and
wood sawyers stood shoulder to shoulder,
prepared to vindicate the majesty of the
law. The walls were covered by armed
men, and from the roofs of the prison
building guns frowned in the most war
like and threatening manner.
From Strauss s. Co. IS factory the flames
communicated rapidly to the machine
shop, and the factory where the cloth
| WOIA Wy lAC COhSACIo Id AduCs 1uOu Gu6
broom factory went the way of tho flames
and the next building occupied jointly by
the Geiseke shoe manufactory company
and the Meysenburg shoe company was
consumed.
/ The States Heavy Loss.
This adjoins one of the main cell houses
and it was threatened for an hour A sin
gle wall stood between the burning build
ing and the hospital. The guard house
overlooking the hospital court was burned
completely. The loss to the state on the
three buildings consumed and the three
more damaged, including machinery in
factories, amounts to fully $500, 600. There
is no insurance. The private losses are as
follows Standard Shoe Company, Mey-
senburg & Co., loss $50, 900, fully covered
by insurance Geseke & Co., shoe shop,
loss $40, 600, also fully covered; Strauss s.
Co., harness and collar shops, loss $685.
600. insurance $40, 600 !; Excelsior factory,
loss $50, 600, half insured. The new cell
building is damaged to the extent of about
$500. 900. The hospital building is dam
aged slightly.
After the fire was under control and the
building safe the convicts were taken back
to their cells. johnson the ringleader of
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