Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1883-07-12

Iio,o Three Dcspcraiots EScIDtd From tie
WtSt,hester JaR
New YORK, June 20.-A dispatch
received here to-day from Westchester,
Pa, says The escape of John Frank
ford, better known rs Franktord Joe,
with Clarence A. Dunn and j. Lewis
Robson, three desperate horse thieves,
was n remarkable exploit in its way.
Frankford is forty.seven years old and
has served several terms in prison. y
short time ago he was arrested in
Chester county for horse stealing and
was taken to prison Lancaster county
wanted him, but the Chester county
officials promised the State authorities
they would hold on to Frankford Joe
and produce him for trial. Franktord
was accordingly placed in the iron
apartment of the We>tchcstcr Jail, the
strong cell which Uddcrsook occupied
before he was hanged. The cell Is
completely lined with boiIcr.pla,c iron
4 half inch thick,
al YOU get on, OF here, Franktori,
said IN office, YOU can g.' ont Of any
iron cell in the world" Fraukiord
smiled and said he wouldn't be in a
hurry. 1t did not take long for him
to discover that in the adjoining cell,
which was also completely lined with
plate iron. was another horse thief, j.
Lewis Robson by name, aged thirty
two, of Honey Brook township, sen.
fenced for three years. Eraukior ut
once planned for his escape, and Robi.
son agreed to join him, but the job ap-
peared to be a hopeless one. Frank.
ford procured two old knives and
fitted them rudely into large handles
wrapped in rags He transformed
these knives into saws. On one iron
plate were nine heavy bolts that ta-tcn.
ed the plate in Frankiord's cell, aud
then extended through a twcntv.inch
stone wall and fastened a plate in
Robison's cell These bolts were fast
ened by heavy hammered heads, and
were almost flush with the plates The
plates were whitewashcd. Frankforl
with his rude tool, sawed the bolt
heads, and Robson pulled the bolts
out from his cell. This work was slow
and Franktord made wooden imitation
bolt-hcads, whitcued them and deceived
the jailer, When the iron plates were
removed in both cell, the twcuty,inch
wall was tunnclcd. aud Frauktord was
able to get into Robisou's cell. Dur.
ing the day they could put up the
plates SO suugly as 20 deceive the most
experienced eve. The stones Of course
were nicely laid in. and th, mortar
aud sand concealed in their mattresses.
The two prisoners at night then work.
ed their way through the iron ceiling
Of Robson. cell up into the upper
tier cell occupied by Clarence 4.
Dunn, another horse thief, under sen
tence. This very difficult task was
safely performed, whercupon the three
cut their way into the attic. thence
through the root, then lowered them.
selves to the ground by blanket ropes
and escaped.
To reach the roof thoy had TO saw
through a -ix.iuch i1i.t twice. All
this work had to be performed in
silence, and in the dead Of night. with
but two old knives and the iron bolts
they pulled out Of the wall hv which
the plates were fastened. Before going
the desperate men with false KEYS IN.
locked n side door at the Jail and
liberated thirteen prisoners in Jail for
various petty crimes. The night watch.
man at the jaiI SAYS he visited the
cells occupied by Franktord and Robi.
son thirteen times between $50 o clock
pm. and 1870 o'clock yesterday morn.
ing, the hours between which they
escaped. \ reward Of 5000 aroused
the neighborhood, and the fugitive-
were chased in the barren, Of WIllst0n
township, where Robson struck out
for himself Frankfurd and Dunn re.
mained together. Late last night they
We're run down, chased into a creek
and captured by citizens at the point
Of the pistol. They are now back
again in Jail.
Frankford takes his recapturc very
coolIy, and says that he showed what
he could do. lie il, however, terribly
downcast at times to think that after
all his labor he was so quickly recap
tured. He was serving n nineteen
years sentence in Lancaster when he
escaped there. While he was crawl
ing from a chimney top, after he had
worked his way ont of his iron cell
the guard shot him in the eye, but be
escaped nevertheless. lie will soon
be tried for horse-stealing.
PLAIN Tall f-or, VoorLoo.