Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1884-01-24
Mutiny in the County Jail.
JaiIer Colby "Bucked and Gagged
and Roughly Handled.
Daring Attempt Made by the Prison
ers to Escape.

On Tuesday evening, great excite
ment was occasiOned by the sixteen pris
oners in the county Jail making pre-
concerted aud daring effort to escape.
Jailer W. ). Colby had taken in their
suppers, and was taking in some water
for them to drink. As customary, the
prisoners were let ont into the hall of
the Jail to eat, when John O'Grady, the
ex-Pittsburgh prize fighter, sent up from
Bridgeport last week for resisting an
officer, grabbed and struck Mr.. Colby,
and, although taken unawares. Colby
was getting the better of the pugilist,
when he called for help, and Bob. Mason,
the Jacobsburg counterfeiter. and Ham.
Jackson, also of Jacobsburg, charged
with arson. and the big, double-breasted
colored bigamist, Pete Dade, came to
the assistance of O'Grady, and they soon
had Colby senseless. A gag made from
portion of broom handle, which they
had in readiness, was tied in his mouth,
his hands and feet tied with ropes taken
from mop, and towel tied so tightly
around his neck, that he must have
choked to death, had he not been res
cued as soon as he was. The prisoners
had in the meantime poSS ssed them
selves of the different keys in the Jail
ors pockets, and getting on top the cells,
broke pane of glass from the skylight
and were iOcking out on the roof. The
cries of small boy from Barnesville,
who is candidate for the Reform Farm,
had attracted attention on the outside,
and J. p. Hall who was at the sheriff s
house, notified Deputy Sheriff Frank
Sedwick, who WAS i'll the office next to
the court house, who Immediately ran
over to the Jail and commenced shooting
at whoever made an appearance on the
roof. BY this time, a large crowd of Cit
iZens had also collected, those who were
armed shooting at whatever appeared to
look like man on the roof, and the
prisoners soon come to the conclusion
they were safer in the Jail, and got back
about as fast as they had gone out,
John OGrady falling from the roof of
the upper tier of cells into the area way
below.
AS soon as possible after the alarm,
the outside door of the Jail, which Colby
had bolted when he went in, was forced
open, and Colby carried out more dead
than alive. Drs. John and Sam. West
were quickly summoned and soon found
that, t,although badly stunhed and bruised,
he was in no way seriously injured.
An examination of the Jail Wednes
day morning showed that the prisoners
had been contemplating the escape for
some time, and that they had armed
themselves for any emergency, having
broken one of the iron bed cots into
pieces, which furnished them with terri
ble weapons. How they succeeded in
breaking the heavy iron bed is of course
not known, and possibly will not be.
Noses were counted, and all the pris-
oners having been found to be safely
housed again, the excitement died down,
but some of the prisoners, who were not
,ip for Penitentlary offenses, will lod
themselves in Columbus for the nights
work
It's said that one of the prisoners had
left note in the hall, warning Colby
that the attempt WAS to be made, but he
did not get it.