Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1886-07-29
OFFONASUMMERT0U
FHg THIRD JAZZ DELIVERY DURING THE
PRESENT YEAR.
Five Prisoners Saw OF the Heavy arscf . Window,
at High Noon, and Disappear With
out Attracting Attention.

an ltem-ratueI u mOnOVOhOuS SVNiJi "
true. as we have twice before in six months
had the same incident to relate-but still
the folks up at the Jail are doing the best
they can for us, and to find fault would be
~uncracious. At each of the two previous
iail deliveries since the advent of 1886 but
one prisoner escaped, Peter Heiser in Feb
ruary. and G. W. Campbell alias G. w.
Parker in April last. Yesterday, however,
the. monotony was broken, and five prison
ers took leave of the lodgings provided by
the county, and up to late hour this
morning nothing which would give rise to
a hope Of their speedy capture had been
heard.
The prisoners who escaped are:
John Mooney, aged about % years;
height about ) feet II inches; complexion
fair: hair dark; eyes black; weight lSO
pounds. Mooney stands charged with the
shooting of Town Sergeant Louis Hall, of
Wellsburg, in June last, an event which is
still fresh in the minds of our readers. He
was held at q preliminary hearing had in
Wellsburg a few days after the crime, and
was sent to the Wheeling Jail for safe keep
ing.
Next on the list is Thomas McAndrew5,
aged % years, complexion dark; hair
black; eyes black; weight about 100
hounds. McAndrews was arrested July
3. 1886, by Officer James Bell, for stealing
n watch from Peter Dolan, on Market
street, near PellOck's mill.
The third man is James Kearns, alias
Currans, aged 20 years; complexion hOrid;
hair red; eyes blue; height about ) feet 6
inches. He was arrested March III, 1856,
for robbing William Hazlett of nine dollars
in silver. Kearns was tried at the last
term of Court, but the jury disagreed,
standing ten for conviction and two for
acquittal.
The fourth man is Louis Tanner, aged
about % years; slender form; complexion
fair; hair dark; about 5 feet 8 inches high.
Tanner was arrested February ~, 1856,
at Parkersburg, by Chief of Police Smith,
charged with stealing n skif from MIR.
Neuhaus, of North Wheeling:
Last on the list comes loss tOtSbery,
aged about 81 yrars; dark cOmpleXioni
hair dark; height about 5 feet = inchesi
limps slightly on right leg. StOtsbery was
arrested December II, 1885, for stealing a
watch from William Speaker.
This quintette of worthless were assigned
quarters in the lower corridor of the jail,
StotsbeFy being utilized as turnkey. The
Corridors lighted principally by o window
=. II - ,-I nf fhn hntlHinn lnnEInu
out upon the Court House and Sheritfs
office. This window is guarded by two
sets of iron bars; one inch in diameter, one
series being near the outer edge Of the wall
and the other near the inner surface.
The bars are strengthened by cross braces,
and seem 10 be secure enough for all
practical purposes.
By some means the prisoners succeeded
in obtaining from outside friends a saw,
evidently made from II clock or watch
spring, and armed with this the jail birds
went to work on the bars Of the window.
As all of the work had 10 be done in day
light they ran great risk Of detection, but
they provided against this by hanging up
wet blankets to dry in the corridor, thus
obstructing the view from the interior OF
the Jail, and also by hanging articles OF
clothing out of the window to dry in the
sun, working beneath them without fear
of discovery. 1t is supposed several days
were occupied in the work Of saving the
bars, as eight cuts had to be made, but at
noon Yesterday everything was in readiness
for the attempt. Stotsbery, as turnkey,
pretended to lock up the prisoners at noon,
but in reality did not do so, and handed
the KEYS over to Jailer Nichols, who went
TO eat his dinner. When the jailer had left
the prisoners stretched a blanket across the
corridor to dry, and under cover of 1t saw
ed off the shreds of iron which held the
bars in place, and removed them, the re-
suit being a hole, 8x13 inches, in
both the outer and inner sets OF bars.
Through this the FIVE men rapidly passed
to the roof of an adjoining shed, dropped
from it over the wall into the yard Of Men
dies furniture factory, passed thence
across the yard of Mr.. ZOok, to Alley 8,
and thence made their way up Thirteenth
street to the base of the hill: MIR. ZOok
saws he saw two of the men pass through
his ward about q quarter after II O'Clock,
but paid no attention to them, thinking
they were pipe layers.
Tailor Nichols did not miss the prison
ers until about Q quarter after. one O'Clock,
when, entering the corridor TO open the
cells, he found the birds had flown. He
Mt once notified Sheriff Handlan, and that
official at once took energetic steps TO APP
prebend the criminals. A party consist
ING of JailOr Nichols, Squire Ankle, and
one or two cOnstables and Deputy Sherifls
made an extended search about the Eastern
edge of town, and ascertained that Ia Of
the men had gone through the tunnel dur
ing the afternoon, while two or three Others
had gone up over the bili back of Man
chester. Another was seen at the Il. 4 q.
depot later in the day, where he persuaded
a Young man to give him q hat for the cap
he wore.
The fact ofthe escape wa also reported
to police headquarters early in the after
noon, and instructions were sent ont to the
day force to keep a sharp lockout for the
men, the orders being repeated ut 6o'clock,
when the night force went on. Inthee evening
Sheriff Hanlan offered areward OfS25 each
for the capture Of the men, and later left
over the Pittsburg Division of the r. go.
with q force to prosecute the search east of
town.
The chief cause for this wholesale deliv-
cry seems to be the adherence to the plan
of allowing prisoners, often in for serious
Offenses, to act as turkeys at the Jail. In
abiding to the matter, Sheriff Han Han,
last evening, said he would put a sum
mary stop TO the plan at once, as he was
convinced the men could not be depended
upon. In this determination the public
will unanimously oncur
THE great Fries VS., Wheeling on New
Fair Grounds to-day. Admission % cents.
Fort Wayne Route to Chicago. Quick Time,
Train leaving Bridgeport at 1;50 p. m,
city time, arrives in Chicago the following
morning at $50. Connection made in the