Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1890-08-14
CONVICTS REBEL
A Desperate Fight in the
CharlestoWn (Mass.) Prison.
The Rioters Surprised and Sub
dued by the Police.

"A most determined attempt was made
during the afternoon by the conviets Of the
Massachusetts State Prison at Charlestown
to fire the institution and escape, and but for
the frmness of Warden Russell and the
promptnessof the Boston policeit would have
succeeded. As it was pandemonium reigned
within the prison for a half hour and the
entire city was startled by seeing the patrol
wagons, fille1 the bluecoatS, rushing over the
bridges to Charlestown. Three weeks ago
Sunday. when the w arden read to the men
the act of the last Legislature compelling
them to submit to the Bertillon system of
measuring and photographing, dozen or
more jumped to their feet In chapel and detied
him to carry out the Law. Since that time
the worst characters among the six hundred
convicts have been making trouble. Never
theless the Warden and his officers have
gone on with their measuring and photo
graphing, and now it is all done but the
Warden and his men have been on the qui
vive for an outbreak. At quarter to 9 in
the afternoon it came.
The harness shop was the scene of the dis
turbance. In this shop 125 men were at
work. among them the half-dozen despera-
does known to the Boston police as the Alba
ny street gang. These rufians simultaneously
setup yell and at the same time began
U4CChtAAS bLc AAlbcl1Of VI b41t DuAllkuR. HuIllLE
their tools through the windows, smashing
machinery, etc, all with the hope Of melting
their comrades in the other departments to
join them in the greatest revolt the prison
ever knew.
EmisSaries ran TO tine Other elHnpSspreadinr
the spirit of rebellion and winning recruits,
and meantime the ringleaders started q fire
in their shop, Their object in this was, it
is evident, to cause the opening Of the
gates to admit the city fire department and
thus to gain an avenue Of escape. In less
time almost than it takes TO tell it 100 des-
ir'>'-~.a prisoners hOwling and brandishing
improvised weapons vi 1z-..szazt, zsa-a i.
the yard, dashing wildly for the gates. A
large express wagon which was standing in
toward the wall by the mob of infuriated
conyicts. In the excitement it was cap
sized in the pond in the yard.
This means of assistance to scale the wall
being gone dash was made by the entire
crowd for the various walls In the frantic
melee which ensued three shots were fired by
one Of the convicts.
At this moment Captain Gaskins and
forty-five sturdy policemen arrived. The
appearance of this body OF police took the
convicts entirely by surprise. They had
expected a call upon the police, but
were totally unprepared for such an
onslaught. Armed with clubs and
pistols the police double Guicked down the
yard. Resistance in the face Of such odds was
not attempted by the rioters, and the re-
volt was over. The patrol wagons from six
police stations rolled up in rapid succession,
each bringing a sergeant and ten men, SO that
within three-quarters of an hour from the
outbreak hundred armed men had rein.
forced the prison garrison. The mob
was surrounded and then man BY
man, they were searched, marched OF
to their cells and locked up Later
ffty-eight of them were sent down to the
dungeons, where with twenty who had gone
there before the revolt they viii subsist for
the next five days on bread and water. The
others will have to continue as they are for
the dungeons are all filed
Warden Russell feels proud Of bis success,
and says the moral effect upon the prisoners
Of so sudden an invasion of a large body ot
police has been marvellous. He anticipated
no further trouble