The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-09-28
THE PRISON PLOT.
Sullivan of jacksonville Lodged at
the Central Station.
He Refuses to Talk About the Revolvers He L
Charged With Having Struggled Into
San Quentin Jail.

S. w. Sullivan, the man suspected Of fur
nishing the revolvers and ammunition to
the seven convicts In San Quentin Prison,
was lodged In the Central Police Station last
night. He was brought to this city from
Salinas yesterday, in the Jail of which place
he spent the night before. The prisoner
was in the custody of Captain Berth of the
prison guard, and to-day he will! be taken to
San Quentin for trial.
Sulivan's home is at jacksonville, where
he lives with his wife and mother. He
works in a sugar factory at that place. lie
is brother of C. c. Sullivan, one of the
conspirators, who is serving ffty-year
sentence at San Quentin for murder since
June II, 1882.
SULLIVAN SILENT.
Sullivan was seen at the City Prison by a
CALL reporter last night, but he refused
absolutely to say anything. He had been
advised not to talk about the case aud lie
kept o close mouth, refusing to answer any
questions whatever
1t Is an interesting story how Sullivan
came.to be arrested. About three weeks ago
the seven conspiTatOrs, Sullivan, 1urcOti,
Delaney, Ross, Manning, Hanlon and
Dorsey we're first put into solitary confiue-
ment on charges of conspiring to escape.
The matter was first reported to the prison
authorities by q convict named Welles, n
"trusty" employed at DR.. Mansfeld's (the
prison surge0n) house, outside the yard.
The conspirRtorS made tool OF this fellow,
who Is rather weak minded and through
him established a communicat with S. w.
Sullivan, the convict's brother. The latter
arranged to Welles at DIR. Man eid' S
house and there gave him the pistols, five
in number. at different times and also the
ammunition.
sAiUGGLED IN MILK.
The arms and cartridges were wrapped in
rubber cases and were struggled into the
prison by Welle1 in buckets of milk, and
once inside we've turned over to Turcott,
who, with Manning, were the only ones OF
the seven conspirhtors who knew the hiding
place of the weapons. This was cleverly
selected place, prepared by Turc0It himself,
under the floor of the carpenter-shOp, TO
reach which the convict had tU crawl snake
like for fifty feet on his belly, and so narrow
was The aperture that he could not turn
around In it, and had to crawl out feet first.
After the weapons and cartridges had all
been received and hidden away, and the
time WAS about ripe for the c0nvicts to
make their desperate break for liberty,
Welles suddenly weakened and told his
share in the conspiracy 10 Warden Hale
One of the guards was detailed In convlcts
garb TO watch the consplrators, and from
remark he overheard one day concluded
that their time fol action was about ripe.
The arrest and incarceration of the seven
men implicated followed, but as Welles did
not know where the weapons had been con-
cealed. he could tell nothing except that he
had brought them into the prison and that
they had been handed to him by convict
Sullivan's brother.
KEPT UNDER WATCH.
The latter was watched at his home at
Wotaonyilla from that fnV until the night
of his arrest but he did not suspect it. His
arrest would have been made sooner, but
the officers at the prison were waiting to
first discover the weapons so as to have
convincing proof Of his completely. They
also feared that news OF a premature arrest
might reach the seven consplrators, ana thus
Illustrate the confession, which was made
Saturday by Turcott, upon agreement by
the other side.
So skiIlfully had the weapons and ammu-
milton been concealed under the carpenter
shon floor ingreS5 to which was obtained
by removing the bottom of oath-tub, that
they would never have been discovered had
the confession been withheld.
As the prison authorities have what they
consider absolute proof against Sullivan as
having furnished the weapons and been In
strumental in smuggling them into the
prison, they rely strongly upon conyic-
ton.
FACE TO FACE.
The prisoner will be taken to San Quentin
to-day and confronted not only with the
five reyolvers and the packages Of ammuni-
ton, but he will also have to face Convict
Welles, who has already identified him as
being the man who handed him the
weapons.
Welles is young fellow. doing three
years for stealing letter from the Post
Office at Santa Rosa, and has not much
longer to serve. In such danger do the
nrisop ofinisls nnnsidar his life from IN a hf
the seven conspiratOrs that the young con-
Wet is now allowed TO sleep outside the
prison walls.
He will probably receive pardon, as there
is no doubt that his treHchery to his fellow
convicts prevented not only q wholesale
jai-bTeaking, but possibly also prevented
great loss Of life. The seven men, all of
them serving sentences almost equivalent to
lite i'm imprisonment, would have made des-
perate and bloody fight for freedom, stop
ping at nothing, and well armed as they
were would have succeeded, even though q
| dozen guards had been killed.