The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1891-05-16
ALMOST SAWED OUT.
The Prisoners in the County Jail
Smell Freedom from Altar.
THE Willy SCHEME FRUSTRATED.
JailOr Wade Prevents an EScape OF
the Ten County Prisoners, In
Guiding u Murderer
and IL Rapist.

But for the presence of Tailor Dan Wade
in the hall OF the Jail building at the
breakfast hour Tuesday morning, u part
and may be all OF the ten white prisoners
confined in the two upper cells of the
county prison would have made a break
for liberty. A cOlOred petty offender,
serving n light sentence and known as a
"trusty," has been in the habit of unlock
ing and leaving open the OOr leading into
the upper corridor OF the Jail while he
carried the food for the prisoners, giving
it to them through the grated cell doors.
The ten men on the second floor occupied
the two cells, four on the north side and
six on the south. The men were kept in
the cells by the grated inner doors, the
solid irOn doors being left open on account
of light and air. In the north cell were
Jack Cummings, serving a twenty-eight
Higginsville; Wesley Davis, concerned in
n burglary at Dover; Chris Young, a con-
demned murderer, whose appeal is now
before the supreme court, and Thomas
Wier, held for trial on n charge of rape.
In the south cell were Charlie Gray and
Jack Davis, serving q fifteen days sentence
Tor peddling without a license, and since
AIKEN to Johnson county to answer for
the robbery OF john Murley's store at
MOntserrat; Jesse McCue, concerned with
Wesley Davis in the Dover robbery; Dorr
L~ethridge, for the same ~offense; Mike Nc
Carly, serving three months for burglary,
and Lorin Minnaugh, in for twenty-one
days for petty larceny.
Mr.. Wade says that he has been in the
habit of locking the men in the cells at
night, using only the grated inner door,
and that the ''trusty" hands them their
food between the bars. Feeling secure
with this door between his prisoners and
liberty, he has not always stood in the
hall while they were being fed, but Tues
day morning he remained there in sight.
When the colored man took the pans To
the cells he noticed something wrong with
one of the doors and called Mr.. Wade's
attention. The jailor stepped inside and
soon found hat the COR to the south cell
was open, the prisoners having sawed
away a part of the strip of iron into q slot
in which the bolt of the lock shoots. The
piece had fallen to the floor, and all that
the men had to do would be to push and
they were in the corridor.
The lock in the door of the north cell
had been treated in the same way, but the
bolt had caught against n projecting stone
in the wall, and the men were held safely.
AS soon as he saw what had been done
Mr.. Wade at once closed and locked the
outer solid iron doors, leaving the prison
ers only h small grated window looking
into the corridor.
room, which connects with the hall OF
which the Jail corridor Is n grated part, Oh
Mt the foot OF the stairs in the yard. lie
Is seldom twenty feet away while the
prisoners are being fed.
An INTELLIGENCER reporter had a short
talk with one of the prisoners, and asked
as to how the iron had been sawed, out o.
course could get no satisfaction. The
work was neatly done, and was no doubt
instigated and perhaps carried out by
Davis and Gray, the Montserrat burglars
who are professionals.
1t was q bold attempt at Jail delivery
frustrated by an officers commendable
attention to the duties OF his Office.
ANOTHER SCHEME.
Later in the day Mr.. Wade made an
other discovery, which, taken in connec-
ton with the sawed lock, makes a pretty
clear case of attempted escape. One of the
large stones used in the construction Of
the east wall Of the Jail building, 1hx2k
feet, had been worked loose by digging
rounding stones. These revices had been
skillfully filled up with pieces of paper
bits of rag and the dried mortar, so that de
lection in the dark cell was almost impOs.
sible. There seems to be no doubt that ont
side aid has been furnished the prisoners
rs there are marks OF some sort of an iron
tool on the outside OF the lOosened stone
and Il thin flake had been freshly broker
off.
Constable Young and Tailor Wade set u
work to find out about The scheme, ant
succeeded in getting the story from one o
the prisoners. 1t was the plan to have
escaped Tuesday night, but Mr.. Wade,
discovery OF the sawed door early in tn,
day baked h gang. They were TO have
opened both cell doors, all the prisoner.
going into the south cell. Then the large
stone, previously loosened would be taker
inside with the aid OF q shovel handle uset
AZ q pinch bar II kept hidden In the stove
fiue, thus making a hole through which
the ten could have crawled, One at n time
The drop to the ground was a small mat
ter. Two or three things besides Wade,
discovery upset these plans. The %juttine
stone in front OF the north cell doc hello
that door from coming open, N theil
working with the lock no d~isarranged it,
internal machinery that the %iailor's key.
refused to shoot the bolt back in the morn
ing, thus acquainting him with the fac
that the lock had been tempered with.
MIR. Wade, before the discovery of tn,
lOosened stone in the wall, was of tn,
opinion that the men intended to rusl
past him, but now he has changed to TIN
other idea. He is somewhat astonishel
too, as he had always believed that tn,
tones in the wall of the building wer,
bolted together.
Constable Young slept in the building
Tuesday night, and steel wedges wer
driven in the wall, so that there was M
attempt at escape,