Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1891-11-03
A DESPERATE BREAK.
The Notorious Lee White and Two Life
Oonvicts Make Good Their Es-
cape at the Pen.
The Guards Paralyzed by Convicts with
Wooden Pistols--James Gould Shot
and Recaptured-the Board
I'm Session.
RESIGNATION OF SUPT. CHAVEs.

Four convicts made break for liberty
at the penitentiary about o'clock yester-
day afternoon. Three of them, including
the notorious young desperate, Lee White,
made good their escape. Convict James
Gould was shot in the arm just outside of
the yard and recapuured,
HOW IT HAPPENED.
The board Of penitentary commission
ers, Messrs. Dwyer, Branch, Laughlin,
DeMier and Pine, were in session at the
pententiary at the time and were eye
witnesses of the episode. The commits
sioners had sent word to p. j. Barber,
SUPERINTENDENT of work yard, to ORDER the
convicts to the cell house and send the
guards to them in the office, the object
being to examine several OF the new
guards before confirming their appoint
ment by the superintendent. Officer
Barber proceeded to the northeastern
quarter of the yard to direct the drivers
at the mud mills to unhitch their mules.
In the southern portion of the yard, and
sheltered by kiln Of brick, stood two OF
Z. N. Reaser's teams. One of the drivers
was OH top of the kiln dropping brick to
the other driver who loaded them on the
wagons, In an instant Lee White and
Gould came around the brick kiln fol-
low ed by two other convicts, and the two
former brandished what appeared to be
revolvers, saying to the teamsters that
they
WOULD KILL THEM
if they uttered a word or made sign.
The breast straps and tugs on the four
horses were cut in a ilfy, and the convicts
sprang astrlde of the harnessed horses
and made dash for the west gate, over
200 Yards distant, White and Gould still
branishing their imitation revolvers and
threatening to shoot the first guard that
raised his hand. Officer Barber saw the
conyicts a few seconds after they were
mounted and ran diagonally across the
yard toward the gate yelling to the guards,
who were very near at hand, to shoot,
but his command was unheeded. The
sight of what appeared to be weapons in
the hands of White and Gould seemed to
paralyze the guards. Immediately the
greatest confusion reigned. The four es-
Gaping convicts dashed through the gate,
directly past the guard boxes. They
passed
WITHIN TWENTY STEPS OF THE GUARDS
in the elevated boxes, Nos. l, 2 and
and were within easy gun shot range also
of box No. 5. The guard stations were
occupied respectfully by Leandro Rivera,
Isidero Torres, Clemente Ortiz and Toribio
Torres. The captain of the day guard,
Teofilo Chaves, was in box No. l, talking
to Rivera at the time, and the big sorrel
horse, belonging to the penitentiary,
stood near the gate, saddled and bridled.
After the convicts had passed these
guard stations and gone through the gate,
turning their horses toward the south,
Leandro Rivera sufficiently recovered his
wits to begin firing and Gould, who was
on an old black horse, received buck
shot in his right elbow which disabled the
member, and,
HIS HORSE STUMBLING,
and falling, he was recaptured. By this
time the captain of the guard, Teoflo