Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1891-11-07
500 ooNvICTs RELEASED
At Brjceville, Coal Creek and Oliver
Springs, and the Stockades
Burned.

Burned.
On Friday night of last week
large mob of free mines released 800
convicts from the branch prisons at
Briceville and Coal Creek, in Ander-
son county, East Tennessee, and
burned the stockades. A Knoxville
special to Sundays American gives
the following details of the affair:
A reporter has just returned from
Briceville and Coal Creek. He found
everything quiet, but groups of men
could be seen everywhere discussing
the event of Friday night. The
Bricevile stockade, with the excep-
ton of the north wall and rifle pit,
was burned. Ten eight-room houses
and large dining hall inside of the
enclosure went in the general confia-
grafton.
At the lower end OF the Coal Creek
stockade the Office building was
burned and the guard "shacks"
demolished. The interior of the con-
victs' dining-hall, sleeping~room,
hospital, ward and kitchen were
filled with broken furniture, shat
tered glass and queensware. The
store of Warden Jack Chumley at
this point was rifled and about 81 500
worth of goods taken and destroyed.
The citizens in Briceville began to
hear squads Of men passing through
the place on their way to the stock
AIDES between and o'clock Friday
night. This was kept up for nearly
an hour. 1t was about $50 when
200 men descended Walden's Ridge,
approached the stockade from the
east. They called upon Warden
Cross to deliver them the keys of the
prison.
| While this was going on the maga-
zine was blown up and the stockade
surrounded by $500 men. Cross
gave up the keys and when the AL
c0nvicts were released they assisted
in burning and destroying the pro-
perty.
The attacking party then moved
on the Chumley or Coal Creek stock
ade, and halt was made near there.
Twenty-Five men were sent forward
to demand the surrender of the con-
victs. The men kept up continuous
volleys from their Winchesters.
Only one guard was on duty, and he
lost no time in obeying. The con-
victs were told to go, and many OF
them, as at Briceville, were given
citizens clothes. When the convicts
were liberated they plundered
Chumley's store and destroyed the
stockade furniture. The Office build
ing was set on fire by the overturning
OF a stove.
The mob then descended to the
valley, where they set off several
dynamite bombs and fired small
cannon they had with them. The
. racket occasioned by these discharges
together with the explosion of the
t ammunition stored at the Briceville
, stockade, which the fire touched off
1 created the impression among non
e participants that small war was il
f progress. This, however, was moi
the case, as there was not single
;, shot fred at any man or any persona
: violence.
t The woods and fields and railroad
C tracks around the stockades were
e generously strewn with the striped
y suits of the released convicts. Con
: victs in gangs of tens and twentie
i were yesterday wandering all owe
p the surrounding country. One con
e Wet arrived at a small settlement
n near Coal Creek to-day who was still
in his stripes and he was quickl,
= sent on his way rejoicing. Severa
If gangs were seen at various point
= along the Knoxville d Ohio yester
y day.
e Whenever they asked for help
If was freely given them by the ma
e tives. A citizen Of Coal Creek point
e ed out group of men to the reporter
remark n: "Those men are not q
], this pl &C." But when asked wher
e they came from, the citizen shut u