The record-union., 1892-11-30
ATTEMPTED JAIL BREAK.
TWO PRISONERS TRY TO ESCAPE
FROM SAN QUENTIN.
One of Them Shot Dead by a Guard,
and the Other Now Lies In
the Hospital.
Special to the REcoRD-UN1ox.

special 10 Lle hECORD-UNION.
SAN RAFAEL, Nov. 29.-About o'clock
this morning an attempt to break jail was
discovered by one of the guards at San
Quentin, and a few seconds later the re-
port of gun aroused every official in the
institution, and threw the convicts into a
state of excitement.
When the Jail officials ran to the court
yard, in the interior Of the building, from
which the sound of the shooting was
heard, one Of the guards was observed
standing over wounded man in convict
garb, while a short distance away was the
body of second convict growing cold in
death.
The dead convict was a Sacramento
prisoner named Marshall, who about
seven years ago was sent from the Capital
City to serve thirty years for burglary.
The wounded man was Billy Miner,
who had been sent to State Prison for
twenty-five years for robbery, and had
served about twelve years of his term.
When seen by the guard the men had
just broken out of their cells, and were in
the act of climbing over the balcony
Guard Alexander called to them, but
they only accelerated their speed. He
then fired and Marshall fell, riddled with
buckshot. Miner was shot in the cheek,
anu d1SO IttGlNbu d Dull6L through LQG
throat. He is in the hospital and is ser-
ously wounded, though it is expected
that he will recover.
William A. Miner, alias Anderson, is a
native of Michigan and is A years of age.
This is Miners fifth term of imprison-
meut III this State, his first being in 1866.
His present term was given him in 1881,
when he was sentenced to twenty-five
years from Tuolulnne County for stage
robbery. He is one of the most des-
perate criminals in the penitenuiary and
was the leader of the bread" riot that oc-
CURED at san Quentin a few years ago.
He had lost all his credits for previously
trying to escape.
Marshall, whose first name was Joseph,
was sent to prison April IL, 1885, on three
commitments for burglary. Like Miner,
he had lost his credits by attempting to
escape from prison, and his term would
not have expired until 1915.
Both convicts occupied cell AZ, and it is
believed they had planned escape for
several days.
It was su bsequently found that the two
prisoners had drilled the lock and bolts
off from the inside of their cell. They
had on long rubber coats and sacks over
their boots, and a rope and hook with
which to scale the walls.
The Coroner's verdict exonerates the
prison authorities, and finds the killing
was uoue III LIIe ulscnafSe OF tnelr OffIclal
duties. 1t Is the general belief that others
were to be liberated by these two men.
At the COroner's inquest Guard Alex
ander testified that he did not order the
men to halt before shooting, or give any
indication that he had seen them. Owing
to darkness he could not see the convict
stripes, and did not know whether the
men were escaping prisoners or not. The
convicts had escaped from their cell by
drilling over thirty holes through a
three-quarter-inch iron door, and push
ing the bolts back. In the cell were
found ratchet drills, an iron dog and a
lantern.