The morning times., 1895-07-29
Flight of -Four Female Inmates
of the House of Mercy.
ASSISTED FROM THE OUTSIDE
The Institution Sheltered Madeline
Pollard During the Famous Trial.
The Girls Did Not Report at Evening
Roll-caIl and the Sisters Raised an
Alarm-Fugitives Not Yet Caught.

-Four errlug young women, Bella Hunt,
Eva Myers, Kate Flanagan and Tillie
Henry, tweDty-one, sixteen, eighteen and
seventeen years Of age, respectively, are
fugitives from the Home of Mercy. having
made their escape from that institution
about O'Clock last evening.
It is believed that four young men were
outside the wall over which they climbed
aud accompanied the girls in their flight.
The Ilrst intimatiou given out about the
escape of the Girls was received at the
Third precinct police station a few min
utes after 8 O'Clock. 7 wo sisters in white
caps and aprons rushed into the station
and DreathlesSly told Sergt. Keefe that
an officer was wanted at the home at
once, as several girl Inmates had broken
out and escaped.
Policeman Hauley yandanothero officer were
at once dispatched TO the place, where ex-
citemeut reigned.
THEIR DARING FLIGHT.
The matron in charge told the policeman
that daring flight had been made by four
girls, but how she did not know The
girls, she said, were in the yard when the
O'Clock bell was rung TO call them into
the house, but when the roll was called
four were missing.
She said thorough search had been
made through the entire building without
avail The policeman and sisters then
made another search, and discovered that
The paint had been rubbed off the fence
near an angle in the rear OF the building
and following up the clue, the door of a
stable about ten feet beyond the fence was
found open, as was also window facing on
the street.
1t was then apparent that the girls had
Climbed over the twelve-foot fence and
then escaped by dropping through the stable
window into the street.
Information as TO the details of the escape
was sought at a late hour last night at the
institution, but the lady i'll charge declined
to discuss the matter. She said that she
absence of Sister Dorothea and she knew it
was only temporarily in charge in the
to be the policy OF the latter to give no
information in such cases.
The inmates, she said, came TO the
institution voluntarily as penitents, and
there was no restriction placed upon them
In this case the police were asked TO re-
turn the escaped girls to the restitution out
of consideration for them, and to avoid their
being kept at police headquarters.
CLIMBED THE WALL.
As to the manner of the escape the matron
said that 1t was an easy matter to get over
the wall. a feat that could be performed
by any agile girl.
The wall incloses the recreation grounds
and faces Twenty y-fouIth street and street
II is about eight feet high, and on the out
side there is soft earth and grass, into which
a clever girl could make safe jump. How
the Tick was managed from the inside is
quite another thing. Most likely they gave
Hlch other masculine boost, the third girl
hauling up the fourth, and so all got over
the garden wall
The girls were arrayed in the garb of the
institution, White polka dot calico, and the
matrou thought that the police would find
them easily and return them last night.
There is To doubt Ihat there was con-
spiracy for an escape or an escapade be-
tween the jolly quartette. 1t may also
be that there Were an equal number of male
conspirators who assisted the girls 10 hide
from the police in selected quarters.
The House OF Mercy is the Institution at
which Madeline Pollard stayed during the
celebrated Pollard'breck nridge suit.