The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-07-07
MARKED WITH RED INK.
Officers Adopt a Novel Plan
for Identifying the Con-
SpiratorS.
TRY TO FREE BUCK ENGLISH.
Spies Watch the Would-Be Escapes
While They Saw Through the
Prison Door.

NAPA, CAL, July 6.-An attempt to
break Jail was made here last night by two
prisoners in the County Jail, Pat Read,
tramp, and Ernest Easton, a young man
who claims Napa as his home. The at
tempt was made in the interest of BUCK
English, the stage-robher. whose prelim-
mary examination had been set for to-day.
Easton is serving three months for dis
turbing the peace, and Read is serving
twenty days for the same offense.
AS all of the prisoners in the Jail. except
English, the highwayman, are petty
offenders, the officers have not been in the
habit of locking them up at night. Eng
lish has never been confined in cell since
his capture, his injuries being of such
serious nature that DR.. Springsten, the
county physician, feared that confinement
would be fatal. Until within a week ago
he was constantly in bed, but Is now able
to walk bout. The Sheriff has been sus-
picious that English was feigning to be
weaker than he really was, and kept a
close watch upon him.
English was told on Friday that his ex-
animation would be held the following
day, and though the delivery has been
planned for some time this fact probably
fastened it. The Sheriffs Office was aware
Of the plot and that final break would be
made Friday uight-in fact, the Sheriff
discovered where the conspirators had
been at work with saw on one of the pad
locks on the door leading from the main
corridor of the Jail into the entry on the
second floor. The marks of the saw had
been concealed by wax.
Though the officers knew or the plot
they were not able to find out who the con-
spirators were, and it was to gain that in
formation that they allowed the execution
of the plans to go so far. A spy was put in
the Jail Friday evening and close watch
was kept on the outside.
The Jail building is separated from the
main courthouse building by narrow
structure containing corridor above and
below. The upper corridor has window
on either side and is used for storing the
effects of the prisoners during confne-
ment in Jail. The lower corridor is the
entrance to the Jail. The upper corridor is
separated from the Jail proper by grating
door, while the entrance from this corridor
into the courthouse Is closed by sheet
iron door containing small wicket. The
two windows are guarded by three-auarter
inch iron bars four inches apart.
Between 10 and II o'clock, when the
two prisoners commenced to saw their way
out of jail. Constables Secord and Allen
were guarding the outside of the building
and Sheriff Mckenzie, Under Sheriff
Brownlee and George Brownlee watched
the operations through the small wicket in
the door. The officers could not distin-
guish the faces of the prisoners, so novel
idea was hit upon. An immense syringe
was provided and loaded with half pint
of red ink This was to be squirted
through the wicket as soon as the men
came within range, and the plan worked
admirably.
The prisoners, after about two hours
work, succeeded in saving through the
paddock on the grating door. AS soon as
they got into the corridor they made
straight for the wicket and peeped out.
Seeing no one they went to work on one of
the window bars.
Then Sheriff Mckenzie gave them the
contents of the syringe. The prisoners
gave yell of surprise, and dropping the
saw fed to their cells. The officers fol-
lowed as rapidly as possible and soon
located the men by the ink stains on their
clothing. The paddock was found secreted
in the stove. The saw. an S-inch blade, was
identified by William West, gunsmith,
as one he sold to boy Tuesday evening.
1t was fitted in an ingeniously contrived
spring handle made of bent piece of rake.
The boy had told West that he wanted the
saw to repair bicycle.
The attempted break caused great ex-
element here, followed as it was by the
preliminary examination of English to-
day. Englishs examination was held be-
fore Justice Bradford. Henry Hogan ap-
peared for the prisoner and District Attor-
ney Bell for the State. A. L. Palmer, the
driver of the Lower Lake stage, and II. J.
Gerdes, one of the passengers who was
robbed when the stage was held up. were
the principal witnesses. English, who says
his first name is Laurence, was held to
answer before the Superior Court, with
bail fixed at $4,000.