The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1896-08-20
FIVE PRISONERS GO.
SAW THEIR WAY OUT OF THE
JAlL'S BACK DOOR.
SENSATIONAL JAIL DELIVERY
Hilgendorf and Len Powers the Only Pris-
oners to Remain Out of the:seven Con-
fned-Bad Crooks Take French
Leave of Sheriff Cropley

|
j Five persons suddenly took French
leave of the Cropley mansion Thursday
evening at about o'clock and depart
ed for a section of country az yet IN
known. The prisoners who left were
Frank Miller, Harvey Mcclure, Joseph
Schlnoha, Y. Van Zandt, and John
Mcguire.
Miller was the man whom Officer
O'Hare shot twice in arresting him and
who was held on charge Of carrying
burglars tools with intent to use them.
Mcclure was the man who, it was al
legged, chased Mrs. Ersing about the
long home" some two months ago at
a very early hour in the morning, by
which she leaped out of second story
window and injured leg. Schinoha
was the man who pleaded guilty to the
charge of stealing Nick Thomas horse.
| Van Zandt was the picture peddler
who was held on a fugitive warrant
awaiting the arrival of extradition pa
pers to take him to Chicago, where he
was to stand trial on charge Of OBJ
tanning money under false pretenses.
| Mcclure was the man who bit, cheWed
and scratched up Officers O'Hare and
Newhouse one night while in a drunken
frenzy and was serving six months
| sentence.
The only two prisoners to remain
were Len Powers, up for drunk, and
August Hilgendorf, charged with the
murder of his wife, who was in cell in
the upper floor and consequently could
not have reached the point at which
the other prisoners made their exit.
Sheriff Cropley was not at the Jail at
the time the men left. He had gone
away for a few moments and left Mrs.
Cropley. with three young ladies, in
charge. They had been watching af-
fairs in the jail corridor as they sup
posed closely. One of the young ladies
looked into the place at about 1880
o'clock and saw nothing which seemed
t. look suspicious and left for the front
room of the house to join the other
| ladies. In few moments she went
back again and looked in and all the
prisoners were gone. She at once
raised the alarm. The police were no.
tilted and Sheriff Cropley got the word
shortly after the occurrence. He at once
organized corps of deputies and be-
gan a search for them.
They Sawed Out.
/ The prisoners got out by way of the
! back door. At the northeast corner of
/ the jail room proper is a regulation
grated iron door which leads into a
small square hall. A wooden door
leads from this into the prison back
yard. For some uneXplainable reason
this iron door is locked from the inside
of the corridor. This is where the pris-
oners got III their deadly work. They
procured saw from some confederate
on the outside, it is believed, and sawed
/ off the lock to the door Then, going
into the small square hall, cut the lock
out of the wooden door apparently by
I means of knife and thus escaped. 1t
! is believed by the authorities that some
confederate of Miller's got the saw to
him in some way, ana that he is the
one who did the job. Miller has always
been considered since first he was ar
rested as one of the worst crooks con-
fined in the Jail during Sheriff Cropley's
term Of Office. Later developments
have seemed to confirm this fact.
They Scatter and Go.
The next thing the men did after
getting out it is, Of course, impossible
as yet to detail. They must have scat
/ tered, however, each man taking such
course as best suited him and each
looking out for himself. The Balm
Wagon Works sheds are just across the
road from the place of exit and it is
barely possible that they made for that
/ place and scattered from there. Where
/ they went to no one knows, save that
Miller must have gone to Waukegan.
Two young men were driving out to the
tavern shortly after o'clock met him
on the road and recognized him. They
stopped and talked with him while
and one of the young men took careful
note of his appearance and proposed
taking the fellow back. Miller acted
very nervous while he enquired the
road to Waukegan. 1t was pointed out
and he started in that direction.
Various leads were run down on all
the other roads leading out of town,
but no trace was found of any of the
other men. The trains were carefully
watched and the depot grounds we're
thoroughly searched, but to no pur-
pose.
Took Mementoes With Them
When the prisoners left the Jail they
took with them the two locks they had
sawed off the door. They either want
ed some memento of the place or else
needed them as weapons.