The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1896-11-04
BREAK FOR LIBERTY
By TWO Desperate Convicts in the
Erie County On. " Prison
THEY MISSED BY A HAIRS BaeATDH,
And Are Now Languishing In Dan
geon-There Were a Few Minutes
OF Intense and Dangerous
Excitement

BUFFALO, N. Y, Nov. 2-Willian
Odell aud Fred Williams. serving
five wears term in the Erie county
penitentiary for burglary. made bold
attempt to escape late Saturday after
noon. Williams is 2S and odell "
years old. They had been in prison
Just two years. Both worked In
the overall factory. When Keeper
John Hannah walked up the aisle
Of the overall department about
four o'clock with stack OF garments
in his arms, odell approached him with
a garment in his hand. The keeper
stopped, expecting that odeil had some
criticism to make of the workmanship
on the garment. odcll grabbed him,
pinning his arms to his side. Hannan
yelled and Keeper Clark Crosby
ran to his assistance. Before he
reached him Williams bounded
over u table and snatehed Hannan's
revolver from his pocket. lie turned
II on Crosby and ordered him to put up
his hands They went up. Then
Williams took Crosby's revolver and
passing IL over to 0dell, the latter re-
| leased his hold on Hannah aud put the
revolver to his face. The two keepers,
with their hands above their heads,
were commanded to march to-
ward the door of the shop.
Just then Keeper Burdick strolied
| in from the packing department
odell took his gun off Hannah long
enough to order BurdiclS to throw up
|, his hands. Walking Hannah and
Crosby before them, Odell and VIII
, liams passed out of the shop door into
the prison. yard. Before them, lsC
yards away, was the prison gate, which
had Just been opened to let Wagon
of supplies pass out. The convict'
had timed their uprising SO al
to reach the gate before it had closed
As soon as the convicts passed out o.
the shop, leaving Burdick uncovered
, he ran to the prison office and CAV
1 the alarm, which aroused all the keep
$ ers and guards, including those on tn
0 prison wall. The convicts heard tn
G alarm, abandoned Hannah and Crosb.
n aud ran for the gate. Tn
n big doors were just coming I
r as they started full speed 'towar
l. them. Storekeeper Durstain, who ha
:, charge of the gate, saw the man ~
$ proaching, heard the shouts OF tn
y alarmed guards and, drawing tn
, gates together quickly, snapped pae
o lock on them and sprinted for th
IS prison office, for he was unarme'
a "Stop,n cried odell. 'stop {
Is nj fire." And without slowin
d up ut all, he let fire. The bu
S. let knocked chip from the ston
30 wall into Durstein's face lie sh'
o again, but the shot went Wild Breatl
1T less, the men came to a dead ste
<. against the wall. Looking through Il
,e wicket they saw Keeper Warner, wi
I'd had heard the alarm and had passt
er but of the Office door in the street
ie head them off in ease they caugl
o. Durstein and compelled him
Id open the gates for them. Ode
I'd fred a random shot which Sc
o. Warner chasing up the street. /
ed came back reinforced by i've guar
ey armed with rifles. Meanwhile Il
en- guards on the wall had taken the
IT. places prepared to fire. Williams al
to Odell saw that they were trappe
Oh They threw their revolvers over I
IN fence and surrendered. They we
ct shackled and led to the dungeon.