The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1897-04-04
BREAK FOR LIBERTY.
Prisoners In the County jail Attempt
10 Escape. and are Caught.

1t Is just O'Clock yesterday evening
when a br,eak for liberty by the pris-
oDers In the county Jail was made. An
old sink stands In the corridor about
midway in the Jail yard. and under
meath the sink a hole had been dug
large enough to admit a mans body,
and but for the timely arrival OF Sher-
III Hare the eight prisoners under his
care would have taken French leave.
It Is customary for Sheriff Hare to
take the prisoners. every Saturday
evening, out into the corridor. where
they do their washing. On yesterday
afternoon they performed this task as
usual. and as the time approached for
putting them hack in their cells their
clothes had not sufficiently dried and at
their request Deputy Clinton allowed
them to remain till their laundry was
dried. and the sink. which stood con-
veniently near. offered an inviting spot
for their operations Among the four
prisoners under his care were Peter
Tustin. Harry Haste. Giovanni PitaEo
and Joe Terry. The two former are
in for larceny from dwelling and
are held for the grand jury under $1,000
bonds and supposed to be principals
in the break for liberty. As sheriff
Hare had his suspicious aroused that
all was not going well, he walked up
the jail yard in front of the tower.
and as he got to the corner of the jail
facing Duane street he heard talking
which he located as coming from the
direction of the center of the jail facing
that street He quickly jumped the
railing from the yard ON to the side
walk and walked on tiptoe in the di-
rection of the voices. II was pitch
dark and as he advanced he noticed
glimmer of light under the jail
which he at once concluded came from
the gas left burning in the corridor.
AT this juncture the talking had ceased
and nobody was to be seen, so he fired
shot at where the light appeared, and
the next instant jumped over the fence
into the Jail yard. The jail stands back
from the sidewalk about four feet. and
the sidewalk is elevated from the
ground about two feet. As he alighted
on the grond in the Jail yard his foot
struck some one, who proved to be
Peter Tlstin. and who had hidden un-
der the sidewalk after gaining his lib
erty and had Invested himself OF near
ly all his clothing in his efforts to es-
cape Just as the sheriff fired the shot
at the hole he noticed something move
in the dim light, and If the shot had
taken effect it would have sent Harry
Haste hastily into the great unknown,
safely out of reach of the Clatsop
county grand jury. as 1t was found.
upon Investigation, that the redoubta-
BILE Haste was just taking his depart
ure. Deputies Clinton and Prael had
by this time come to the sherifrs aid.
but their services were not required,
and they proceeded inside to count the
prisoners, and to their extreme salts
faction discovered that none had es-
capped The sheriff landed his prisoner
safely inside, where Haste was found
to be stripped TO his undershirt ard
pantaloons. They were securely locked
up for the night, and the sheriff con-
graduated himself and his deputies
that he had narrowly averbed an ex-
citing chase 1t is probable that some
of the prisoners would not have taken
advantage of the chance 20 escape, as
the sentences of two Of he number had
nearly expired. The sheriff states that
in allowing the prisoners a little lat
ltude, as he had done in permitting
them to remain longer than usual to
dry their laundry, their chance Of es-
cape was presented, of which they were
quick to take advantage.