The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1897-07-22
JAIL DEL
AND Nine PRISONERS
Their Liberty and Went Forth
ing. Three Have Been Rec
ed, and Search Contiaul q

| n "a
Friday night was stormy. The clou
gathered 10 blackness, the heavens VA
Illuminated by the successive flashes
lightning. while the decorations Of thund
made it awe inspiring The wind "!
strong, but not destructive. and the n
came down in torrents. 1t wasA reguli
tyash mover. and terra frma got . thoroug
soaking. The rain prevailed most .
night. and it gave the prisoners in
Marietta Jail an Opportunity % "a
They sawed out OF their cells and the
hole through the brick wall and mid
the "jaIl birds" few out into the dArp
of the night, glad even to get drenI
in the rain, rather than be confined within
prison walls. Liberty IS very sweet.
Those who escaped were Wash Griffin,
colored, against whom there are four bills
of Indictment, one for assault with in
tent to murder, disturbing public worship
and carrying a concealed pistol; Jim
Moss, colored, charged. with stealing his
brothers mule; Jim Littlejohn, colored,
larceny; Homer Hill. colored, gambling
Dock Herrell, colored, resisting officers OF
Kennesaw Babe Wallace, white, aban,
! donment of child Lewis Van, white,
burglary Phil Blankinship, white, gamb-
ling; Tom Duncan, white, selling whisky
and chicken stealing.
Homer Hill ives recaptured near town
by officers Hawkins and Fleming next
day, and Jim Littlejohn was arrested a,
Austell, by Marshal Brewer. of ::that town,
as Littlejohn was about to take the train
for Birmingham, Ala. where his father
lives.
The only prisoners who remained 10 jail
were Viola .Gibbes. colored, and john
Besrden, white, the latter United States
revenue prisoner, whose time was about
out. II was Bearden who gave the alarm
about half past three o'clock Saturday
morning. by calling Sheriff Bishop, who
occupies the residence part of the Jail with
his family. By that time the prisoners
had been gone some time, the rain had
washed out their tracks, and the pursuers
had 10 go at random.
The prisoners made their escape from
two cells. They sawed the lock to the
small center door off of one cell and broke
the lock of of the small door Of the Other
cell. They used file AID saw, made
probably from corset steel, obtained
from woman prisoner. When once out
into the corridor they tore off an outside
bar OF iron that rested on the floor, where
the potash and water, in cleaning The
floors of the Jail for years, had eaten tn.
taps off BY rust, thus making it easy +e
wrench it from its place. With this bar
iron and file they dug mole through tn,
brick wall large enough to crawl through
placing the loose brick on blanket OF
the floor to deaden any noise that nigh
be made in handling them. The prisoner
passed out through this hole and landed
on top of the front veranda, and swung t,
the ground by the friendly limb of shad,
tree tbst hung In reach.
Griffin, in his hurry 70 make tracks, lef
one OF his shoes on the ground and wen
off with only one sLoe.
Sheriff Bishop is careful, painstakin,
officer. He has offered a reward for som,
of them and he will pick them up one BY
one before many weeks roll around.
On Tuesday Lewis Van was brought te
Marietta and turned over to Sheriff Bishot
by his half brother. Mr.. j. F.. Attaway
who states that Van came to his house
near Kennesaw Monday night and insist.
ed On returning to Jail, as he said tie
Sheriff had treated him right and he
didn't care to be lodging about and be
wanted to give himself up. stand trial
and end the matter. Van had been sc
closely pursued day and night by citizens
that he couldn't do else. Mr.. Bishop was
surprised and examined Vans wrist to see
ii be wasn't being imposed upon, as Lewis
Vann has twin brother, named Luke
aud they are identical in resemb lance. -.hu
only mark of distinction is a scar ON
Luke's wrist. Sheriff Bishop had offered
ten dollars rswsrd for the recapture Of
Lewis Van, but Mr.. Attaway refused to be
beneficiary of the money. and turned i,
over to his half brother in prison.