The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-12-21
TRIED TO GET NITRIC ACID.
ABE sMALL's PLOT TO ESCAPE
FROM JAIL.

Interested other Prisoners in
scheme to Get Acid and Tools
with which 10 Break Through the
Bars-ChnrIes McFifer's Infidelity
to Ella Price Led to the Dis
cOvery of the Murderer's Plan.
McFifer Held in Jail for Stealing
the Price WOmRn's MOney-An In
vestIgatiOn in Progress.
Charles McFlfer is held in Jail on the
charge of stealing some money from Ella
Price. This is the charge against him 10
the warrant issued by Justice Naughtin.
But the probability is that he will be held
on a more serious charge, that of con-
spring TO help the condemned murderer,
Abe Small, escape from the Chatham
county Jail
McFifer is the victim of his own inf
deity. If he had proved true 10 Ella
Price the chances are that the authori-
ties would never have known that he was
probably a party to a scheme of Small's
to break out of prison. His conduct to-
ward the Price woman lead to her arrest
ing him for the larceny Of money she had
laid away for rent, and to her turning over
some letters TO the solicitor general and
telling him how Charles had evidently
plotted with Abe Small.
McFifer was sent TO Jail about the mid
die of September on a charge of bigamy.
While in jail Ella Price worked for him,
sent clothing to him, gave him money,
and otherwise endeavored to assist him.
As often as possible she went to the Jail
TO see him, carrying him little articles
that would add to his comfort Her at
tentions to McF1fer attracted the atten-
ton of Abe Small, who had become ac-
quainted with McFifer in their daily ex-
ercise in the corridor. Small conceived
the idea of using her to assist him in es-
Gaping from jail. Here two different
stories come in, McFifer claiming that
Abe wrote to the woman, using his name
without his consent and the woman and
the officials believing that McFifer got
Abe to write the letters in order to avoid
punishment if the matter was discovered
In one of the letters dated Nov %, Ella
Price was asked TO bring that thing I
spoke to you about to the Jail. The
thing referred to was nitric acid, to be
used by Small in eating away the iron
bars of his cell Reducing the letter to
plain English, it is about as follows:
IF you love me as 1 love you l am sure
that you would do anything that is in
your power for me. Darling, my friend
| Mr.. Abe Small, writes this letter for me,
| as [ am in so much trouble to see where
| / am and can't do anything to help him.
| But if you love me you would bring me
| that thing what you have got for me
when / can't do something for poor Abe
Small. / am sure he is all right and he
| has got the money to pay me for it, and
! the money will help you to get me out if
| you haven't got enough to do it with. And
| if you have got the money please take
me out this morning as soon as you re-
| ceive this letter, where l can help Small
| out to get some of the money that he
has got. If you will bring me that thing
| to-day, just put il in the bottom of the
| tin bucket and put a little something TO
| eat on the top of il and send il in to
me and don't wait for the bucket. I will
keep il and until the day you come for 1t.
! He will send you the money himself.
! Sweetheart, he is all right. For the sake
of me do this You know his condition,
| and II 1 don't marry you the same month
| you can put me back here"
| McFifer claims that Abe Small wrote
| this without his knowledge. Abe, he says,
| knew how Ella was attached to him and
! wanted him to marry her, and took adj
! vantage of it to try to use her to get
| assistance Abe, McFGfer says, told him
| the day after he had sent the letter that
he had written to Ella Price and for
| him moi to get mad. McFifer claims that
| he bought a postal card at once and wrote
the Price woman to pay no attention to
a letter sent her as IL had been written
| by Abe Small and not by him.
Ella Price, after long efforts, succeeded
| i'm getting McFifer out of Jail About the
| first thing he did was to steal'sone money
from her and then quit her When he
came from the jail to her house he
brought a package of clothes. books, etc,
and in going over them the Price woman
claims she found a letter written by Abe
Small This asked the party 1t was writ
ten to to get some nitric acid to him in
the Jail McFifer told her he was TO de-
liver the note to some of Smalls relatives.
When Abe got out McFifer said, he would
get enough money from Small TO take
her with him up into Middle Georgia,
where Abe also intended going to live.
After several efforts to get her money
back from McFifer the Price woman had
warrant issued for him from Justice
Naughtin's office. 1t was then that she
told about the efforts being made to get
acids, and presumably tools, into the jail
to Abe Small. McFifer claims that an
other prisoner named Screen had told him
that Abe had been after him to write to
friends to bring tools to the prison, to be
turned over to Small, and that Abe had
promised to pay well for the services.
There will be a further investigation OF
the case and il is possible that it will be
found that Abe has had several agents al
work in an endeavor to get the means
with which to escape from the prison.