Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1898-03-23
EX-sHERIFF CALHOUN HAS A
CALLER.

John Bacon, alas John Leland,
called on ex sheriff Calhoun, at the
j Ill, one day last week. There are
other people that the Sheriff would
prefer to have call on him. He was
greatly impressed with Bacons call
ard had a mind to arrest him for
vagrancy. He bad good reason to
be impressed wi;t the call for Bacon
had threatened the sheriff two. years
ago lsst September, when Calhoun
took hin to ths Westerl Peai-
tertiary under a sentence of court,
for assisting Frank Evans and Joseph
West to break out OF the Mif11intown
Jail. When Bacon called upon the
sheriff last week, Calhoun thought,
that perhaps, he had come to shoot
him as he had threatened to do, but
if he called for that purpose he did
not attempt any violence. The con-
versa,ion however was not of the kind
that the Sheriff is fond of, and as
Sheriff Stoner cams upon the scene
and ordered Bacon to leave, there
was an end of The call. Bacon has
been seen about Judge Lyons house
several times since he called on e1
Sheriff Calhoun, and he has been
seen il other parts of;his community,
some times with company, though
when at Judge Lyons place he was
alone. He came 20 be sent to the
penitentlary In peculiar way. Ii is
well known in this community that
several years ago, that the two men
then in Jail charged with the robbery
of the Hertz,er store, at Port Royal,
broke jail, or rather they skilliu!ly
sawed eff enough of bars of their
prison room window to allow them
to escape. When their escape was
made known to Sheriff Calhoun, lie
hastened to the railroad, thinking,
that perhaps, he might there capture
the escaped Frank Evans and Joseph
West, bsfore they lad time to board
freight train and get away. While
,, the Sheriff was searching e freight
train of box cars lie came across s
man crouched in the corner of Car.
He Immediately put him under arrest
and charged HIM with being the man
who had brought money to the Jail
for Evans and West. He also held
him for assisting the escape of Evans
and West. Bacon employed lawyers
Keller and Patterson to defend him,
but when the trial took place he took
charge of the case himself and pu:
Il. ha q. 4
they testified that he was not the
man. The Sheriff Unidentified him as
the man who had brought money to
the Jail for Evans aud West. he in
Identified him by blue mark along
the side of his nose, mark such US
is made by an explosion of powder
Bacons escape from the meshes If the
law seemed assured up to that time
upon the testimony of the lawyers,
when all of sudden the aspect of
tho case a. turned against him hy
the District Attorney, present
ing, piece of q towel as evidence.
Ii was mute material stuff for evi
dence but it spoke more tellingly than
words. When the cell of Evans and
West was visited after their escape a
part of Il strange towel was found in
the Cell and from its appearance i
was indicated that the saws and tools
that they used in cutting the bars
bad been sent up In that fowl. bu,
where was the match piece of the
towel that was an important inquiry.
In the five minutes time that the
District Attorney had to prese1t the
case to the jury he presented the
match piece of the towel found in the
cell. He presented the other piece,
and the other piece the Sheriff found
on John Bacon when he arrested him
in the box car at the railroad. That
towel sent Bacon to the Psnitentiary.
The towel was the connecting link
between Bacon, Evans and West, on.
end of the towel in the empty cell of
the escaped prisoners and the other
end of the towel in Bacop's pocket.