The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-08-13
lis IT H|TzSIMMOAS2
Sensational Arrest at Mime
apolis, Mimi, Yesterday.
EVERY EVIDENCE OF TRUTH
Sheriff TO Meet Him at Kansas
City Today.

! little colored man who escaped with tn
Tackett gang on the morning of Januar!
Z, last, just after Judge Dale had sen
fenced him to a term of fifty year in tn
| penitenpary for the murder of Thos
Miller last December.
| II the man arrested is really Fitz Sim
mons, his capture has been procured II
| a very unusual and surprising manner
He was arrested at Minneapolis yester
day morning by Kid Berry, a colored de
| tective, who happened to be an old &C
quaintance Of Fitz Simmons and knew
him on sight. Kid Berry first met Fit
Simmons at Marshaltown about Z
month ago and had a talk with him. HI
then wrote to ascertain the amount of re-
ward offered for Fitz Simmons. He re-
ceiyed his reply at Muscatine, Iowa, and
there entered into a partnership with the
city marshal of MuscatIne for the cap
ture of FItz Simmons.
The colored detective followed FTtz
Simmons to st. Paul and then to Mime
apolis, where yesterday morning he got
the drop on Fitz Simmons and arrested
him. The detective had procured his Gre
dentials from Sheriff Simmons, and had
gotten everything in perfect readiness
for an effective arrest.
The detective left Minneapolis with his
prisoner last night and wired Sheriff
Simmons to meet him in Kansas City
this morning.
Sheriff Simmons will not express much
confidence in the detectives story Of the
arrest OF Fftz Simmons until he lays
his eyes on the fugitive. Nevertheless,
he says Berry's description OF Fitz Sim
mons is perfect. The sheriff left last
night with an insane patient whom he
will take to ossawatomie asylum, and
from there will go to Kansas City to
meet Berry and his prisoner.
If the man proves to be Fitz Simmons
the sheriff will take him direct to Ian
sing. to which place he was assigned by
Judge Dale last winter in q sentence
which for severity was only excelled by
that of Thos. Green, the wife murdered,
Paddy Shea, the latter having been re-
Gently annulled by the supreme court.
Fitz Simmons was supposed by almost
everybody to be the widest and most
slippery of the Jail breakers, and his cap
ture at this early date, IL the capture can
be called a fact, Is indeed a surprise.
The crime for which the fugitive was
convicted and sentenced is the murder of
Thomas Miller one evening last Deem
Der. near the corner OF Elm and Market
streets. The trouble grew out of an al
legged assault by Miller, who claimed that
Fitz Simmons was trespassing on the
sanctity Of his home. The evidence at the
trial was to the effect that Miller had
threatened Fitz Simmons, whereupon
F'itz Simmons bought q revolver and car
rIed 1t for immediate use in case of
trouble. AS Miller was going home one
evening he came IN contact with Fitz
Simmons and, 1t is claimed. they had
some words. The evidence was not right
clear as to Just what took place between
the two men, but in the quarrel or melee
Miller was shot by Fftz Simmons and
died within a few minutes. Fitz Simmons
attempted to escape. but was soon cap
tured and lodged in jail. His trial occu-
pied several days and he was found
Fitz Simmons said in an interview with
a reporter for the Eagle that he consid-
cred that the odds were against him IN
the trial and that he never had much
hope Of acquittal, because he had no
friends and no money with which to
make fight
Shortly after his sentence occurred the
Jail break. in which eight
prisoners escaped, all of whom have been
with the exception of Rhodes
and Tackett The Jail break Is supposed
to have been engineered by Bill Rhodes
and Bill Tackett, with a skill and dex-
terity never before equaled in this coun-
try. 1t was n cold winter night and the
wind was blowing a gale. so that the
silent work of steel on the bars could
not be detected by the mos. acute ear.
who had broken fails before.
was engineering the work. He cut the
main bolts and bars lea ling from his cell
In the rotary, got out in the yang way
and sawed the locks that held the rotary,
so that the immense cage could be Turn
ed. When he let Bill Rhodes ous and set
him to work turning the cage, notch BY
notch until FitZ simmons cell was reach
ed. Then Fitz Simmons was put TO work.
while Rhodes and Tackatt sawed the
bars of the west window. As each one
was liberated he was put at work. Tack
EFT working like tiger all the time and |
giving commands. accompanied by
threats. When eight were liberated from
their cells Tackett asked the others IL !
they wanted to go and when they declin- |
I'd he gave orders to crawl through the |
narrow aperture of the window and in /
/ few minutes Tackett. Rhodes, Fitz |
simmons. Alley, Murphey, Adams. Rob |
nson and one other minor offender had /
led. The weather was SO bitterly cold /
hat some of those who were captured |
aid they nearly froze to death the first /
light out. A report has been current re-
>ently that Tackett was frozen so badly /
hat he died, but the report is not gen.
erally believed The opinion is expressed /
hat the entire gang will be landed before
he yea- Of their break for liberty Is uu
Mr.. E. ]. ,vesey. who lives south OF
Wichita in te heart Of the watermelon
'elt has contributed OF his abundance
n the melon line to the Eagle force re-
emily. the press and mailing gang being
is special proteges- As a melon grower
'r' Vesey is . striking example Of sue
ass.