The National tribune., 1900-08-30
A REBEL BREAK FOR FREEDOM.
An Incident of an Attempt to Escape From a
st. Louis Prison.

An Incident Of an Attempt to Escape Prom a
st. Louis Prison.
EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: I wish to
say a few words, partly to correct and
partly to indorse Comrade n. J. Myers's
article in the issue of Nov. 80, 1899. head
ed ''tively Prison Duty" His reminis-
cences are in the main correct. When he
comes to where we returned TO st. Louis
after the Morgan raid he says."'We final
ly arrived safe at st. Louis and went back
TO the same quarters that we had before
we went after John Morgan's raiders"
etc.
We were at old Camp Jackson. when
we were ordered out after Morgan's raid
ers, and we did return to st. Louis and go
to Camp Jackson again. 1t was while we
were camped there that Col. Ware gave
his farewell address to our regiment while
on dress parade one evening after he was
cashiered. We moved into the city after
that, and Co. ii was quartered at a bar
racks and guarded the prison at Gratiot
street. Comrade Myers calls it Mcdowell
College building. l never heard it called
one building adjoining the prison and there
was school going on all the time. So the
comrade may be correct in calling it Nc
DOwell College building.
The comrade described the back yard to
the prison all right. There was a narrow
building and which we had to pass through
i'll order to get to the back yard / think
there was some other building so close to
the prison-building that there was only o
few feet to pass between them. In this
narrow passageway one guard was sta
toned; at the gate leading out into the
yard there was a second; at the second
guards post there was stairway leading
down to the baSement-roOm of the prison,
where the food was cooked for the prison
ers. A detail of the prisoners did the
cooking and Nos. l and were to see that
only a limited number Of prisoners passed
into the cookroom. No. post was in the
yard spoken Of above.
The writer of this reminiscence was on
post No. in the yard. l had been ON the
post once before few days previous to
that. The Sergeant of the prison would
bring out a few prisoners, kept in close
confinement, to get a little fresh air and
exercise. Here Comrade Myers is wrong
in saying there were % prisoners let out
in the yard to exercise.
The morning the break was made the
Sergeant of the prison brought out eight
1t was about $50 o'clock in the morning
There was certainly a prearranged plan
to make break that morning. There
was a small window in the wall of the
building at the ground that had iron bars
across it about two or three inches apart
and when the prisoners were let out in
the yard that morning | had Just relieved
the guard of the post and was walking
my beat, which extended the full length
of the yard. / noticed the prisoners whs-
pering to the cooks through the window
it being the only window in the basement
wall on that side. 1 had no instructions
to keep them from talking to the cooks,
but took the responsibility of making the
prisoners get away from the window. But
they had accomplished their object.
l was walking my beat and the prison
ers were in the back end Of the yard all
in bunch. talking in a very low tone.
had walked toward them to the end of my
beat and turned to walk back, and had
taken but few steps when two or three
and the cap off Of my head. As soon as
| was seized there was an old meat-ax
pitched through the window into the yard.
a prisoner grabbed up the AK and at one
stroke broke large paddock all into pieces
with which the outside door in the plank
fence was locked. At the same time /
was taken Nos. l and 2 were seized and
disarmed. The prisoners began to rush
to the door in the fence and the door
thrown open, but it was a dear rush to
them. Instead of one or two being killed
there were four killed. One large man
with ball-and-chain on his leg had his
leg broken by a ball from the outside
guard. One was Killed about 1OO yards
from the prison, running along the rail
road track, by soldier of Co. X of our
regiment, that company being in camp in
tents on a vacant lot near the road.
Comrade Myers says that Col. Douglas
and 10 others of the % made their escape.
was q witness at the court of inyestiga-
tiGn in the evening after the break in the
and it was my understanding
that only one made his escape, and he
must have been the one that got my cap,
for l never found it. That undoubtedly
was Col. Douglas. Twenty-Five or 30
prisoners rushed into the yard when the
break was made, but there were only eight
in the yard with Col. Douglas before then.
The names of the comrades that were
and disarmed are: Post No.
l. VIM. Witten; post No. 2, John 10. How
Ii, 10th Kan.
Comrade Myers says that the prisoners,
getting near the guard, asked him what
lind of gun that was he had, etc. That
is mistake. / did not enter into any
kind Of conversation with the prisoners.
They were a desperate looking lot, and
did not want any talk with them. The
minute they grabbed me l began hallooing.
The men that had hold of me said they
would kill me if l did not stop yelling, but
| did not stop until the shooting COM
menced The man that got my gun threw
it into an alley just outside of the door
in the plank fence and l got it in a very
few minutes after the rush began. 1t was
Ill over in less time than it takes to write
X. BUXTON, Cos. III and ID,
10th Kan. Waddill, Mo.