The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1900-07-07


had been found guilty OF murder and
were awaiting execution in the cleo
trlc chair. Pallister was not only a
very powerful and athletic thug, but
a mar of some intelligence, possessed
OF many friends and considerable
political influence. He was the brains
OF the subsequent plot to escape.
The night of April 20, 1888, was
chosen by the murderers to make their
desperate attempt. During the day
Roehl pretended to be sick. and ali
night he asked Keeper James w. Hulse
to warm some milk for him. This
the keeper did in a shallow pan. 1t
was too big to go through the slide in
the cage, so he unlocked the door Of
RoehFs cell to hand it to him. As he
did so, the prisoner dashed a handful
OF pepper and lime into his eyes and
grappled with him. Roehl had
scratched the mortar from between
the bricks of the wall. and the peppcr
he had saved from his food. Hulse
struggled tiercely, but Roehl backed
nm up against the bars of pallister's
cell. the latter grabbing him and hold
ing him until Roehl secured his keys
and revolver. Then he freed Pallis.
ter, and together they locked the keep
er in Pallister's cell. Keeper Murphy
was then due, and they lay in wait
for him. The momen he passed the
door they o~verpoWered him, took his
keys and revolver, and locked him in
Roehl's cell. The pair climbed to the
roof and tried to break their way
through one corner. After wasting
half an hour on this, they thought of
the skyIight. This they broke with
ease, climbed out on the roof and
dropped to the ground.
Plans for their actions after leaving
the prison had all been completed by
friends outside. Across the river from
Sing Sing, some IL miles back from
the shore, are the Ramapo mountains,
some parts of which are an uninhab-
tied. hardly explored wilderness. In
one Of the lOneliest regions of these
mountains the friends of Pallister had
ftted up a ave with all the neces-
SltleS and many of the luXuIies of life.
here We're comfortable beds, a small
COOK stove. all the necessary cooking
utensils and hundreds of dollars worth
OF food supplies. Complete arrange
ments had been made for conveying
The prisoners to this retreat. and AT
the same time for setting the author
tiles on the wrong track. Now. it so
happened that on the night which
they had chosen for their escape the
worst storm of many years occurred,
NO small craft would live on the Hud-
son that night. To some extent. the
storm favored the criminals plans. but
III the end, as will be seen. proved dis
astrous to them. At last Pallister and
Roehl stood on the Sing Sing shore
OF the Hudson. They found the boat
that was waiting for them. They be-
gan their voyage, Pallister, who was
a skilled oarsman. rOwed the boat. A
terrific southeast gale dashed the wa
Ter into foaming waves and the rain
fell in sheets. The waves rose three
feet high. The men had not gone a
huhdred yards before they realized
that they could never cross the river
IN mat storm. Their little shell of
a boat was filling with water and they
mad not even yet felt the full force OF
the storm. Now, just ahead of them.
lay a two-masted schooner. There
were three meu abOard-Capt. Michael
Kelley, Mate James S. K%earnes and
Lum Osborne. The two ~escapirg
murderers decided in an instant that
the only chance Of life and safety was
TO board the schooner and seize her
lhey climbed aboard by the anchor
chain. To Osborne, who was on watch.
they said they were friends of the cap
tam and he, not noticing their attire
III the darkness, let them pass. While
Kelley and Kearnes were quietly talk
lag a strange man suddenly Jumped
down the companionway, closely fol-
lowed by another. The foremost in
tfuder evidently did not see Kearnes
sitting in the shadowy background.
suddenly, entering the lighted cabin
from the inky darkness, he leveIed his
eVolver-a Sing Sing keepers reyol-
Ver-at Captain Kelley's head and
DOLLY said: Throw I'D vour hands,