Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1900-11-28
CLEVER RUSE
Three Kansas .Convicts Plan an
Escape.
THEY USE WOODEN REVOLVERS.
Guards Discover the Deception and a Fight
Eohows-One Convict Woundsd-Two
Make Good Their Escape.

Guards Discover the Deception and Fighs
Folows-One Convict Wounded-Two
Make Good Their Escape.
Leavenworth, Kaa, Nov. 17.-Two
hnmmy revolyers were the principal
properties i'm plot devised by three
convdcts ITO escape from the coal mine
and the walls of the Kansas peniten-
nary ye.telday afternoon. Samuel
Smith, train robber and murderer, re-
ceived a bullet wound through his
head from temple to temple, and the
oh'er two are still at aarge. They are
armed, ready to kill pursuers, but this
morning their capture seems improb-
able.
Samuel Smith and E. f. Estel, un-
der sentence of death, and benjamin
Craven, undeD sentence OF twen-
~ years for train robbery.
captured A. Huyske, the bottom
officer ait the Kansas pen1i entiary coal
ahaft, about three o'cuock yesterday
afternoon. They presented two dunn
my revolvers ait bis head and demand
Cd his surrender. The revolvers were
kendnches long, made Of wood and
Daantted so THAT they luDked hike real
revovers. The dummy weapons had
black handles, revolving cylinders, and
parts of the wood resembled polished
steel. ONLY by ths testing of the
weight could the deception be detect
ed.
When Guard Huyske surrendered
Tine convicts tiled his hands with wire
kAken from the bales OF hay sent down
for the mine mules. Then the COM
vdcts sgnaled the engineer that they
be hodJ5ed to the top. giving the signal
Ehlat am injured man was coming up
% the cage and asking for a slow
passage. On reaching the top tho
Docked dummy revolvers were flashed
Gn the face Of w. b. Doug as, the top
guard, and he, too, surTendg red. Net.
kher the mine nor top officers Within
the wallis carry firearms, and believing
the dummy revoavers to be real, there
was no alternative Left for he guards.
The two captured guards we're forced
70 march in frou1 of the three con.
vtdts to the gate leading cut of tho
west side of the nnadn yard, which
was opened by a tower guard, who
supposed all was we'll when the Off
GERS were quietly wallDing in frou5 of
the prisoners. Once outside the con-
victB directed the captured guards to
approach M. H. Hewitt, an outpost
guard. He suspected nothing until the
convtcts pounced m him and took
away his Winchester and pistol and
ammunition belt.
On obtaining genuine firearms the
Conwcts aeft the three unarmed
guards and started on a rnnA This att
Nracted 1.-The attention of the other out.
post guards and shots were fired 10
stop the prisoners Deputy Warden
William Thompson and others in the
main pendtentiary buildings heard the
ahoits and joined in the chase. I'm q
eane, about a quarter of a mile west
OF the prison, IA sharp fight took place
between the escaping convicts and tho
prison officers.
Deputy Warden Thompson got with
d close range Of THE convicts, and ID
d said that he fired the shot that
passed Through THE head of Convict
Smith. Valentine Swartz, a guard,
wRs hit three times with bullets, ouce
In each leg and on the left arm. All
are flesh wounds.
When Smith fell the other two con-
vNdts left him and ran until they
gained cornfield. The officers chased
thaem QUIT of this into a strip of tim
be1 and managed to surround them
about dark. The officers and the con-
vdctshn the timber exchanged shots
twice drufng the early part of the
night. TT was decided to keep close
watch and not attempt to drive tho
convicts out of the climber until day
sight. THIS morning, however, the
prisoners could not be found.
Some of the guards ARE still watch.
lng the timber while others are rid
ing over the country ON horseback,
kravering in pairs.
Smith is still alive, but the phyA-
cdans say there Is no possibility of his
recovery.
The oldest officials at the Kansas
penitentiary were astonished at the
boOdness and cumming of the plan Of
escape. All the prisoners in it have
bad records. Smith first came to the
Kansas rendtentiary from Summer
county in February, 1895. under Q
years sentence for grand larceny. He
broke aw2y from am outside guard
June "a, lS9S, stole IA horse from q
farmer in Eairmount township and
rode to Butler county, where he took
part in the robbery Of train and
killed n man. He was then convicted
"a anu DdCh Luc
penftentiary under the sentence of
death in December of the same year.
He has been worked In the coal mine
since.
EsteM was arrested for robbery and
placed in the Marshal county jail
He broke Jail and was about to be
captured in Morris county, when he
killed guard alt the bridge He came
to the penftenTiary under sentence
Ito be hanged.
Craven was semi On from Chautau-
qua county under a twenty-year SEM
Uence for highway robbery.
Deputy Warden Thompson led the
fight in the lane and showed great
courage Almost year ago he nearly
lost his life whep u convict jumped on
his back and tried to cut hfe rnrooA
EAt5il, one Of the prisoners who e.
capped was twice convicted of robbery
aince September, 1897. He served one
term, escaped from jail following his
second conviction, and to avoid cap
ture shoIt and killed Deputy Sheriff J.
E. Dunlap of Hartford, Kansas, He
was serving a life sentence for the
killing of Dunlap when he escaped
from the Kansas state penitentdary.
Estill Is suspected of several other