The leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1895-1905, 1900-04-18
THE JAIL DELIVERY.
Two Ofthc Prisoners Soon Back
Mrs. Wilkinson Rccaptured:
Anglin Surrenders of His
Own Accord.

Mrs. Wilkinson Tells How the Break Wa,
Madc-T. j. Howell the Man who Did
the Fine Work.
As THE LEADER was going to press
last Wednesday afternoon it announ
ced in brief paragraph that Mrs
Lena Wilkinson, one of the five pris
oners who escaped from the county
Jail the night previous, had just been
rearrested and brought to town. Mrs
wilkinson was recaptured on the
Brookhaven and Monticello road
| about mile and half from town. by
Mr.. Wat Higdon. Mr.. Higdon and a
negro were driving some beef cattle to
| town, when they met Mrs. Wilkinson
in the road, going toward Monticello
Mr.. Higdon thought he recognized her
as he had seen her once before and
heard of her escape, but passed on a
little distance; then directing the negro
to go on with the cattle, he rode back
and began questioning her She at
once admitted her identity, but told
him the Supreme Court had decided a
few days before that she was entitled
to bail, that she had made her bond
the evening before, and was then on
her way to the country to visit friend.
Mr.. Higdon told her that he had not
heard anything of this kind before,
that he had heard, however, of the Jail
breaking the night before, and that he
would have to insist on her coming
back to town with him, which she read
lily consented to do. The mail hack
from Monticello came along about
that time and she was placed in this.
brought to town, delivered by Mr..
Higdon to Sheriff Applewhite, who
gave her a welcome greeting, and
was soon locked up in her old quarters,
Mrs. Wilkinson, woman like, was in
no wise averse to talking, and she free
ly gave to the Sheriff and others her
version of how the escape of the night
before was effected.
A reporter of The LEADER interview
ed her in Jail Thursday morning before
her departure for Jackson and the
story she then told corresponded with
her statement of the day before.
She declared that the escape, from
beginning to end, was planned and ex-
eCuted by T. J. Howell, the slick ar
tist who was held for stealing Park
Tyrone's mare and mule last February.
To begin with, she said, the work was
done by Howell with set of small
saws which were smuggled in the Jail
to him by his brother when he visited
him in Jail on Friday March %, two
days before Anglin was put in for
shooting Brakeman Perkins.
AS corroborative of this portion of
Mrs. Wilkinsons story, it may be
stated that Howell's brother had his
horse shod at w. H. Penn's shop on
the day named, before going to the
Jail, and was seen by A. ID. Huff, who
did the shoeing, to accidentally drop
three small fine saws from his pocket
or wallet, which he hastily gathered
up with some display of confusion and
replaced in their hiding place. This
suspicious circumstance was promptly
reported to Sheriff Applewhite, who
at once took the precaution to employ
j. B. Stewart as night guard of the
Jail, and on the following Monday, as
sisted by ex-Sheriff r. c. Applewhite,
made thorough search of the Jail for
any tools which might be concealed by
Howell or any of the other prisoners.
Continuing her story at this point
Mrs. Wilkinson went on to say that
the day this search was made it came
very near proving fatal to Howell S
plans. On that day, she said, eX-Sheriff
Applewhite, after searching other
parts of the Jail, entered the iron
cage where Howell was confined, and
went through the cells in the cage and
carefully searched their contents, then
turned to Howell and searched him
thoroughly from head to foot. Howell,
she says, related to his fellow prison.
ers afterward, that while the search of
the cells inside the cage was going on,
he had the saws wrapped in piece of
newspaper inside his pants pocket.
He watched Bob Applewhite with air
of well-feigned unconcern as he pro
ceeded from one cell to another with
the search and seizing an opportune
moment slipped from his pocket and
tossed the paper containing the saws
into one of the cells which had been
already searched, unobserved. Then
when the time came for Bob to &c
through his clothes, he stood up and
submitted TO the ordeal with all the in
nocent meekness of a lamb.
After that, Mrs. Wilkinson said that
Howell, not knowing at what moment
the search might be repeated, besought
her to take the saws and keep then
concealed for him, but this she posi-
lively refused to do.
She said Howell began using the
saws pretty soon after receiving them
at least two weeks before the breal
was made. The first thing he did was
to begin saving the iron bars in two il
the east window of Nose Anglin's cell
which is in the rear of the Jail, at the
northeast corner. Howell was locked
up in the big iron cage every night, ant
she says this work was all done in The
day time, when no one was about OF
the outside, some of the other prison
ers standing watch. She said she WA
very positive that Anglin did not d.
the work, though it was done in hi
cell, and she could not recall bu