The Iola register., 1901-11-15
PRISON
MUTiNY
Twenty-seven Escape From
the Federal Penitentiary
LeavenwOrth the Scene of Well Plan
ned Revolt Among the United
States COnvicts
ONE PRISONER WAS KILLED
Three Guards Wounded, one
Probably Fatally
The COnvicts were at Work on the
Building for the new Penjtentiary
now Being Erected

Leavenworth, Kansas, Nov. T.
Twenty-seveu convicts belonging al
the United States prison escaped thi.
afternoon while at work on the build.
ings of the new prison, two miles
southwest of the military post. The
delivery occurred only after battle
with the guards in which Convict Fort
Quinn was instantly killed, Guard j.
b. Waldrupe very seriously injured
and three others guards wounded
The escaped men fled to the west
ward of the scene of their revolt, and
no one has yet been captured, except
ing one, who returned to the prison of
his own accord. Forty mounted
guards are beating the country, and
police officers in all Western citie es
have been furnished with descriptions
of the missing convicts.
The conspiracy was hatched several
months ago, but the men had never
found an opportunity to carry it into
effect until today. The general plan
was not new, but it prove, effective
because of the limited number of
guards available.
The new prison is being,built almost
entirely by convict labor, the men
being taken from the old federal pris-
on near the army post each morning
and marched to the new stockade.
where they are kept until o'clock
each evening, at which time they are
formed in squads anG marched back
to the old prison.
This morning the construction gangs
numbered about 400 convicts. They
left the prison as usual about 1870
O'Clock and went to the stockade on
the site of the same new buildings,
where they went to work. as was the
custom, in small gangs. The new
prison will be the largest in the United
States and, as yet, none of the build
ings has been completed to "a degree
where the convicts can be left there
over night. Part of the walls have
been completed, that running along
tie west side being an eXte nsion of the
walls of the long cell houses. On the
north side the wall is completed about
fifty yards from the northwest corner.
The balance of tine stockade is built
of wooden planks constituting high
fence. The yard is in the form of a
rectangle, each side being about 300
yards long
The convicts not only lay the bricks
and stones going into the building,
rock quarry on the outside of the
stockade. This necessitates nearly
half OF the whole number working out
side the stockade walls, under guard
which reduces the number of avail
able guards on .he inside very materi-
ally.
AS the better behaved prisoners are
used in the outside work, the conspir-
acy was Matched, naturally, among
the men of the inside gangs.
The convicts chose the most favora-
Bile moment of the day for their trial
at escape. This was the time that
offered them an opportunity of seizing
several of the unarmed guards who
were acting as foreman of construc-
tion. and, with these helpless men held
in front of them, the desperate Grim
inals hoped to shield themselves from
the fire OF the guards.
The plan is an old one and seldom
fails to secure the convicts immunity
from immediate fire from the guards,
Two of the ring leaders were armed
with revolvers. These weapons had
been taken into the stockade last
night by confederate on the outside
of the prison. The revolvers had been
secreted in some weeds and brush
near the center of the east side OF he
stockade.
The general construction is in
charge of Superintendent f. Il. Kinds,
civilian. He has small Office of
rough boards thrown together in which
he keeps his plans The various fore
men, when the time arrives to knock
of work, bring their paper TO this
little Office before repairing to the
guard room on the west wall, where
their guns and revolvers are kept,
In the Office this afternoon was
Superintendent Kinds, William Car
roll, stone cutter foreman; Guard
Bohen, who acts as general foreman,
and one other man. As these men
were in consultation concerning de-
tails of the work that had been plan
ned for the morrow, Frank Thomps on,