The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1901-03-22
WARDEN HAD NERVE
Kansas eOnvicts Brought to Time
by a Brave Officer.
Nearly 500 Desperate Men hEutInied ana
Made Serious Threats, But an Expert
snce Of 80 Hours without Food Made
Them Weaken and SurreRdeE.


" 800 desperate ccnvicts late Tues
day night, and released from their
confinement IA guards, whom the con-
Victs had prisoners In the mine from
noon Monday till midnight Tuesday
night That man is Warden J. B.
TOmIinson. To him Kansas owes it
that her name is not disgraced to-
day, and that a desperate plot has
failed.
The convicts are those who work
the prison mines They struck at
noon Monday and placed the IA guards
over them in the mule stables, under a
guard of their own. Then they sent
an ultimatum to the warden demand
ing that their task be lessened and
their food be increased. If the demand
were not complied with, they declared,
they would do what they pleased with
the guards and the mine. The threats
even went to the extent of declaring
that the mine would be destroyed,
with all who were in it. Tomlinson
not only prevented this, but he-brol1e
the strike entirely, released the guards
and brought the strikers to his own
terms. He will punish them at his
leisure.
The story of the strike of the min
ers here will go down in Kansas his
tory as piece of superb nerve. Simply
by of his iron viii, the warden
took it well In hand, kept it a secret
for tHenty-four hours or more, re-
fused all outside help, starved his
men pretty well into submission and
then, sending armed forces into the
mine, brought out his guards and took
the prisoners at his own will. And
not man was hurt in any way. A
more daring bit of work it would be
hard to find. A better managed con-.
quering of the most desperate of men,
who have almost all of them nothing
to lose, would be hard to equal.
The strike began at noon Monday,
when the men refused to work longer,
took the guards as prisoners and
sent word to the surface that they
would treat with the warden only
through a committee, and in writing.
They were answered in kind. Since
then they have receded in their terms
several times, till finally they sent
word very abiectly that they would
come out If their punishment would
be overlooked and would waive all
their demands. They were told that
no terms would be made whatever;
that it was a case of plain surrender.
The last message from the mine came
when early Tuesday evening the min
ers sent up Guard McShane, who was
not feeling well. This action was
taken as a sure sign of a weakening,
and when a miner clambered 400 of
the 72O feet up the air shaft to the
cage, and told his strOy, how the men
were out of light, and had no food,
and only some water, blackish, that
they had found and boiled, Tomlinson
knew that the end of the fight was
at hand. But he was in no hurry.
Shortly after nightfall the warden
and every available officer gathered
around the mouth of the mine, each
man heavily armed. Hunger had be-
gun to tell upon the cOnvicts and they
appealed to the warden. They sent
him word that if he would promise
not to infiict punishment for their ac-
ton they would surrender and come
up. To this the warden would not
consent, sending down word that the
surrender must be unconditional, the
question of punishment to be consid-
cred later.
As the night wore on the warden
held a consultation with his officers
and it was decided to attempt a rescue
of the guards and also to overawe the
convicts and force their surrender.
Selecting his men, the warden, with
seven or eight guards, heavily armed,
entered the hoist and were soon speed
ing downward. When near the bot
tom of the pit heavy fusillade was
opened, the shots being fired toward
the top of the shaft.
This took the convicts by surprise
and thinking that the shots were in
tended for them they hastily fed,
leaving the guards, who were soon
joined by their comrades, after which
they were sent to the top. The armed
guards then started after the convicts
and soon had the ringleaders under
arrest, when the others gave in and
surrendered. The work of taking
them to the surface began and before
morning the convicts were again be-
hind the bars Of their cells. The work
of hosting the men from the mine
lasted until nearly daylight, as there
were 800 to bring up and the HOSTS
could lift only handful at a time.
The men surrendered uncondition-
ally, the warden having refused to
grant them a single one of the de-
mands asked. After being taken from
the mines they were escorted to the
mess hall in squads and given soil
taFy cup of coffee, after which they
were locked up in their cell rooms.
Most OF the mutineers were negroes
and among them some of the most
desperate chaHaeters IN the prison.