The Savannah morning news., 1901-11-08
BREAK FOR LIBERTY
TwENTY-NINE PRISONERS ESCAPE
FROM FEDERAL PRISON.
ONE KILLED; FIVE WOUNDED.
ARMED GUARDS HAVE DESPERATE
FIGHT WITH CONvICTs.

Through Unknown Means Prisoners
secured Two Revolvers, and with
These Began Their Fight for
Freedom-Fugitives Said to Have
Held Up Many Farmers, Taking
Horses and Observation-Disclosures
Now in Pursuit.
Leavenworth, Kan, Nov 7.-One man
was killed, five others dangerously
wounded and twenty-six desperate
convicts are at large, as a result of a
mutiny late this afternon at the site
of the new United States prison, two
miles southeast of here, where 400 pri-
soners from the federal prison, in
charge of thirty armed guards, were at
work.
When the trouble began the rebel
Ious prisoners had only two fevolvers.
These had been secreted in one of the
wells of the building by some unknown
person. Two walls are partly COM
pleted. and the remainder of the site of
the building is surrounded by high
wooden. stockade. Gus Parker of Ard
more, I. T., one of the ringlead-
ers of the mutiny under
pretense of a necessity, walked
10 the corner of the stockade,
where the revolvers were concealed,
end under cover of some weeds secured
them without being seen. He returned
TO the gang and passed one of the re-
volvers to Frank Thompson, a negro
from South McAlister, 1. t., who Sc
creted it about his person. When I.
E. Kinds, superintendent of construc-
ton, and three unarmed guards, pre-
rared to round up the men at the end
of the days work, the two armed con-
Victs covered them with the revolvers
and, encouraged by the other mutinous
convicts, forced the men to walk be-
fore them to the northwestern corner
of the stockade, where they expected
to make a rush through the opening.
on the outside of the stockade was
an armed guard, and the convicts We're
met at the opening by 9. Il. Burrows,
a. guard, who fought them back, put
who received two shots in the neck.
The convicts then rushed over to the
south wall to another opening and were
met by Arthur Treelford, an armed
guard, who is in charge of all the con-
Victs. Treelford resisted the conVlctS
and was shot twice, but not danger
ously wounded. Defeated in their at
feYnpt. to escape at this point, the men
rushed to the guardhouse, temporary
frame structure, where the arms are
kept. The guards from the outside
rushed in at this point and drove the
eonvicts away from the guard house.
]. p. Waldrupe, guard. shot and
killed Ford Ounce, from Ryan, l. I.
The prisoners then made a grand rush
for the main entrance and twenty-siX
of them succeeded in escaping. Most of
the escaped men are from Indian Ter
ritory. Closely followed by the guards
the men ran to a nearby forest and
succeeded in eVading their pursuers.
The men went in the direction of Eas-
ton, Kan, and it is reported here that
they have held UP many farmers, TAX
ing horses and clothing.
The convicts in their flight compelled
F. E. Kinds, superintendent of con-
struction to go with them and he was
not allowed to return until they had
gone almost two miles. w. f. Pea
slee, one of the fugitives who has only
fifteen months more to serve, deserted
the band q. few moments after Super
intendent Kinds was released. The
two men reached here almost the same
time. They reported that the fugiti-
yes, after holding a consultation, de-
cided they would form into several
parties so that some might escape
through others should be captured. 1t
is the intention OF all to attempt to
reach the rough country southeast of
here.
Twenty-four members of the Fourth
Cavalry fastened to the scene of the
trouble. but when they arrived the
convicts had escaped and the soldiers
could not participate in the chase
without orders from their superior.
Forty armed guards from the federal
prison are in pursuit of the fugitives.
The wounded men are in the prison
hospital. J. B. Waldrupe was shot in
the head and in the neck and is in a
precarious condition.
Andrew Leonard, a guard, is in the
hospital with a broken leg. He was
hurt as the prisoners were escaping
through the main entrance of the
stockade. One of the fugitives named
Otter was shot but he was able to
go with the others, and the extent of
his injuries is. unknown.