The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1901-02-08
BROKE JAIL.
Two of the Guaranteed Prison.
ers Get Out.
They Broke a Paddock With Broom.
stick, Fled Into the Night, and were
Re-captured today.

There was stir at the county Jail Sat
urday morning when it was discovered
that two of the prisoners had flown
the coop" during the night. The two
who gave Sheriff Gerlich the slip
were Ed. Whitney and Will Mitchell,
who were members of the quartet
committed Jan. 21st from Watonwan
county to serve forty days for drunken
ness and that subsequently came down
with the smallpox. The two young
fellows, when it was discovered that
they had small pox, had been placed
in the women's ward on the second
floor of the Jail. This is not as securely
fastened as the mems ward, only a
heavy brass paddock holding the iron
CRATE of the corridor closed
The escape of Whitney and Mitchell
was not discovered until Z 80 O'Clock
this morning. They were in their
cells at little after eleven O'Clock
last night when John Monson, the
quarantine attendant, and Ole Monson,
a trusty prisoner, went up to see that
everything was all right. After that,
John Monson went to sleep in the
little bedroom off from the Jail office
and Sheriff Gerlich retired in the resi-
dence part of the building. No one
was disturbed during the night by any
noise.
The two prisoners in some manner
secured possession of a broomstick and
with this they pried off the paddock
that was the only thing that stood be-
tween them and liberty. They then
pushed open the gate, descended the
stairs to the Jail Office, passed into the
kitchen, raised a window and de-
parted. They are the only ones who
know what time of the night they
left. The window was found open this
morning by the sheriff's family, and
the broken broomstick indicated how
the lock had been broken.
Sheriff Gerlich states that the two
Jones girls, who also have the disease,
were placed in the mems ward on the
second floor because they had Sc
verer attack and the mems ward is
further removed from the stairway
leading to the Office, thus rendering
the danger to persons in the Office less
great. The young men were given the
women's ward, which is at the head
of the stairs.
1t is no part of John Monson's
duties to guard the patients at night
to prevent their escape, as the pri-
soners are supposed to be securely held.
Whitney is twenty-one years of age
and has but one eye. He was a volun-
teer in the Spanish war, and while in
camp at Chickamauga became attack
ed with ivy poisoning, which destroy
ed the sight of one eye. He has "a
slight breaking out of the poisoning at
present, besides few smallpox pos
tules. .,,s.s. -
Mitchell is twenty-four years of age
and is short and stocky. -,
As soon as the escape became known.
the sheriff notified the police officials
and telegraphed to all the towns
around, giving a description of the
men. Parties were also started out to
overhaul the runaways.
Both prisoners, although suffering
from very light attacks of the small
pox, are in the right stage to com
municate the disease, and must en-
danger the health of all with whom
they come in contact. This makes
their escape a double offense. 1t is a
state prison offense to break Jail, and
also state prison offense to break
quarantine. These young men have
done both, and Sheriff Gerlich declared
this afternoon that he would have
them indicted and placed where there
is no such thing as escape.
Both escaped prisoners were located
at Madelia soon after noon today, hav-
ing returned to their old haunts. De-
putty Albert Gerlich received a tele-
phone message-to this effect at 1 10 p.
m. and instructed the officials there
to arrest and hold the boys. The lat
ter will be returned to the county Jail
and once more placed under quaran-
tine, and the sheriff will take precau-
tions to see that they do not again
escape. 1t is fortunate that they were
apprehended as soon as they were.