Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1901-11-13
CONV|CTS NOT YET CAUGHT
Federal Prisoners Who Led Success
full Mutiny at Fort Leavenworth
Evade Their Pursuers.
CONSPIRACY WAS DARIRGLY EXECUTED
heVolvers Struggled into the Prison Gave
the kinSleaders Absolute Power Over
the Guards-AfterG Gaining Their Liberty
They Created Reign of Terror in the
Farming Districts They Passed Through.

AhNy ~ htlsn OF Terror the
Farming Districts They Passed Through.
Leavenworth. Kan, Nov. 9.-The
most successful prison mutiny ever
attempted in this section was put in
execution at the new United States
penitentiary site on the Fort Leavcn-
worth reservation. There was a
pitched battle between guards and
rcbellious conyicts and one guard
was killed and three wounded. While
one convict was killed outright and
another fatally wounded. A force of
about $50 cOnyicts are worked at the
new federal penitentiary site. They
are kept at the old federal peniten-
tiary at Fort Leavenworth, formerly
known as the military prison. These
convicts are marched out to the new
prison in the morning and back in
the evening. BY some means or other
the convicts managed to get hold of
three revolvers. They were not the
kind used by the guards. and were
evidently furnished by some outside
source. The guns were dirty, indicat-
ing that they had been buried. Twen-
ty minutes before the time for all
conVicts to gather in the barbed wire
counting pen, three convicts quietly
walked into the Office of Frank Hines,
the constructing engineer of the
new penitentiary, where Hines and
three other forcmen were i'm consul
tation. Without any ceremony the
officers were told to walk in front
of the convicts as shields. while they
started for the tower in which were
armed guards. They took from
Guards Huffman and Burrows their
guns and revolvers. When they ap-
preached Guard Waldrup he refused
TO surrender and fired, killing Quint
Fort, a desperate Indian territory
prisoner. At the same time Waldrup
fell with bullet wound in his fore
head. In the melee that followed
three other guards were shot At
this stage Hines begged the convicts
not TO kill any guards, and told them
they had everything their own way.
They seized oak timber and battered
down the board gates. The rioting
Convicts then called on all to follow
who wanted to escape. Only - out
Of the $50 did so.
After gaining their liberty the des-
perate convicts took possession of
farm wagons. buggies and the like
and ran people into their homes and
created reign of terror in the west
crn outskirts of Leavcnworth and in
the farming districts they passed
through in their wild efforts to make
their escape. The troops at Fort
Lcavcuvorth were called on to help
restore order at the new penitentiary
site and hold in check the convicts
who did not leave the stockade. No
organized effort was made to capture
the mutinecrs until after dark. as it
required all the efforts of the officials
to handle those who did not get
away.
Advices received at the prison in
dicatc the mutineerS are making for
the Indian territory at break-necll
speed. Warden McClaughry is direct
ing every effort to head the escaping
convicts of before they reach the
kaw river. He telegraphed last night
to bring sherifIs and other officers to
guard the Kaw river bridges. An
swering telegrams have been received
from several points that young farm
ers, well armed, are watching the
bridges. Four gangs of prison Off
GERS are hunting for convicts. One is
in the neighborhood of Winchester,
one near TonganoXie, on between
McLouth and Oskaloosa and the 9TH
er is travelling in haste for Linwood
The 16 guards who were on duty
at the time of the riot had charge of
the entire building site. which covers
nearly 20 acres, counting the reser-
vation Immediately around the walls.
No blame has been laid upon the
prison officials, as the force in charge
of the working gang was all that was
available. Congress required that the
new penitentiary be built 10y convict
labor and the only way that kind of
labor can be furnished is to march
the prisoners out in the morning and
back ut night. There are only GO
guards on the entire reservation,
some of them being required to over
see the work on the government farm
of 600 acres, others to stand watch
over the prisoners in the cells, and the
rest to have charge of the squads
that attend to the cooking and other
prison work.