Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1901-11-15
TURNED THE TABLES
ESCAPED coMvlcTs CAPTURE
THEIR PURSUERs.
Using the sheriff and Wife of IA
Farmer as Shields, They Exacted
a Promise that They Should Not
he Observation-Disclosures mt Large.

ktc mt LARGE.
Sheriff Cook of Topeka. Kan. and
Deputy Williams, were captured by two.
escaped convicts from the Fort Lcaven-
worth prison Sunday afternoon ut Pau
Tine. five miles south of Topeka. and
held as prisoners in the farm house of
II man named w ostcr for several hours.
The convicts finally escaped between ii
tine of police sent from Topeka to REIN
force the ~.sllcriff and are now at large.
Both were slightly wounded. Wooster
was badly wounded by one of the con-
Sicts when he tried To fire on them. Mrs.
Wooster and Sheriff Cook We're held be
fore The ~oonvicts as a shield by the
prisoners in making their escape. y
posse Welt i'm pursuit.
Al 2:30 Sunday afternoon sone farm
er boys near Pauline learned that the
convicts were i'll the neiglborhood.
Hastily forming II posse armed With
target rifles, pistols and clubs, they gave
chase. Neither of the c%onvicts was
armed and-tEcy were unable to make Il
stand. Later Sheriff Cook and Deputy
Williams arrived. Coming upon the
%convicts both officers fired, wounding but
not disabling them. Tho convicts then
He'd through Il small opening in the tim
bcr and ran into the house of Farmer
Wooster. Sheriff Cook telcphoncd TO
Topeka for assistance and then took up
the chase. Thinking the %convicts had
run around the house. Cook dartcd
through the open door. intending to sur
prise them ut the rear door. But instead
of this the %convicts had gone into tho
house and the sheriff almost fell into
their arms.
Sheriff Cook was ordered to give up
his gun, Witch he did. Deputy Will
!iams by this time had reached the
house and entered without knowing what
had happened inside and he too was
made captive by the convicts. In the
meantime Chief Stahl of Topeka. with
eight officers. We're on their way. They
arrived mt the Wooster house about an
hour after THE officers had been impriS-
oned. Chief, Stahl Immediately began
negotiations with the %convicts to give
up their prisoners and to surrender
themselves. but the .convicts only
laughed. Farmer Wooster then man.
aged to get Il gun and was about to make
an attack on the convicts when one of
them laid him low with Il blow from the
butt of a revolver taken from one of
Tlcir captivcs. The convict broke Woos-
I ter's right hand aud cut AN ugly cash
in his head.
One of the c~onvicts told Sheriff Cook
that he would he killed if he made the
slightest move looking toward their cap
ture. In the meantime the police oili-
GERS on the outside had surrounded the
building. but We're afraid to make Il
move for fear that Cook and Williams
would suffer.
Mrs. Wooster had tainted during the
excitement. She finally revived and at
Z O'Clock the convicts placed the woman
and Sheriff Cook in front of them as,
shields and made for the door. Then,
nfter eNacting Il promise from the sller-l
if that he would not permit any of the
officers outside TO fire on them. they
started for the open. AS they left the
house, the frightened farmers wife and
the submissive sheriff between them. the
c~onvicts passed through n Gordon of po-
lice who could have easily captured
them. and started for the railroad tracks.
The sheriff had in turn exacted a prom
Use from the police that they would not
modest the c%onvicts and they did not.