The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-06-28

1t was not until the mob's skilled worknen
with their cold chisels had cut away the
fastenings OF the first and second steel doors
at the foot Of short flight of stairs and
led into the dining-room Of the prison
proper. that a further attempt was made
to stay the rioters progress.
Behind this door Capt Evans was stationed
full stream OF water. This he turned full
into the rioters faces as they surged up to
attack the door, hurting them back In a
heap and for several minutes holding them
In check.
sprang through side door in the passage
way. partly out of the reach Of the hose.
| and from there emptied his revolver, send
ing its full complement of bullets whizZing
about the captains head A..
on the wall and on the ironwork OF the
door will long remain among the scars
left this memorable night on the Whining
ton workhouse. The. captain unframed,
moment on. until the doomed negro was
reduced to a mere handful OF charred bones
and flesh. all seInblance OF resistance on the
part Of anybody representing law and
| order ceased
THR THIRD DOOR CUT OPEN.
The cold-chisels made comparatively
short work Of the third door, as they had
of the first and second. The steel clasps
for just such work and welded by men
who knew just how to use them.
To the right. as they flung the battered
steel door open at last, there opened
narrow. dark tunncl-like passage Down
this the mob plunged on somebody's
wild assertion that the negro was hidden
away down there. As they reached Its
pistol shot which, under the low. arched
roof sounded like the roar of a CT mon.
| II was followed by an outbreak of curses
and yels. Nobody was hurt Who fired
it or why he did it nobody knew or cared.
| The negro was not there. That was the
| essential
| They came crowding back into the now
densely packed prison dining room. which
was then the last fortress they had car
! ried From the moment of the first. en-
| trance at the front door the force OF in
vaders was constantly fed from the SEEM
| ingly exhaustless reservoir of humanity
out of doors.
| In compact mass, filing all the cor
| the mob followed the progress of the
cutters of steel barriers step by step as they
advanced. crowding up So close as to give
the men working at the doors barely space
in which to ply their tools.
THE WOMEN 8 QUARTERS SEARCHED
In the meantime there had been one act
of consideration on the part OF the mob
toward Mr. Meserve and his family When
har oh;ia ,t,a Gil Wy bar Nod rot reated
10 thn ,vo,nsn's acna ~ mani ~ Tho nrison
Hsrr in nreat fesr and anxiety she had
| stayed during all the hideous uproar of the
mob's invasion.
trnnn. w. ~. pr;snn Vas f6rced that the
murderer was hidden away In the women's
fnr ; uifo;s and b;s cfi}d's sal,o NOT tn
hreak into that mart 81 the building, as
s',r;na ,ha,, ~, nc bonar that tho nrieonnr
s.os ," po, t' tharo ' nus
re r;o,ors de,rrrred 70 accept;nv any,
,a'' 49,, r1r nm,,,ti, la onnserncI
thoiy nreU Tbev had come To uet that
,aaro rnnSS ,baw ,;thar would GOT hin, ar
hnerv from tleIr own r.rsonal earch that
he was not 20 be rot, ---,.'.- -" % - 80.
Yet some of the more moderate among
them were willing 10 make q concession.
II Mr.. Meserve would admit one OF their
number to search the women's department
they would accept his report and make no
attack on that part OF the prison.
To this Mr.. Messrve readily consented,
and delegate was selected who ransackcd
every nook and corner OF the department
without finding his man and came back
and 80 reported Then this wing Of the
mob swept on and squeezed itself in with
the main body in the corridors. The
wOmen's ward remained thereafter undis-
turbed.
IN THE PRISON
Meantime the pioneers with the cold
chisels and tn. sledgr hammers had broken
through the fourth steel door and the mob
was now almost within reach of its prey.
The Wilmington worsho,lse. built in
1890, is constructed along the latest lines of
prison architecture, The cells are set in
cars that in turn ia act viii hin and n, n
distance of several feet from The solid brick
walls of the bui,dina,
access To the oren galleries fronting the
rows 81 coils is thrnuSh heavy q, eel doors
which are fastened nv A combination lock-
There il a box in the wall by each door, in
which is the mechanism Of levers bv which
mo-, only The bolts of these doors. but the
doors OF he cells M we'll are onara,ed
once within the space in which il set the
vas, cage that surrounds the tiers of cells
ali that remained le, ween the mob and Tie
murderer was one more door of steel. the
one openine upon tho gallery on which
was his cell, But which was his cell? What
gallery led to it?
There were three galleries. one above an.
other. If the doors of all three mus, be
cut before the right one was reached. and
that In the ordinary course of luck was as
likely as not it meant more long and tedious
work Already the mob had been at it's
task nearly two hours.
One of the leaders. when the attack was
begun had boosted that within two hours