The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1903-03-21
M'DONALD And OTHERS
ESCAPE FROM PRISON
At Jackson-Sawed Their Way to LIZ
berty - Were Armed With pistols
And Ready to XIII.

About daylight Monday morning four
white prisoners escaped from the jackson
Jail, by cutting out of one Of the iron
cages, through which they passed into
the space on the outside, and then by
saving an iron rod that protects the win.
dows at the northwest corner, opposite
the gas house, were enabled to reach the
,grouna below by means of blankets tie d
together. The wall surrounding the Jail
was shen scaled and the prisoners were
free.
The namesof those escaping were VIM.
=. Mcdonald, the bigamist, Of many
shines, who was recently convicted at
Canton and given ten years In the PEN
itentiary.
Another was J. e. Leland, the bur-
glar, from Raleigh, Smith county, who
has attained uiuch notoriety, and whose
case was only last week reversed by tho
Supreme court.
The other two we're Jack Barnes, a
United States prisoner, brought there for
conhnement from Tupelo, charged with
swindhng postmaster, and Geo. Tho
mas, who buglarized railroad cabooso
at the Jail yards in jackson few weeks
ago, and who was in Jail awaiting the
action Of the grand jury.
Jailor Robert Armstrong, and also his
son William, we're both on duty at the
time of the escape, occupying room on
the lower floor.
Mr.. Armstrong states that about 3
O'Clock that morning, hearing an unu-
sual noise, he quietly unlocked the door
leading up stairs, and listened for about
ten minutes, but everything being still,
he concluded he had been mistaken.
However, TO be certain, he went outside
the building, and passed around it, with
out making any discovery. About 4
O'Clock he made another trip around the
building, with no better result. He then
returned to bed, and, did not get up un-
til after daylight, when the escape Of the
four prisoners became known and the
alarm given. This story is corroDorat-
ed by VIM Armstrong and white,
trusty named julius Lowenstein.
Escape from the cell was effected by
saving out section Of the iron cages,
seven cuts having been made, the bar,
being about one-half by one and half
inch.
The implement used was jewelers.
say. Of fine quality. An extra blade was
found close by, but that in the frame
was evidently the only one used. 1t ia
suspected that the saw was passed into
the Jail from the gas house, having been
attached to string thrown out from the
jail window and then pulled In. 1t is not
known who was the accomplice, but one
theory is that it was negro, to whom
Mcdonald the other day gave two dol
lar bill, with instructions to get him
something to eat. The other is that a
certain woman, who was permitted to
visit him until recently, passed the saw
IN. Both those parties are under surveil-
lance, but there is no actual proof that
either of them did it.
There is no clue yet to the direction
taken by the escaping prisoners after
they left the Jail, but accurate descrip-
tions have beer sent out and it is thought
some Of them at least will be arrested, ,as
their escape was discovered too early for
them to have gotten much Of a start.
Mcdonald was the most noted of the
prisoners, and kept detective following
him for good many months over three
or four States, being finally captured in
Texas, and carried to Canton, where he
was recently tried and given the full
limit of the law on the charge Of bigamy.
He was originally from Pass Christian
and has living wife whom he married
there, another at Aberdeen, where he
lived sometime, another at Canton. at
least one or more at other places.
The desk in the Jail, when the report
er called that morning, was covered with
the private papers left behind by Nc
Donald. Among them was pass book
issued to him by the State National Bank
OF New Orleans, which showed that in
1901 he did business with that institution
and had about S400 to his credit. The
photos OF four or five ladies and several
little children were also among his ef-
fects. These are. supposed to be some
OF the young women duped by him and
their childen. There was also a receipt
for Knights of Pythias dues among his
effects, but the name OF the lodge was
not given. Fellow prisoners say he also
claimed to be mason AMI Odd Fellow.
]. e. Leland claims to hail from Mem
phis, and was indicted about year ago
for burglarizing safes at Raleigh and
Taylorsyille in Smith county. He was
also indicted for horse-stealing and on
this charge was tried and convicted, his
case coming to the supreme court on ap-
peal, which reversed the decree OF the
lower court and granted the prisoner a
new trial. He was being held here for
safe keeping until the next term of the
Smith county court.
The charge against Barnes was that Of
swindling the postmaster at Tupelo. He
was confind awaiting trial at the next
term OF the United States court.
Thomas broke and robbed railroad
caboose few weeks ago, and pleaded
guilty to burglary in Mayor Heming-
ways court, which held him under a
bond Of $3.50 to await the action OF the
grand jurya justice Of the peace hay
ing no jurisdiction in cases of this kind !.
THEY HAD PISTOLS.
There is reason to doubt that had Jail
or Armstrong gone to the upper story of
his bastile at the time he heard the
noises and got up to listen at the door
to the stairway, he would have been as
sf