The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-04-08
FORCED GUARD DOWN
FIVE DESPERATE CONVICTS ES-
CAPPED FROM CHANGING.
AT WORK IN A DITCH
THEY SUDDENLY SPRANG UPON
THE LONE GUARD.

Tall Brush-Desperate Prisoner
Called "Cracker" First Tackled
Guard wall and Others Helped
Him Put Convict Guard Down.
"Craclser'' Wanted to XIII wall
Officers Armed With Winchesters
and Shotguns Followed Negroes
with observation-disclosures TruS-
ties, However, Confused the Dogs
and They Didn't work.
After relieving the man who was
guarding them of a doub1ebar shot
gun and a revolver, five desperate
negro convicts escaped from the coun-
ty chaingang, between Sand Fly Sta
ton and Judge Norwood's home, on
LaRoche avenue, at l o'clock yester-
day afternoon, and had not been 10
Gated up to an early hour this morn
ing.
Although Robert Cummittee known
as Cracker" wanted to kill Guard
Doc Wall, the guard escaped injury,
and was able to tramp the swamps and
woods with a posse organized to run
the convicts down. Wall claimed that
he had been struck in the side by
Cracker" but the convicts who re-
main say that the dash for liberty was
made in a different fashion, and the
story they tell is altogether probable.
Within two hours after the five con-
victs disappeared in the tall brush with
the weapons of the guard, a large force
of officers, armed with Winchesters and
shotguns, was securing the country
with bloodhounds.. The chase was
kept up until nightfall when it had
to be abandoned Tagged out the Of
ficers returned to the city and station
ed themselves at the various railroad
crossings, and at places where the
convicts would be likely to put In an
appearance.
Men who Got Away.
Tony Small, sent up for cleaning out
a Chinese laundry on West Broad
street. near the Union Station; julius
Razor a road hustler, convicted of
stealing shoes from a car of the At
lantic Coast Line; Frank Garrett,
brass thief who robbed the SeabOar6
Air Line; Tom jenkins, serving a term
for stealing a stove, and an addi-
tional term for making his es-
cape several years ago; and Cracker,
an all-arOund crook who, by escaping
days up to three years, are those who
are at large. The plans were laid
and put into execution by Cracker,
shrewd negro of the Dorsey Delaney
type and at one time almost invalu-
able as a spotter.
Because of the fact that he had es-
capped several times Cracker was dou-
BILE shackled. Wall was working
gang of s~'elve men, and a water boy
in a often, when he was attacked.
Judge Norwood had passed a few
minues before on his way to his home
on LaRoche avenue. Cracker got out
of the ditch and took his shoe off, say
ing that a twig was hurting his foot.
He put his shoe back ON and walked
behind the guard, who was close to
barbed wire fence. Suddenly Cracker
seized the guard from behind and
pinioned his arms to his side, At the
same time the desperate convict took
a revolver from Wallis hip pocket.
Fought for the. Gun.
1t was apparent that the escape had
been planned and as soon as Cracker
caught hold of the guard Garrett ran
forward and grabbed hold of the shot
gun carried by Wall. There was
scuff1e for the possession of the wea-
pon, but the white man was over
powered and the gun wrenched from
his grasp. A package of tobacco and
cigarette papers were taken from his
pocket, and he was thrown against
the barbed wire fence.
Wall says that he started for Gar
rett, who, armed with the shotgun,
jumped the ditch and went in the di-
rection of a strip of marsh. The guard
alleges that he felt for his pistol and
to his dismay found that it had been
taken. AT the same time Garrett turn
ed upon him and ordered him back,
oh Fhn COZ in1 hn i-fn
clared with an oath his intention of
killing the white man. An old negro
named Cuthbert, himself a member of
the squad worked by Wall, begged the
armed convict not to shoot, and ac-
cording to the water boy of the squad
the guard himself did some begging,
with the result that Cracker chang
ed his mind and crossed the road with
Small, Razor and Jenkins, going in the
direction of Sand Fly Station.
Cracker" was hampered by the
double shackles and could not keep up
with the others. Wall. however, was
unarmed and made no effort to follow
Willie Small, young mulatto thief
who was water boy for the gang,
claims to have persued Garrett, who
with an oath ordered him to do a hot
foot'' in the opposite direction. Young
Small says that he then tried to fol-
low the four men who had gone in
the opposite direction, but that they
got lost in the brush, about two hun
dred yards from the road.
COnVictS Ran wild.
After his weapons had been taken
from him Wall was powerless and he
told the seven men who had refused to
escape, to hurry down the road and
report what had happened to Capt.
Schuman, who is in charge of Camp
No. 3, and who was working a gang
more than half a mile away. The men
in stripes hurried down the road as
instructed and reported what had
happened. Capt. Schuman tried to cut
off Garrett, but had to go some DIS
lance to secure a Winchester
The score or more of conVicts who
were digging on the side of the road,
or who were in charge of the carts
that were being used in hauling sand
broke in every direction, declaring
that they would run the escapes to
cover. They We're not under restraint
and scattered in every direction. driv-
ing through the woods and really go
ing about at will. Had the negroes so
desired they could have made it a gen
eral delivery. They were finally all
rounded up and news of the trouble
was telephoned to the city. The
sheriff's office got busy in a hurry and
the superintendent of police offered
assistance 20 Sheriff Schwarz.
Officers Hurried to Scene.
No time was lost in eating auvov