The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-07-28
A DARING PRISON ESCAPE.
THIRTEEN DESPERATE MEN
 FIGHT RAY TO LIBERTY.

A Fierce Battle at Folsom, Cal, Psnf.
 ientiary During Which . Turnkry Is
 Fatally Stabbed, a Guard Killed and
 Another Omcer Wounded -s.ate
 Troops Ordered oat-SIen Carry or
 Prison Officials as Protection. Sacramento. Cal. July 2z-A special from Folsom says:
 Thirteen desperate prisoners confined in the Folsom penitentiary made suc- cessful break for liberty at the break fast hour to-day. After a fierce fight in the captains office, during which a turnkey was fatally stabbed. guard killed an another officer was wounded, the convicts seized arms and ammuni- tion and. using the warden and other officers as shields, escaped. Tonight ] it is believed they are making for the Bald mountains. State troops ordered out by Governor Pardee have gone to the scene.
 The dead-William L. Cotter, a guard. cut in the abdomen. died five hours later.
 Wounded-c. J. Cochrane, turnkey, stabbed in back; will probably died. w.. I C. Palmer, cut in the head.
 I The convicts made their break for l liberty about a. m. They went to the office of R. J. Murphy, captain of the guard, and seized Warden Wilkinson, his grandson, Harry Wilkinson. Captain Murphy and several other officers and guards. A resperate fight took place. The convicts were armed with knives land razors and with these they assault ed Warden Wilkinson and his officers. The warden's clothing was slashed into shreds with razor but the blade did I not touch the flesh. Turnkey Cochrane fought the eonvicts with a chair but was 4 felled by knife thrust in the back. .l Guard Cotter was disembowelled by a cut in the abdomen and he died about noon. Palmer was severely cut in the, \ lhead. The floor of the office was cover. ed with blood.
 l The officers were easily outnumbered and were soon relieved of their arms. Then, using the officers as shields, the convicts started for the armory on the outskirts of the penitentiary grounds. They passed Gatling gun on one of the I walls, but the guards were afraid to \ shoot at the convicts for fear of killing l the prison officials.
 .l When the armory was reached officers there attempted to interfere but were 3Equickly overpowered and the convicts after fortifying themselves further \ with rifles, knives, pistols and amnu- I hilton, made a dash for the country. .] Convicts, each armed with rifle, marched on the other side of Warden l Wilkinson. who was threatened with death if he made an attempt to escape, !. land the officers were told that if any of the pursuers took the life of one of their number they would retaliate life for life. At Mormon bridge, about a mile from the penitentiary, the warden, his grandson and Captain Murphy were x released and sent back The others were marched along with the conyicts.A
 Further on the conviets went to a farmers house. seized his four horse a wagon, stripped the house of all of its portable valuables, took the farmer I with them sas driver and headed for x Bald mountain.
 All the conviets are still at large. Among the officers carried off by them is General Overseer McDonough. Some fears are felt for his safety as he bears the especial i'll will of the convicts,
 Later in the day Governor Pardee ordered company H of Placerville to lthe scene and company c, second in-
 fantry of Nevada City, to be in readi- ness.
 # The several hundred remaining pris-
 oners made no attempt to get away and
 were quietly returned to their cells and locked up
 Warden Wilkinson gives this state-
 ment of the affair: I went to the prison
 as is my custom, to see the convicts
 eat their breakfast stopped at the captains office to wait for the prisoners ' to walk out after the breakfast. We were sitting in the office when the line made it's appearance from the break
 fast table and started for the grounds
 Suddenly seven or eight of the prisoners
 made rush from the line with razors
 and knives drawn and came directly for f us.
 They were joined by others. judge there were about fifteen in all. Blood N began to flow. I saw that it was hope- less to put up fight against such odds
 One of the conviets came up behind my back, reached over with razor and
 tried to cut open my abdomen. You
 can see how my belt is split from end | to end and how my coat is hanging in , shreds. E& "The convicts got me and Murphy and five or six other officers whom they dis
 armed. They kept up and proceeded tc the yard and out of it by the front gate toward the armory. The Gatline guns stationed on the hill tops and along the prison walls would have beer fired by the guards but had they done
 so the officers, as we'll as the prisoners
 would have been killed. The guards were unable either to rescue us or pre-. vent the escape of the conyicts. As we neared the armory a guard came out and they, seized him. They took the keys away from him, entered the armory ano
 equipped themselves with all manner ot weapons. They then started along the
 road toward the Mormon Island bridge
 After had gone about mile they lei
 me go."