Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1903-01-28
BROKE JAIL WITH DYNAMITE.
How Gus Hyatt Liberated Hfmnelf
and Fifteen Others In Tennessee

How Gus Hyatt Liberated Himnelf
and Fifteen Others In Tennessee
Gus Hyatt was the leader Of one Of
the most daring deliveries known In
the annals of criminal history last Oc-
tober, when he and fifteen fellow. con-
victs escaped from the Tennessee pen
itentiary through a breach in the wall
made by dynamite explosion.
Hyatt had been sentenced for life
for murder and train robbery. He had
been a leader when a free man, and
the convict stripes did not take away
the quality which enabled him to COM
mand other men, and for this reason
he was soon the most popular man in
side the prison walls, not only with the
other prisoners, but with the guards as
we'll. His leadership permitted him to
enjoy many comforts, and he was
elected "storekeper" by the convicts,
according to a custom which then OBJ
tanned in the Tennessee prison. The
rules are changed now.
In his store he kept a small stock of
groceries and tobacco and also of dy-
Mantle. How he obtained the explo-
sive has never yet been explained. His
plans were we'll laid, and he admitted
only the most desperate and hardened
criminals to his confidence. On the
night Of the escape, just after supper,
when the prisoners were having their
usual half hour Of recreation in the
corridor Of the main building, he en-
gagged the guard in conversation. Two
or three Of his confederates approach
ed, pinioned the officer, and cast him
into a cell and locked him up.
At that moment fire broke out in
Hyatt's cell, which was the "store," ;"
and the attention Of the other convicts
was attracted to that end Of the long
corridor. In a moment Hyatt had CIV
en- the dynamite to John Dow, an ex-
pert safe blower, and a bench was
turned up on end to serve as ladder
and the dynamite was set off in the
sill Of one Of the big barred windows,
ten feet from the floor Of the corridor.
It was a failure and the hole made was
not large enough for a cat to go
through.
In an instant. Dow was ready with
another dynamite cartridge, and this
time it exploded with a terrific noise
that was heard for two miles, and a
breach of the solid stone wall three
feet in diameter was left.
Dow was out first, then the other
conspirators and four or five convicts
who knew nothing Of the plot, but
saw a chance to gain their liberty,
followed.
All this time Hyatt, the leader, and
arch -conspirator, stood on the inside
with a pistol, taken from the guard,
keeping watch. He ordered the other
convicts to stand back, and then he
sprang through the opening, upon
which was then levelled the fire from
the Winchesters Of half dozen
guards. On the outside the breach
was fifteen feet above the ground and
41yoSl liS GdIlll anu
firing back at his outwitted jailers.
Since then not the slightest clue has
been heard Of him until now that Con-
ductor Keen recognizes in Hyatt's pic
ture the man who attempted to hold
up the Louisville and Nashville train
Tuesday morning.
OF the sixteen men who escaped
through the hole, one was killed within
hundred feet, two were captured that
night, one the next day and another a
few weeks later in indianapolis. The
other eleven are still at liberty.
The rules of the Tennessee prison
are changed now. Stores are abol-
ished, the half-hour recreation in the
corridor after supper is no longer al
| lowed and the men are experiencing a
much more rigorous discipline as the
| result of Gus Hyatts leadership"
Hyatt was the terror of a dozen
counties on the Tennessee river before
he was sent to the penitentiary, and
| his escape almost caused a panic In
many localities.-Louisville Courier
Journal.