Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-07-13
ESCAPING PRISONER SHOT
Cool Guards in Caldwell, N. J.. Pre-
vent Jail Delivery.

Z ii
Caldwell, N. J., July 13.-Two prison
ers yesterday attempted to escape from
the convict gang of stone breakers in
the yard of the Essex county jail. Both
were captured, but not until after one
Of them had been shot in the hip and
the wardens had had a long chase
across the fields for his companion.
For minute or two there was an
uproar on the part of all the prisoners
In the Jail, and Warden Meyers and his
deputies were threatened with the hui
initiation of having an empty prison.
The men who tried to escape were
James Mccormick OF Newark and Ed
ward Cooney of Hoboken. They were
at work with thirty or more prisoners
in the stone pen, which is fenced In
with barbed wire netting. Cooney and
McCormfck worked side by side, sitting
on the ground and breaking up blocks
of trap rock with heavy iron rings.
Evidently they had planned to get
away together, for both asked the
guard If they might go to the pump for
drink Of water. The guard told them
to go ahead.
The pump is In the corner of the en-
closure within foot of the wire fence.
While Cooney pumped Mccormick
pounded at the barrier till he had made
hole in the mesh big enough for q
man to put the toe OF his boot in. That
much was accomplished before the
guard realized that something was
wrong. When he looked around to see
why the men were not coming back to
their work he saw Cooney astTide of
the fence just ready to drop on the
other side and Mccormick with one
foot in the hole in the mesh prepared
to climb.
The guard shouted to them to stop
and threatened to shoot If they didn't.
He also gave the alarm for the other
deputies, ten Of whom rushed from
other parts Of the yard and from the
jail.
Cooney, the man who was lucky
enough to be on top OF the fence
when he was discovered, dropped to
the other side, shouting to McCor-
mick to FOLLOW, and take chance with
the guns. Mccormick took the
Chance and grabbed the top OF the
fence. A guard fired shot over his
head but the prisoner kept on climb
ing. A second shot was q little clos
er to his head. burt he threw leg over
the swayinx top OF the wire fence.
Then the guard ahmed TO hit and put
bullet into McCormick's hip. The
prisoner fell from the fence back into,
the stone pen.
BY this time all the other prisoners
from being a little nervous and excit-
ed had got into a good deal of fren-
~ and began to shout and curse the
guards. They raised their heavy iron
rings and threatened to attack them,
but they were not crazy enough to
risk 1t when their keepers leveled
their rifles. The prisoners threw
down the rings and then, on q COM
mon impulse, turned and made 81
J. ultaneous rush for the fence
Ten, guards fired a volley over the
heads Of the mob, but so low that the
bullets hit or went through the mesh
OF the top part Of the fence and set
all the barbed wires vibrating and hiss
ing. That one voIley was enough.
The prisoners skunk back to their
places and went to breaking stones as
If nothing had happened.
In the meantime other guards had
gone out to hunt for Cooney They
traced him across a wide field back of
the jail by the opening that his body
had made as he ran through the uncut
hay. The trail led through a thin strip
of woods into another field where the
hay was standing. and Cooney might
as well have left word where he was
going. Half way across the second
field the guards found the fugitive's
prison suit. There was a little wider
opening In the hay where the prisoner
had stopped to undress and she'd his
stripes. They found Cooney himself
about 200 yards further on, curled up
on the ground.
Its on me-" he said when five
guards stood about him with their
guns pointed and told him to walk
back to where his clothes were and
dress. He said that he thought he
would be able to hide in the tall grass
till after dark and then f1nd way to
get clothes.
Cooney and Mccormick were both
sentenced last May for nine months
for stealing brass fixtures from the
passenger cars Of the Erie railroad
MAJOR BLACK BACK.