The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-10-17
Eleven Prisoners Saw a
Way to Liberty.
NONE YET CAPTURED
A Most Daring and ShrewdIy Planned
Jail Delivery Results in the Liber-
alton of Several Desperate Men
Confined in Buncombe Coun-
ty Jail.
ty Jail.

Especial to News and Observer.)
Asheville, N. c.. Oct 16.-One of
the most daring, most successful AMI
most shreWdly planned Jail deliveries
that ever occurred in Western North
Carolina was effected in the Buncombe
county jail, of this city, last night.
when eleven prisoners, five white ana
six colored, sawed their way through
the solid steel walls of the cages, cut
through the iron bar across an outer
Ventilator. climbed down the brich
walls OF the building and escaped into
the darkness.
At the time of the delivery there
We're twenty prisoners in the Jail ana
nine of them refused to avaif then-
selves of the opportunity to escape,
although they did not inform the ohi-
Gals of the intention of the others.
A prisoner Informed the sheriff that
the escape was planned ana executed
by Bob Duncan, VINO has q record
as jail breaker and who has boasted
that there is not Jail in this COM
monwealth that can hold him. That
the prisoners had some outside as
SlsIance is certain, and it is thought
that a woman relative of Duncan
passed a hack saw through to the
Jail birds; but it is stated that tile
steel springs that are found in some
shoes were taken by the prisoners
from their footwear and worked into
files and that it was with the files
thus made that the steel plate of the
cage was sawed.
The Men who Escaped.
The white prisoners VINO escaped
We're John Pate. OF Madison county,
charged with the murder OF a Wom-
an ana one OF the most desperate
men in Western North Carolina; SteV-
Ell Ray, Henry Ray. DAVID Christopher,
Bob Duncan, all charged With larceny
save Duncan. who is charged with
assault with a deadly weapon.
The escaped negro prisoners are:
James Maize, James Allen, Edward
howard. John Woodruff, Hezekiah
Dixon. all charged with larceny; joe
Salley. charged with bigamy;/ James
Amen, against whom there were
cases.
The escape was discovered by
sheriff about 10 O'Clock last nj
when he entered the Jail to lock .s
prisoners into their cells. He r.
redly secured the remaining prisg
ers and dispatched deputies in
search. but as yet not one has bvoIl
re-captured.
II Is believed that the work of
saving through the steel plate of the
cage was accomplished yesterday.
The hole through which the pris-
oners left cage was made close TO
the floor of the rear cell. and at this
point the cell is solid steel an eighth
of an inch in thickness and braced
and strengthened with steel bar on
the outside a quarter of an inch
thick A piece of this plate measur-
ing IA by IL IL inches was cut
from the solid steel back of the cage.
and the steel bar was also cut.
Crawling through this opening, the
five white prisoners gained the cor
ridor of the upper portion of the Jail.
An opening in the floor of the white
mems cell admitted the six negroes
from the cage below, and very short
ly the prisoners were ready to lib
crate themselves.
Near the roof of the jail on the
west side is a small window for veIl-
tilation protected on the outside by
iron bars. 1t was through this win
dow that the men passed out.
With the aid of saw one of the
iron bars was cut in two at the bot
tom and then priced Inward, and the
men then squeezed themselves through
the small hole and descended to the
ground by the iron bars across the
large windows.