The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1906-02-03
TWO PRISONERS
ESCAPE FROM JAIL
esBILLYs, LUAGAI AND ssAfICKEY,,
s WARD TAKE ssFRENCH LEAVE"

walk Ont 1t MIDDAY, Just After .
visit From sheriff and Prosscut.
Ing gAttorney-Escaps to vancouv.
or Island In Small Boat.
lTHE first jail break in the history
- Of the county occurred last
Tuesday and it was so easily accom-
lplished that the incident is little
short OF ludicrous. There we're three
men in the little wooden ssbastile" e"-
Mickey" Ward, wanted in Belling-
ham for burglary, BILLY" Lummi, Of
unsavory reputation on this island,
who was assisting Ward in his at
tempt to escape arrest, and Frank
O'Brien, a fisherman, who got on a
wild drunk at Roche Harbor, Monday
and partially pulverized Chris. Olsen,
who had also been indulging his well
organized appetite for booze, and also
assaulted Z. M. Harper, superinten-
dent OF the Roche Harbor Lime Com
pany. Ward and Lummi had been
arrested Monday morning by Sheriff
Nice Crary at the Archambault place,
near Trout lake. In the afternoon of
the same day Deputy Sheriff Rankin,
of Whatcom county, arrived to take
the men to Bellingham for trial. The
men left the steamer at Roche Har-
Dor when they came over from Bel
lingham and went first to VIM. Hous-
toms place, at the head Of Westcott
bay. It seems that they left some
baggage there and the two officers
drove up there Monday afternoon to
examine it and so happened to be at
Roche Harbor when O Brien was run
ming amuck. He was arrested and
brought here, the officers having
found it necessary to tame him lit
tie with the butt Of q revolver be-
cause he assaulted the sheriff in an
attempt to get away. Deputy Sheriff
Rankin had expected to leave with
his prisoners Tuesday morning for
Bellingham but remained to appear
as witness against O'Brien, whose
hearing was to be held Tuesday after
noon. About noon Tuesday, Prose
cutting Attorney Wynn went to the
Jail, accompanied by the sheriff, to
talk with O'Brien about his plea. He
agreed to plead guilty to assault.
While the officers were there Lummi
and Ward were permitted to go out
side and bring in some wood. Wien
the sheriff left he locked the inner, or
grated, door, which was fastened by
paddock. There are three places
for such locks on the door, but only
one, the upperone, was fastened. The
outer door was left slightly ajar to
admit fresh air, the stuffy little Jail
being very poorly ventilated. There
are three cells in which the men might
have been confined had any thought
been entertained that they would at
tempt to escape After the officers
left, O'Brien, so he says, lay down on
his bunk in one OF the open cells and
went to sleep, but he soon awoke and
found that the outer door was open
| and he was alone. It was not yet
| one o'clock and during the noon hour
scores Of school children pass close to
the jail, directly past the door, going
from and returning to the school
house, which is only . few rods dis
tant. Some Of them say that they
isaw John Archambault, brother-in-
law Of Lummi, pass something through
| 3 broken window and 9 few minutes
later Ward and Lummi walked out.
O'Brien, finding the door wide open,
lstrolled down to one Of the liquid dis
pensaries and assuaged bis thirst and
then informed the sheriff that the
other bastile boarders had departed.
For this service O'Brien's soiourn IN
limbo was, on the county attorneys
recommendation of leniency, limited
Il 4. b