Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1906-05-17
Two PRISONERS
BREAK JAIL

Two desperate prisoners sentenced
as the eastern peuitentiary at last
weeks session of Columbia county
court broke out of the Bloomsbury Jail
sometime between seven O clock Tues
dag evening and seven O'Clock ycster-
Tav morning. The men were Fred
Conner. who received "a sentence OF
three wears together with $500 fine for
r1mulcity I'M the rObbing of the sta
tin agent at Lime Ridge land Charles
Becker. sentenced TO q months in the
r.uiteutiarv for an attempted raylsh
uf telephone operator on the road
between Mt. Carmel and Centralia.
These two men together with the
others sentenced to the penitentiary
last week We're to he taken to Phlla-
deluhia next Monday by Sheriff Black.
Tuesday evening about seven O'Clock
when the prisoners were locked IN
their cells for the night, nothing un-
usual was noticed by Turnkey Lemuel
Black. brother of Sheriff Black, as he
made his round of the jail. When he
unlocked the cells yesterday morning
at seven O'Clock. he did not look par
ticularlv into the cell which was Oc-
Cupied Jointly 10y Becker and Conner.
When the two did not appear for
breakfast. invests cation was made, and
THE cell found to be empty, with
large hole in the wall, and stones scat
tered about the floor standing as
mute explanation of the mems alb
sCucy
The outer wall Of the jail is two
feet thick. while the ceiling of the
reIl IS made of steel In the cell, two
feet from the ceiling. is a small iron
framed window. The prisoners had
removed several stones above the win
dow. some of the stones being fifteen
inches square and six inches thick.
The Jail wall. being several stones IN
thickness. the hole did not penetrate
IL. but stones were so removed as TO
form burrOw or passage up through
the wall around the edge Of the steel
ceiling. the men thus crawling from
the cell TO the attic above. Passing
along the attic to "a point where they
knew the high wall around the Jail
ward Joined the building, they cut a
hole through the roof with a knife
and saw, and gaining the roof, 1t was
an easy matter TO crawl to the top of
the iail yard wall From the top of
the wall, some thirty feet high, the
ground was reached by the use OF
blankets from their cots
I'm the cell We're found large fiat
Li-el. and a narrow file blade ten
inches long. The latter had wire
twisted about one end for a handle. y
couple Of the Jail table forks were al
so found here With these implements,
the stones had evidently been remoy-
"a.
just when they made their escape is
not known As far a could be learn
cd. no one heard the men in their
work, either removing the stones IN
their cell. or boring through the roof
which was covered with slate
The escaped men were in Rupert
Yesterday morning shortly after seven
o. clock. but where they went from
that point is not yet asccrtained. y
boy passing the Jail in the early morn
ing saw two men of their description
hurrving down the tow path toward
Rupert
a little after seven O'Clock, yester-
day morning, two men entered Rob
crt S grocery store at Rupert and pur-
chased a can of oysters and some crack
crs. The men also purchased bananas
at the store of J. NJ Betz in the same
town. Mr. Roberts thought he had
seen the men before, but could not re-
call who they We're.
That the men had outside assistance
seems almost a certainty, at least TO
the extent of being furnished with the
h.c and saws used in getting out. Con
ner has had several visitors since his
confinement and even since his CON
vlctiou