The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1906-09-21
RUFFlN ESCAPES FROM JAIL.
Cuts Through lynChburq Bars on Eve
Of Trial.


afternoon for Lynchburg To bring
/ Ruilin 10 Prince Edward To stand
trial for the murder OF John Grubb.
The prisoner was safe behind the
bars when the sheriff arrived there
sunday night, but the next morning
he had filed his way through the bars
and his whereabouts were unknown.
Along with Rullin went also two 9th
er prisoners One charged with muir
der and the other convicted ofattempt-
ed rape
The Lynchburg News Of Tuesday
gives the following account Of the re-
markable escape;
Three prisoners escaped from the
Lynchburg jail Sunday night, and
from all accounts they were about
the worst criminals in the prison.
The officials who look after the jail
knew nothing Of the escape of the
men until they entered AT the usual
hour this morning that part of the jail
i'm which the cell is located. The
names of the negroes are:
Bill Ruilin, Bill Johnson and James
Thompson
Ruiln and Johnson are under
charges of murder, while Thompson
has just been convicted Of attempted
/ rape and sentenced to the penitentiary
/ for term of eight years.
The three men were confined i'm one
of the cells of the Jail which is regarded
as exceptionally strong, and il is used
/ frequently for the incarceration of dan
/ ger0us characters. 1t is almost di-
rcctly I'm front of the door that leads
/ from thc corridor into the old part Of
| the Jail, and 10 has a door of immense
strength, and the small window that
opens into il is guarded by steel bars
| that might have seemed 10 bid defiance
/ 20 the cleNereSt burglar ON earth. !
| liui II looks a. If a prison has never
yet been made that criminals will not
/ break out of sometimes.
Sergeant johnson, since he has been |
connected with the Jail, has been sin /
gularly fortunate i'm this respect. Not |
q single man placed under his charge |
has ever before broken out Of the /
place. ON ono occasion prisoner got /
10y him, and this is the only instance /
of this kind that ever happened here. |
10 has been thirty years since prison. /
ers i'm the Lynchburg Jail succeeded
iu making their escape.
There seems 10 be no doubt as To
how the negroes got away. As above
stated there is a small window i'm the
rear of the cell and IL was through
this that they made their way 10 the
outside They sawed through the
steel bars, and as To- where they got
the saw or file from, no one knows, and
mo- one will perhaps ever know until
one or more Of the fugitives is cap
tured. The bars were filed away neat
ly, leaving am opening, nine inches
square, So small as to make il seem
almost impossible for men a. large
as the prisoners 90 crawl through It. i
But that they did crawl through it is
the only way possible To account for
their escape.
AZ what hour OF night they started
90 work ON the saving, and at what
time they crawled through the open
ing TO liberty, il is not possible 10 say.
There is absolutely no proof as To the ]
time of their escape, and the police ,
thus far have been unable to secure a i
single clue as TO their whereabouts.
The authorities are of the opinion ,
that the prisoners received assistance 3
from the outside, but i'm what way and
from whom, they do not know Some {
are inclined To think that some MEM d
Der Of the chain gang may have sneak 7
ed the necessary tools INFO the place,
and Others surmise that the tools may +
have been slipped into the cell through +
the window at some time during the
night At any rate the file or saw =
was certainly there, for there is the 7
trace Of II on the steel bars, and there r
is no trace Of the prisoners.
OF course a great deal Ofsurprise and G
not a little CONSERVATION was caused J.
i'm police circles on the announcement
of the news. 1t was generally be- J.
lievcd that il would be impossible for
any one locked up i'm the Lynchburg D.
jail TO get out without being let out, J.
and at first the statement that three ?
negroes had broken through one Of the j.
was not credited. The full
"details of the affair were, however, r
soon forthcoming, and it was then J'
known that the fact Of the escape was
only too true. "
Sergeant Johnson stated yesterday
afternoon that tine prisoners were i'm 3,
their cell at 6 o'clock Sunday evening u
when the cell room was closed for the G.
night. He is positive that the bars 81
were all sawed Off Sunday night. and q,
IS equally as sure that saw was got d
ZEN To the men through the window. "
That the bars were sawed of from the al
inside of the cell there is no doubt, be- Il
.ause there are two cuts below the ii
window sill which could not have been -,
made from the outside. ."
Rullin was brought here several ~
weeks ago from Farmville for safe ii
,eeping, the Prince Edward authOri- Of
lies knowing the splendid reputation
IF the Jail for holding bad prisoners II
or the past quarter of a century. lie
s. accused of being implicated in the hi
murder of Postmaster John Grubb, at ia
\ctcon, Prince Edward county, last -,
prlug. lie is also charged with set VI
ing fire 10 the store belonging To the 81
man and allowing his body III
% be cremated i'm the fire.
Bill Johnson Is one of the trio who
aIly loo August held up and robbed &c
richmond negro on the Island yard of To
ne Norfolk and Western, and when q
lumber of railway men endeayOrcd 10
them and hold them until
be police could reach the island, one
# them shot W. T.. Woody, Of Roam !"
Ike, a hagman, who afterwards died re
{ the Hygcia Hospital. Johnson de hC
lied having anything TO do with the n,
loOling, but he admitted being impli-
atcd boo the highway robbery. se
James Thompson, the third inmate Ina
{ the cell that is now empty, was CON
icted last week on the charge of at m
ompting a criminal assault on a col
red girl. who is less than fourteen UT
car, of age. The jury fixed his pun th
,hment at eight year, In the peniten-
larry, but he had not been sentenced ho
v Judge Christian, of the Corporation ~
curt. "'
Sergeant Johnson has Offered a re- pu
'ard of $50 each for the delivery Of the
a..H