The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1906-01-12
PRISONERS BREAK JAIL


4 carefully laid plar on the part
of negro prisoners to break out of
the county jail was successfully exc
euted this morning about o'clock
A large hole war Gng In the brick
wall just under window at the
northeast corner of the jail and
through this four negroes made their
escape Among the number was Al
bert JNton. sthe negro convicted at
the last serm Of the district court
for the murder Of j. r. TAYLOR and
given the death penalty. He was the
last of the quartette to leave the jail
before the escape was discovered and
an alarm turned IN The other pris-
oners who escaped were Dennis Bor-
ders. charged with swindling; Cal
fhoun Williams, with two or three
county court cases pending against
him, and Monk Johnson, charged
with violating the loca: option law
!, Albert Johnson, Calhoun Williams
and Monk Johnson have been re-
captured and are again in jail Al
bert Johnson now occupies the death
cell on the second floor of the jail
where there is no possible chance
for him to again escape from duranee
vile.
The delivery was one of the bold
este ever attempted by prisoners in
the Ellis county prison. The plans
for gaining liberty We're made sew
eral days ago and those in the plot
only waited for an opportune time
20 carry them into execution. From
obtained relative to the matter Den
mis- Borders was at the head of the
plot About a week ago he and some
other prisoners were taken out of jail
to stack wood and while they were
engaged in this work Borders got
hold of an eighteen-inch cold chisel
and secured it in his clothing. This
instrument was taken into the jail by
him and kept hidden in his cell un-
III this morning Shortly after the
prisoners we're let out Of their cells
into the run about Borders and an
other negro used the cold chisel to
break paddock on a steel door in
the back part of the jail, which per
mitted the prisoners to enter a part
| of the Jail never used and where the
bricR wall was not protected by steel.
With the aid of the chisel it required
only few minutes to make an apert-
ure large enough to admit a mans
body. The negroes quickly passed
through this opening and in an in
sta1lt they had climbed the Jail fence
and were making off down the
branch. A negro who was at work
in the back yard observed the negroes
mounting the fence and suspecting
they were prisoners escaping immedi-
ately gave the alarm and thus pre-
vented others from getting away. At
the time of the delivery there were
eleven prisonrs in the colored depart
ment and the remaining seven We're
! hastily transferred to another part
of the Jail and locked up.
AS soon as the fact became known
that the delivery had occurred every
! officer in the city and many citizens
| began a systematic search for the es-
capped prisoners Every place in the
/ city where il was thought likely that
| a man could hide was subjected TO a
thorough search Officers hurried
| 10 the country and the guards at the
county farm were notified 20 be on
watch for the negroes.
Constable Ben Abbott and Deputy
I-Sherff j H. Alexander caugnr the
eastbouud Central passenger train
out OF WaNahachie and were put off
near the county farm They then
worked back toward the city. search
/ ing all barns and outhouses This
search was Kept up until they reach
ed the city \ number ot old build
iuga i'm East End wcre carefully ex-
amlncd and Albert Johnson was fan
ally located by them In l.. " Potcrs
Iold gin bulldine Tho hui}alug was
filled with has and Johnson had en-
tcr.d this and socrotcd himself under
the hay Fresh mud on thv hay ICED
thn Officers to make a thorough
search oi The promises when Iohn.
aoa Was discovered Tho offioeFs sere
thots~s fo move fifteen ar twenty
bales of has hvfo~r thsy eaald Ee'
hlm out
tbim uut 81, was ruc&pturnd wlth.
or sho~inE any resistance Aad ~as
brought haE& tn thc couatv iAll
whers h. vas safely .neareeratea "a
fhs seafh Cvu
seAnsan was sern az fAe al tss
4flernoan hT thr reaorteT t4a stated
t2at be as tse las1 mar ro t-4x,
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