The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1909-07-15
Chester Moody Made His Escape.

Chester Moody mas escaped Irom
the changing, where he was serving
a sentence of five years at hard Ia
Dor, on a charge of assault and bat
terry with intent to kill his wife. The
escape was made at midnight Tues
day night and the night guard at the
stockade discovered his absence a
few moments after he left the tent.
Still he had disappeared as complete
ly as if the earth had opened and
taken him in. The escape is sur
rounded with mystery. Just how he
made the getaway" and where he
went, no man except Chester Moody
himself knows.
The night guard, who sits in the
tent where the convicts all sleep in a
row with their feet chained togeth-
er, noticed Moody shortly before
midnight sitting UP on his bunk. He
inquired of the prisoner what the
trouble was, Moody replying that he
was sick. A few moments later the
guard went on the outside of the
tent to get his lunch, but suspecting
that all was not well with Moody,
returned without eating and carry
ing his cup of coffee in his hand. He
saw the space where Moody should
have been strangely bare and upon
investigating found that the bird had
flown.
The alarm was given Immediately
but no trace could be found OF the
fugitive. The gang" was working
on the Monticello road, IL miles
north of the city, and as soon az
possible the bloodhounds from the
penitentiary were sent to the convict
camp. The dogs picked up the trail
and carried it a mile to the road,
where they lost it entirely and were
never able to regain the scent. At
the point where the dogs were forced
to desist tracks were seen where
buggy had turned around.
Moody's escape must have been
well planned as he had but few
moments to-make his escape while
the night guard was getting his
lunch. He could possibly have Sc
cured a false band to slip the chain
through by which he was chained to
the other prisoners.
Chester Moody Case.
The case of Chester Moody will be
widely remembered. In September
1906, while he was in the city en-
gagged in construction work, he shot
his wife, a daughter of Mr.. ]. B.
Nunamaker, of Columbia, whom he
had married after coming to Colum-
bia to engage in construction work.
The wound was not fatal. Moody
was arrested but compromise was
effected by which he was to leave
the State, although the charge OF as
sault and battery with intent to kill
was left open and he was to be prose
cuted should he return to South Car
olina.
Early in April, 1909, Moody re.
turned to South Carolina and was en-
gagged in construction work, rebuild.
ing and repairing trestles on the Sea-
board Air Line railway. He was
then arrested and at the last term OF
court was sentenced to serve i've
years at hard labor.
A number Of complications grew
out of Moody's arrest, one being the
arrest of J. B. Nunamaker, father of
Moody's wife, on the charge of send
ing threatening letters to Moody
when he was in prison in Columbia
when arrested the first time.
A peculiar feature of the escape OF
Moody at this time is that the officer
in charge OF the gang" has been
suspicious of Moody's actions for sew
eral days. The prisoner has been or
pretended to have been sick for sew
eral days and it was the officers in
tention to send him to the peniten-
tiary in a few days.-Columbia
State.