The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-04-22
DARING ESCAPE
OF LIFE PRISONERS
Six Men Make Break for Lib
erty at Leavenworth
FOUR ARE RECAPTURED
The Men Make Wooden Pistols and
When a Switch Ems CINE Backs Into
Yard They Jump Aboard
and Get Away

Leavenworth, Kas.. April A.-Five train
robbers serving life sentences, escaped
today from the federal prison near here.
Within a short time two of the men were
Teoaptured. At II a. m. the three others
were surrounded in the brush within q
short distance of the prison and two OF
them recaptured. Another prisoner also
escaped.
The men recaptured were Bob Clark,
of Moscow, Idaho; Thomas A. Kaling,
sent up from Allen. Okla, and Arthur
Hewett from Caddo. Okla. Frank Orig
ware. one of the men who held up a
Union Pacific mail train near Omaha last
fall and Theo Murdoch, serving a term
for forgery, made their escapes.
The break for liberty was cleverly
planned and it's execution most daring.
Two OF the convicts were at work In
the carpenter shop, the others in the
tailor shops. A Union Pacific switch en-
CINE had backed into the prison yard. AT
the sound Of the whistle the men dashed
Into the enclosure and made toward the
engine. Levelllng dummy guns at the
engineer. they climbed into the cab and
compelled him to reverse his engine.
The engine, with the convicts aboard,
rushed through the west gate into the
open and soon was speeding toward the
woods.
When a few minutes later the escapes
became known the siren whistle at the
prison be1led warning to farmers miles
about to be on the lookout. When the
engine had gone six miles the five men
Jumped and made for the woods. Clark
and Gideon separated from the others
and were captured.
Every available guard started after
The other three men. half mile fur
ther the trio was surrounded in the
woods. No shots had been fired at II
o'clock, when the guards began to close
IN. It was believed the convicts only
weapons were guns made Of wood and
painted in the carpenter shop.
The limitations taken from Clark and
Gideon had been ingeniously made. Even
the cylinders showed bullets" protrud-
ing
When the men covered Harry Reed. a
VIII eAD Buns e1AN tcANru mn
10 enter the engine cab with them the
only other guard about struck kaling
over the head, causing a wound from
which blood flowed freely. Kaling was
stunned but scrambled into the engine
just as It was getting under way. The
guards inside the prison do not carry
weapons.
Kaling was employed for five years as
m engineer on the Lake Shore railroad
He assumed the leadership when the en-
zine started He directed Charles Cur
tain, the engineer. to throw her wide
open and told Fireman Willard Heeter
10 shovel coal, "as he had never shoveleo
before
Six miles northwest of the prison the
"engine was killed"
The desperadoes forced the engineer
and fireman to dsrobe and two of the
convicts appropriated the garments. They
started to force the guard to disrobt
also. but Hewitt said enough time hac
already been wasted and the men plunged
INTO the woods. The trainmen then fired
me engine and rushed 1t back to th'
prison.
Hewitt, Kaling and Clark were leader
o, the mutiny at the prison here OF
November Z, 1901, when one guard anc
ono prisoner were killed and two guard
were wounded.