Omaha daily bee., 1912-10-13
RESIDENTS OF CITY TERRIFIED
Bad Men Break Hole Through Fence
of Stockade.
NINE ARE QUICKLY RECAPTURED
Remainder of Convicts at Large in
Hills Surrounding City.
FOLLOWS PREVIOUS TROUBLES
Penitentiary Results I'm Escape
of More Than Dozen
Late I'm Day.

CHEYENNE. Wyo., Oct. 12.-(Special
Telegram Within two weeks Of the
lynching of Jim wigfall, negro assault
| fiend by convcts In the Wyoming peni-
tentiary at Rawlins. nineteen convicts
this afternoon made a successful break
for liberty, beating a board out of the
prison stockade ard scattering into the
rugged country rear the prison walls.
| Guards on the walls were not aware
! that the break had been made until a
commotion arose among seventy other
convicts in the compound who refused
to take advantage of the opportunity to
escape, By that time the fugitives were
gone.
Tonight nine have been captured and
posses are securing all the surrounding
country. One party of the convicts met
a grocery wagon loaded with supplies
near the hills, captured 1t and drove into
the hills, abandoning the wagon, but
taking its contents with them. Other
fugitives met TRUSTEES returning from a
stone quarry and asked them to join in
the flight, but they refused.
Several of the fugitives are armed with
hammers and hatchets, with which they
were working In the compound Among
them Is Jim BUTCH Dalton, a life term
murderer who is accounted the most
desperate of the men. Warden Felix
Alston, who was in his office when the
break occurred, is leading posse. Dalton
formerly was member Of the Whitney
gang Of bank robbers.
Town in State of Terror.
The town is patrolled by armed oiu-
zens tonight and men and women sit In
their homes with weapons close at hand
listening for intruders. The fugitives ara
known to be the most desperate Of tho
pcnitentiary's inmates. led by the des-
|perado Dalton, reported at first as cap
tured, and will take d long chance to
secure weapons and clothes
A reign Of terror began at o'clock
this afternoon when from the penltenffary
burst q bedlam Of shouts Of convicts and
through the streets Of the northern part
Of the town nineteen close cropped. hard
featured men. In prison uniform, ran In
a body.
Horses tethered In front Of saloons were
grabbed by the leaders and bore them
at breakneck speed through the town and
away to the hills, outdistancing the
guards that closed in on the rear of the
fugitives after losing precious minutes In
vestigating the cause Of the uproar in
the cells.
Nine Convicts Captured.
-Four Of the flgitives hiding in canyon
north Of Rawlins were caught half an
hour after the outbreak and fifth was
captured making for the railroad. Three
were cornered In another canyon, q mile
west OF the town, by mounted pursuers,
but have not been taken. The guards
returning with the five prisoners were
greeted by the convicts with an uproar
Of groans, and 1t was then discovered
that in the excitement of pursuit another
prisoner had escaped, making twenty IN
ALL
Shortly before o'clock tonight four
fugltives were discovered hiding in barn
within block Of the prison. Two were
captured by guards, but two got away
from the officers. who feared to fire be-
cause Of crowd in the vicinity.
A little later Warden Aston arrived at
the penitentiary with two men he had
taken sngle-handed. This raised the
number to nine recaptured Of the nine-
teen In the original getaway
A searching party of citizens was or
ganized at s o'clock to make house to
house search Of every house in the north
end Of town in the hope Of finding more
of the men and to reassure the terror
stricken citizens.