The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-24
General Delivery Narrowly
Averted When Window
Bars Are Cut
AUTHORITIES WARNED
BY MRS. BUCHANAN
Some of Escaped Prisoners Recap
tured-Sheriff Believes Escape
Was Prematurely Started on
Account of Clouds

Three prisoners escaped and general
jail delivery was narrowly averted yes
terday afternoon at 1:f0 o'clock when ne
gro prisoners, taking advantage of the
heavy dark clouds during a thunder
shower. loosened an iron bar in a window
on the second story of the negro section
of the county Jail at the northeast cor
ner.
Mrs. Lucy Buchanan of 2l16 Fourth ave-
the jail wall and gave the alarm. W II.
Pattie. convict inspector of jefferson
county, happened to be passing by in his
automobile, and attracted by Mrs.
Buchanan's cries. stopped his machine,
captured one of the escaping negroes and
prevented more from breaking out
The negroes who made good their es-
cape were Walter MeGee, car thief;
John Nickerson, d car thief, both being
prisoners in charge of the federal gov
ernment; and Julius Banks, a negro
charged with grand larceny, and who was
only brought to the county jail Tuesday.
Charlie Weems, charged with burglary.
escaped and was captured by Mr.. Pattie
in the alley adjoining Fourth avenue An
other negro escaped from the jail but was
driven back by the bullets of Mr.. Pattie.
His name could not be ascertained from
any of the prisoners.
Rewards Offered
Sheriff Walter X McAdery at once Of
fered $50 reward for the capture of Wal
ter MeGee and s25 each for the capture of
John Nickerson and julius Banks. The
sheriff was very optimistic about the
quick capture of the other escaped ne
groes
at was one of those things that no one
can prevent said Sheriff AIcAdory Ian
night 'rhe prisoners just planned and
planned to escape and when they got
| ready they made their attempt mad partly
succeeded despite all our precautions.
Those that are gone will be speedily cap
| tured.
From the information that we have
CLEANED from the prisoners the plot to
escape originated among some murderers
and long time negroes few weeks ago
and on last Friday, which was visiting
day. a saw was passed in. AS the work
men on the addition to the new court
| house make a great deal of noise none ol
| the guards ever detected the noise made
by the saw as the negroes filed out an inch
and a half iron bar from the second story
of the northwest corner of the negro sec
tion of the jail.
1.-The bar had been sawed and the long
time prisoners had planned to escape this
coming Friday during the noise and con-
fusion of visiting day
However, Walter McGee, who was in
the plot, saw his opportunity when the
skies blackened suddenly yesterday after
noon and seeing that the other confed-
crates in the plot were busy playing In
the corridor he jumped upon radiator,
pulled himself up to the barred window
and loosening the sawed bar crawled
through hole about foot square.
Jumped to Ground
This placed MCGEE outside of the win
dow of the jail about 20 feet from the
ground and about five feet from the cut
class covered wall which surrounds the
jail. MCGEE leaped to the wall and then
to the ground and was gone. Nicker-
son, Banks and Weems followed the same
way. Another negro whose name we can
not find out got out on the edge of the
window, but when Mr.. Pattie started
shooting he crawled back in the Jail.
Two of the escaped negroes crossed a
lot in the back of the Jail and crawled
into coal hole under the ST. Paul Cath
ofic church. The other negro escape
east on Fourth avenue in the direction
of the Terminal station. We searched
under St Paurs church and even the
steeple of the church. but the negroes
| had escaped.
THAT the Jail breaking did not prove
| more serious was due to the fact that
| Mrs Buchanan noticed from her front
| porch the negroes jumping off the jail
wall. We certainly owe her deep a3pre-
| citation for her quick eye and presence
| of mind in quickly summoning aid tc
| prevent any further escapes
| Yesterday afternoon following the es-
| cape the window was repaired and al
the negro prisoners cells were thorough
! ly searched No implements that would
| in any way aid the negroes to escape
were found, although IN some cells pieces
of iron were found heavy enough to be a
dangerous weapon in the hands of des-
perate negro.
| At the time of the escape Deputy United
States Marshal j. c. Willis was in the
county jail and had just finished check
ing up the prisoners of the federal gov
ernment He was short two prisoners
before he left the jail.