Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1915-10-26
COUGHS STORY CHARGES GRAVE
LAXITY TOOFFICIALSA JAIL

outside people were talking OF the
night trips and the deputy orders all
except Boggs over to the jail" (Boggs
was under q physicians care.) But
they saw Charley Rose and got re-
turned to the hospital again"
More details follow of booze being
furnished the men, also note that
Bert Bower went out one night to
meet girl.
"Palenapa, the policeman, was on
duty that night, sleeping. the journal
says. He woke up once and asked
FOR Bert and he was told that he was
bathing. Jack McGrath said, Come
on. we will play crib and they played
IL games or whereabouts until Bert
came home"
Guards Easily Tricked.
How easily the guards were trick.
ed-or how lax they were-is illus.
srated in entries in the diary and also
what Cough has told the authorities.
He says that when the prisoners want
ed to foo out at night for a stay Of
any length they would put . feather
buster In each bed, TO look like head
half buried in the coxerIet, would put
out the light, and then Abeat IT,
Also illustrating the kind Of guards
put over the gangsters, Cough records
this In his diary:
The standing joke is. Where do I
sleep?'-meaning the policeman when
he comes on watch"
Other names are given of men who
visit the prisoners, though in the case
of officials or members of the police
department Cough admits that he has
no personal knowledge OF the motives
for their visits.
Lake and Mecuffie Mentioned.
Among those mentioned as visiting
the prisoners are Harry Lake, special
detective for the count attorneys Of
fee, and q man referred to in the
diary as Med" who. says Cough, was
Captain of Detectives McDuffie. He
says there was good deal of CONVEX
sation between the prisoners and
these men. much of 1t carried on in
whispers in the dispensary.
Apparently Cough was suspicious of
all the callers on the men in the hos.
pital. He says he does not know what
the conversations we're about which
we're carried on as stated above.
On one occasion, he notes, Lake
brought magazines to the prisoners.
Opium. Deal by Prisoners.
Among the most remarkable of the
entries is one which declares in brief
that while supposedly in Jail McGrath
and Bower pulled off an opium deal
with Chinaman ON Liliha street
IT c--s tha .T-e man secured word
through one Of their many agents on
the outside of a shipment Of opium
landed from q Pacific Mail steamer.
They had no trouble In getting away
from the Jail on some pretext and
sold The dope coming back with
plenty Of money and having high
80 s.n1e oainsi..so ~ away.
Both In his diary and in his later
statements. he tells OF reports being
made by new men on watch of the
manner in which the prisoners were
conducting themselves. But these re-
ports, he says, were never repeated,
for the prisoners would telephone to
someone in the police department and
have the obnoxious guards removed.
Cough says that day after day and
might after night the carousing and
frequent outside visits went on. Some
times for day or two there would be
La pretense of discipline enforced by
the guards at the order Of somebody
higher up. but Invariably, he alleged,
the men would soon be given undue
liberties. Sometimes they would be
moved from the hospital and its free
dom to the Jail itself-as on one oc-
casion when the underground rumor
went flying about that sculIy had turn.
ed states evidence and the prosecut.
ing authorities had s'the goods" on the
rest Of the gang. But after a little
they would be let go back to the
hospital.
How McGrath Escaped.
The story of McGrath's escape itself
he tells in substance as follows:
The night before the bunch were
coming up for sentence there were
many rumors of this and that flying
about the Jail. Sheriff Rose came up
about o'clock and two men who were
said to be territorial grand jurymen
were with him.
Rose spent long time whispering
to the men. When he left he said
loudly, Well, see you tomorrow
Shortly before 8 o'clock Jack told
me he wanted me to turn the water
on In the bathroom. did so. At this
time both the inside and outside guards
were asleep. Legros on the inside
md Joe Lii on the outside. After
wards | thought maybe they were
drugged for they slept so heavy.
thought also maybe the outside man
had some booze though don't believe
! the inside guard had.
while Jack was getting ready.
thought he was going out through the
window and over the fence for one OF
/ his night trips. He was inside the
bathroom when one of the guards
woke up where's McGrath? he ask
ed me; In the bathroom, / says and
SO he was. Then the guard went back
/ to sleep again. Jack was in there
changing his clothes.
He asked me to give him iii
over the fence. But figured he was
! just going out for little while and
knowing that all of the men were al
Flowed to do what they pleased, said
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