Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-01-22
TWENTY PICK TWO LOCKS;
OvERP0WER GUARDS, TAKE
ARMS AND MAKE ESCAPE.

authorities a key, wooden or steel
could be easily manufactured to fiji
them.
The third door. or the first one
in entering the bull pen" from the
Jail office, is made of sheet steel
without a keyhole or opening Oi
any kind upon its inner surface
This door can only be locked and
unlocked from the office side.
Just Back From Joliet,
1t is assumed that Nelson, Smith,
Murrin. Markowski, Weber and
O'Shea, brought back only yester-
day from Joliet where they had
been kept for safe keeping until
the date of their trial here, togeth-
er with Arthur Miller, alias James
Ellsworth. alleged murderer of
| Jacob Schaul, Rock Island pawn
broker, were the ringleaders in the
delivery plot.
For these men, especially Smith,
Murrin, Markowski, Weber and
O'Shea, who are recognized in the
underworld as among the peers of
the yeggmen fraternity, picking the
crude locks of the CRATE doors must
have been easy. That the breakout
was the climax of careful planning
| is assured.
How the first two CRATE doors
leading from the bull pen" were
opened, however. can only be
guessed at. 1t is thought a wooden
key was used.
| According to Wahlstrand' story,
the first rush of the jailbreakers
came as a complete surprise. The
! turnkey was sitting with his back
towards the blind door conversing
with Sexton. appointed yesterday
afternoon as special night guard
| by Sheriff John G. Miller Sexton
arose and passed out of the office
with the announced intention of
| getting a drink
| Nothing unusual was heard by
the turnkey, the prisoners making
| their usual evening racket. Sud
denly the blind door burst open
and escaping prisoners, said to
have been led by Miller with a re-
volVer, threw Wahlstrand to the
floor, at the same time dazing him
by a severe blow upon the head.
Spared His Life.
For Gods sake don't shoot him,
we don't want any killing yet"
Wahlstrand says one of the Col
Inns youths yelled to Miller who
stood over him with leveled revoI-
yer, evidently about to pull the trig-
ger.
One of the men seized a loaded
automatic shotgun belonging to
Deputy Wilbur Hepburn, and hold
ing it upon Wahlstrand, demanded
the keys. his revolver and informa-
ton concerning the hiding place of
additional weapons and ammuni- |
ton. Wahlstrand declared he had |
10 gun and keys, and refused to |
disclose the whereabouts of fire. |
arms and shells. A hasty search of /
the Jail Office failed to bring to |
light weapons and cartridges and :
the crowd surged through the office !
door leading to the east entrance !
corridor of the Jail building.
In the doorway Sexton endeavor-
ed to stem their flight, being felled, |
however, by shot fired point
blank by one of the fugitives. Di-
rectly opposite the office door is
the entrance to the Jail laundry,
this portal being open at all times.
Through the laundry the majority
of the men ran and out a rear door
opening on small court yard en-
closed by a low wooden fence. a
few of the foremost scaled the OBJ
stacle and Hepburn, outside guard.
only short distance away, opened
tire. Those following, hearing the ,
shots, evidently abandoned climb
ing this route and following the
wall of the Jail building, fed into
the jail kitchen through the back
door
Mrs. j. S. Wigers, Jail matron,
wife of the late sheriff, was stand
ing in the room when some of the ,
men, led by the Collins boys, burst !
in. Stand aside, Mrs. Wigers," ,
said Floyd Collins We don't want
o have to kill you" According to !
Yrs. Wigers, Miller, by the side of 9
Iollins, had in his nand revolver.
AS the frightened woman stepped r
1ack, Collins pushed out a window. :
nd following one another the fugi- 7
ives climbed through to freedom. :
Ihe window from which they gain +
d outlet was in Mrs. Wigers' liv- ?
ng quarters on the first floor of .
he west side of the Jail and open
d on Fourteenth street. +
Twenty-Eight Remain. e
Opportunity was ample for the S
etaway of all of the Jail inmates, ?
,ccording to Sheriff Miller. but % Z
4 the 4S incarcerated, chose to re- p
main and face trial for the crimes n
Or which they were committed. u
The fugitives were last seen pro- {
eeding towards the lower section o
f the city and are thought to have a
AIKEN refuge in the bottoms. A p
CONTINUED On Page Nine)
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