Weekly journal-miner., 1921-04-06
.LEG-IRONED AND UNDER GUARD
 WILLIS WOOD, NOTORIOUS MAN
 KILLER, MEETS TIE GOVERNOR
Recaptured, Life Convict Who, With Two Others Broke Out
 of Florence, Talks With Gov
 ernor Campbell on Way Back
CJournal-Miner CapitaI Bureau

PHOENIN, March %. - Well, Willis, I see you're going home. Get tired of Mexico?"
 IL was Governor Campbell who spoke, and the man addressed was Willis Wood, one of the most notor- ious criminals ever captured ill Ari- zona.
 Leg-ironed and under guard Will lis was on his way back from the border when the governor on his way to Fort Grant chanced to meet him on the road, the machine ill which the prisoner was being. trans ported having been delayed by tire trouble
 Hello, governor" was the pris- oner's reply. "Yes, I've made lit tic trip down into Mexico, but it's no place for white man, so l de cided to come back"
 Wood used to be in charge of the kitchens at the state prison and as the governor has often made an in spcction of them he came to know the man.
 Wood, together with Thomas Lar rieu, and Oscar Shultz made their escape from the prison between l and a. m., December To- The trio gained the border before the officers could intercept them. In Mexico the movements of Wood, the leader, have been traced for the last sev- eral weeks, and 1t was while making one of his periodical visits across the line into Arizona that he was trapped by Sheriff White with the assistance of a couple of guards.
 How the trio managed to escape has remained a mystery and is so even now, for Wood steadfastly re- fuses to divulge the means of exit or who was responsible for the get away Two theories have been ad vanced: One that exit was by means of a tunnel under the wall which may still exist The other that there was connivancc with some official or "trusty." Prison officers are still trying to unravel the mystery.
 Where did you leave the other two?" the governor asked of Wood
 "Oh, they're down there yet" was the laconic reply.
 Wood IS serving a life term for murder, the crime being one of the most cold-blooded committed in years Larrieu was serving a sen tence of from to years, having been sentenced from Pima county on a charge of assault with deadly weapon.
 Shultz, the third fugitive, was serving 5 to 6 years for robbery committed in Apache county. Prev iously he had served time as dc scrter at Lcavenworth and Alcartraz island. He was born in Germany.
 Wood Is a native of Texas. He was first sentenced to the Florence prison from Cochise county on con vinction of embezzlement. Previous to that his record shows that he had served a term at the old Yuma pris- on. The man began serving his life term November 26, 1918 having pleaded guilty to murder just a few days prior to the capital punishment law going into effect.
 Wood was travelling with com panion in an automobile near Con gresS Junction, when he decided to kill the latter for his money. Placing this plan into execution Wood bur jed the body of his victim near the road and proceeded north in com pany with a boy, who had been the only witness. Wood threatened to kill the lad if he ever told anyone of the crime, and took him with him into Nevada. At the first op-I portunity the boy told his story toi the officers. This led to the arrest of both and they were returned to Arizona for trial. The lad was re- leased and the man sent up on his own admission of guilt
 At the prison, Wood proved him self to be d modem prisoner. HcI had profited, it seems, by his former ircarcerations, and conducted him self in a manner which won the con- fidence of the officers and secured for him one post of trust after an-i other, until finally he was given the stewardship. Here he proved him self to be of great value to the prison authorities ill stopping petty gratis and offerings and in two orI three instances turned i'll the names of fellow prisoners who had been plotting to escape. For these rcas- ons the man became popular with ! the officers but decidedly unpopular among the men. Because of the fact that he was model prisoner, the officers were surprised when he turned Up missing, and more es- pecially so, when it was learned that two others had gone with him, for it was not supposed that he had any confidant among the prisoners.
 COSTLY OIL BLAZE 1