The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser., 1921-07-29
1875 C0NvICTS
WRECK PRISON
Nine Inmates Shot and 5 Police
and Firemen Hurt During Two
Hour Battle in Pittsburgh.
RIP OUT THE STEEL CELLS
Torches Applied as Rush Begns-40
Per Cent of Tiers in Main Building
Wrecked-Guards, Police and
Firemen Injured in Fight

PittSburgh.-The main building of
the Western Penitentiary here was
wrecked, dozen smaller buildings
connected with the institution were
destroyed by fire and fourteen persons,
nine of them convictS, were injured
when the 1,13J prisoners started Il
riot and attempte. to overpower the
guards and escape.
The nine convicts injured were shot
by city police while attempting to
fight their way to liberty. There were
so seriously injured that 1t is declared
their recovery is impossible. The 9th
ers wounded are three city police Off
cials and district fire chief, who were
injured in the rioting, and city fire.
man, who was seriously burned while
fighting the flames
The buildings destroyed, all within
the great wall that surrounds the
penitentiary, were:
Dining room, combination three
story frame and two-story brick north
end destroyed by tialnes, remainder
wrecked by rioting coilvictS.' Weaving
shop, large three-story brick machine
shop, threestory brick; broom shop,
two-story brick; shoe shop, two-stofy
brick; chapel, one-story brick; large
storage house, one-story frame; kitch-
en-, one-story frame; four smaller one
story frame storage houses and two
lookout towers on the prison wall, all
burned.
Virtually all CT the prisoners, except
fifty women inmates, took part in the
rioting both inside the main building
and in the prison rard. 1t lasted more
than two hours and another two hours
had elapsed before the tiEenr Oh had the
fire under control. Flames leapeu fifty
feet above the high rison wall.
The injured are:
Campbell, H. c., prisoner. gunshot
wounds in the body.
Coberley, Z. X, struck with brick
hurled by prisoner
Corcoran, NJ. j., policeman. struck
by brick thrown by prisoner.
Crawford, George, prisoner, gunshot
wounds in shoulder and face; .condl-
ton serious.
Cryster, w. B., policeman, struck by
brick.
David, Charles, regro, prisoner, gun
shot wounds in body; condition not
serious.
Emil, Edward, prisoner, shct in
body; not serious.
Harley, H., fireman of Engine Com
pony 45, burned by brands.
Harris, William, negro, prisoner.
gunshot wounds in body; condition
serious.
Johnson, Alexander, negro, prisoner,
shot; condition serious
Jones Daniel, district fire chief,
struck with a piece of iron hurled by
one of the prisoners.
Tornio, Joseph, prisoner, guEshol
wound in body; condition not serious.
Traymor, David, prisoner, gunshOt
wounds in face, bod! and arms; con-
dition not serious.
Reno, CarnictO, prisoner, gurShOt
wound in left shoulder.
Deputy Warden Egan said that
Campbell, Harris and johnson were
fatally injured.
While $50 city and county police
officials and the full corps of guards
fought with the maddened convictS, all
the firemen from the North Side bat
tied with the flames to keep them from
destroying the main building where
all the cOnvictS We're confined after
they had been driven from the prison
yard. AS the flames leaped up from
the buildings and licked the window
frames Of the cells in which they were
confined, the prisoners shrieked.
cursed, prayed, shouted for help ana
frequently tore at the bars.
And through it all there was the
desperate battle between the hundreds
of guards and police on the one hand
and the criminals on the other, who
were fighting madly for freedom and
to escape from the fiery death that
threatened them.
The rioting and fires broke out SIM
ultaneously, and, according to the
prison officials, were part of il plot TO
empty the great institution of its horde
of criminals. But fer the alertness
of the guards in refusing to be tricked
by ruse, the plan would have sue
ceeded, it is declared. T..
Practically all the shooting took
place in the main building, in the riot
ing in the yard, the guards used club
bed rifles and threats of volIeys to
control the freniZed prisoners. 1t WAS
almost half an hour from the time that
the rioting started before the 600 men
had been driven inside the building.