New Britain herald., 1929-10-04
Bloodiest Mutiny in His- tory Finds Shattered Ruins of Cell House Uttered With Dead Artillery Was Ready to Finish Battle.
[ Guards and 6 Prisoners Toll-12 More Wounded Savage Massacres Re- lated by Surviving Off cers-Defeated Men File Out Just at Sunrise.

Canon City. Colo. Oct. 1 tPl-One Of the bloodiest prison mutinies in the nations history, which claimed the lives of seven guards and at hast five Couvicts. ended at the Colorado state penltentiary here this morning when the four ringmaders ot the uprising committed suicide. Rarricadcd with more than 150 other conviCts in cell house No. 3, surrounded by troops. police and 1 prison guards, and hopelessly out numbered, the ringleaders first kill 1 d wounded comrade and then fired bullets into their own brains.
 The other convicts then surren- i drred and were marched out of the cell house just at sunrise. The mutiny left in it's wake list 1 of 1& known dead, and as many l wounded. some of whom may die. Four Guards Slaughtered 1 Four of the dead were prison guards. dsarmed and slaughtered in ! cold blood inside the cell house, to i emphasize the convicts demand for unmolcsted freedom. Warden Fran 1 cls F.. Crawford, who declined all of fers to barley with the embattled ,-prisoners, was himself wounded during one of the attacks on the cell block.
 National guard troops and police details from four Colorado cities fired more than 1000 rounds of am- munition into the convicts strong hold during the night The battle was marked by two attempts to dy- namite the cell house walls, one blast breaking all the windows, but failing 10 effect q breach in the masonry.
 Priest Hero of Day
 The hero of the dynamiting at tempts was Catholic priest, Father Patrick O'Neil, who carried the bombs to the foot of the cell house wall, under cover of machine gun fire from the prison walls
 Three guards were killed at the outbreak Of rioting yesterday and four more during the night.
 Those killed in the early rioting were Roy Brown, Walter Rinker and Elmer G. Erwin.
 John J. Files, Robert A. Wiggins, Charles shepherd and John Me ClclI1nd were slaughtered in the cell house.
 The convict dead included Danny Daniels, who led the rioting, and acted as eXecutionor of the guards; Charles Davis, A. H. Davis, George tIird) Riley, James Pardue. and 1 Albert Morganrdge, found dead in the prison yard
 pardue was wounded in the ab- domcn turing the early rioting.
 Removed to cell house No. 3 by the other Convicts. he was found this morning with a bullet through his head. fired hy one of the other conyicts to cnd his suffering.
 Three More End Lives.
 Three of tho other ring leaders were found dead in the same cell, powder burns on their temples bear ing mute testimony to shots fired at close range The body of Daniels was in the doorway, sprawled half in and half out of tho cell. . The floor of the cell house. which , last night served as the execution | chamber of four uuarmcd guards, was slippery with blood, The bodies 1, ! of Charles shepherd and John W.. MucLcllaud. two of the slain guards. , were found in the cell house, bound - hand and foot. Roth had been shot |, through the head. r Close estimates fix the time of the
 suicides of the riot leaders at 1 a. Y m. but it was not until an hour and q half later. at daybreak, when C. F., s Earl, one of the surviving guards.
 made his way into the prison yard. :, that the attacking forces learned Of , the fact. entered the cell house and
 rounded mp the prisoners
 Afraid to Leave House
 Early said he was afraid to leave the cell house until daylight. for fear
 of being mistaken for a convict and
 shot by the watchers on the walls,
 With him in the cell house wera John Pcase and Lawrence Roche, ! Nho escaped the fury of the con,
 yicts Roches sister, Josephine,
 secretary to Warden Crawford, had
 remained at the prison all night, | fearing each minute to see her , brothers bullet riddled body tossed
 out of q window of the cell house,
 as the bodies of Files and Wiggins F I,wcrc tossed out
 - Giving her brother mp for dead, i she had left the prison shortly be- '. fore daylight, When she learned l that he was alive, she collapsed. ?, e Gutted by fire. which destroyed
 the dining room and chapel and two n of the cell houses and scared by