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An unsuccessful attempt was made by several of the prisoners in the
country jail to gain their liberty last Sunday night by sawing the bars
of the lower cell in the Northwest corner of the jail. The attempt was
frustrated by the Sheriff, who in making his usual rounds before
retiring at night, notices a small quantity of filling on the cement
floor, and a closer examination showed that one of the lower bars in the
cell mentioned has been partially severed.
An investigation was started and in the search of the cells two saws -
one made from a case knife, and the other from a piece of steel that is
usually found in the soles of shoes, and a file, were found. "Bill"
MCGEE, a murderer, admitted that he was the ring leader of the gang of
would be jail breakers, and a young man by the name of ROGERS, a United
States prisoner, was one of his assistants. ROGERS, who is charged with
robbing the mails, stated that he had worked in a hardware store, and
consequently had a knowledge of the process of hardening metals. He said
that he made saws of the knife and show spring, and as soon as the job
of notching them was completed, he heated them and plunged them in water
- the process used in hardening the bars of the cells in the jail.
MCGEE said that they heated the saws with a flame from lamp oil, but the
general opinion of the officers and others is that that heating was done
by burning the straw in the mattresses. At any rate, the case knife
shows evidence of being heated, as part of the handle was charred.
The Sheriff and Commonwealths Attorney were worried no little at the
partial success attainted by the prisoners in trying to escape. Upon the
heels of the recent thorough inspection by experts of the character of
the metal in the cell bars, and the replacing of bars that were proven
defective, by others that were "tool proof" for a common ordinary case
knife to cut the bars like it first looked to the Sheriff was certainly
a knock out blow.
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