Show Of DESPERATE SPERATE MEN HATCH PlOT IN INSTATE STATE PRISON Conspiracy Which Had for Its Object Escape and Pos Possible Possible Possible sible Murder of Guards DEMING FIGHTS FIERCE BATTLE WITH KEEPERS ONLY SUBDUED AFTER BEING BEATEN INTO INSENSIBILITY WARDEN ACTS PROMPTLY After Arter a week weel of ot hard work Warden Arthur Pratt discovered a plot at the state penitentiary Sunday Sinday S morning which if It It had proved successful would have set at liberty three of ot the most desperate men In the th prison Richard Deming serving ten years ears for tor grand larceny larcen Joe Sullivan n serving a t life tife sentence for the murder of ot Officer Charles Ford and Abe Majors serving servin servina a term terii for the murder of ot Police Pollee Captain Brown of ot Ogden Deming was as the leader of ot the plot and was working In conjunction with Majors and Sullivan The rhe conspiracy had for or Its Iti aim the escape of ot the three at it the time Doming Deming was to come to the City for trial on a charge of attempting to escape from the county Jail and In juring state property Soon after neter their conviction both Sul livan Ihan and Deming were placed In soil soli solitary tary tar confinement for a murderous as assault sault sanit on a convict named whom they the believed had Informed the sheriff of ot their attempt to escape from the county count jail About Sept 1 I Deming made a pitiful plea to the warden to be released and be allowed to go to work along with the other prisoners He begged Warden Varden Pratt on his knees and promised to be a good man In the fu future future future ture and an If It possible get set back his cred its It When Then Governor G Cutler visited the prison the board of ot pardons some days das later Deming Dewing begged permission p to talk with him The request was granted and he told the governor how he wanted to be ie good In the future and go to work He had lost his false falset teeth t eth In making his escape from the hospital and wanted to earn money to buy new ones he said Governor Gives Money Governor Cutler told Deming Doming if he would prove true to his word he would leave money with the warden with which to purchase him new teeth When Then Mr fr Cutler left leCt that day da he deposited deported with Warden Tar en Pratt 5 S to b be given ghEn Dem Dern Deming DemIn Derning ing In If he h proved himself all right rightOn rightOn rightOn On Sept 5 Deming Doming and Sullivan were wen released from the solitary cells and ad advanced to men This al allowed allowed allowed lowed them to go to work in the shops with the other men For several days das Deming worked hard and the prison of officials officials officials believed he was indeed trying to reform Last Tuesday morning Warden Pratt received d Information that Deming had hada a knife concealed about his person or orcell orcell orcell cell Deputy Warden Ure was also told about this but no one else about the prison as Warden arden Pratt did not want to arouse Demings suspicion Sunday Sunda he learned that Deming bad badi i the knife under his shirt and decided that it was time to act att Fights With Guards Deming and about fifty other oilier prison prisoners prisoner ers era er were at the time exercising In the yard Guards Cleveland and Taggart were Instructed to get Deming and take takeno no chances chance as he had a knife Xo No soon floon er had the guards taken hold of ot tho the thoman thoman theman man when he b gan fighting and an suc sue succeeded succeeded in petting getting one hand free He reached rached r ched inside his shirt and clasped tho the knife but In Jn the scuffle scuff with the guards the knife was wa dropped to the floor George Cleveland Cleeland secured the weapon and CIntI then proceeded to take Deming to his Ills cell on the third tier of ot the south fouth ret cell house houst Here the enraged man fighting lighting ilkI hika a tiger tl er made an at attempt attempt attempt tempt to down hewn the guards and finally succeeded In breaking away He sprang over ov r the railing roiling to th the floor loor below His HI shirt caught on a projection and he was wa dealt a severe blow htow on OT 01 the head with a club Ho He H finally freed treed himself from Cleveland Cleeland and Taggart and again ran ren to the yard ard and was quickly In the midst of ot the other prisoners To go among there th E men at this time without H ft l douht doubt meant meart Instant death for It takes but a leader to start the whole In Clerk Gives Warning The prison clerk also al o a convict who whose e ename name Is withheld for obvious reasons saw aw n w trouble ahead and called the ward wardon on n In bv by b telephone and at the same time sounded the gong gon three times ThI This was waR the for tor all convicts to go to their cpUs cells Every man In the yard ard obeyed the signal without a n murmur with the exception e of ot Deming He re refused refused fused to eo o 0 to his cell and ran mn aton along the corridor up to the second tier of or ells where he faced about and de do fled the guards Warden Varden Pratt had harl entered the prison bv by v this th time by Deputy Ure UT who was wa s arm armed d with a revolver r Mr Pratt ordered Deming to his cell Continued on Page 2 DESPERATE MEN HATCH PLOT IN STATE PRISON Continued from Page 1 but he h stilt still sti refused to go add arid stood tood looking over the railing defying the guards to come and get him Warden Pratt told the men not to take tae any chances with wih him and was about ready to give Ure Urn orders to shoot when Guard Cleveland crept crept up behind Deming and knocked him down da lp with Jehn n a a blow on the head hend It I did lid not render him unconscious unconscIous unconscious and he began to fight again agIn It I was not until he had been beaten Into unconsciousness that he could be taken to his cell cel He was stripped and again searched but no other weapon was found in his possession Deming and Sullivan Sulvan were then placed in the tombs where they will wU remain for some time to come Long in the Hatching t The plan to make the escape had no doubt been under consideration for some time and each day the three des desperate desperate desperate convicts were getting ready read for forthe forthe forthe the fight tight which they the must mut put up On Sept 23 Deming is to be tried be before before before fore Judge Armstrong on the charge of destroying jail jai property It I was wa his plan to tc have Joe Sullivan and Abe Ma Majors Majors ra jors called as a witnesses When the themen themen themen men had left leC the prison on the way to court they were to attack atack the guards In charge of them and make their th lr es escape escape escape cape No sooner had Deming been released from confinement than he began tons for his escape In the shop he found a piece of steel stel This he sharp harp sharpened sharpened ened to a needle point He made a handle of a piece of ot wood but ny by ty some means he broke the steel blade making it too short shor to use a wooden handle He then tore several strips from his blanket and wrapped these around the end of the steel blade b de With this weapon in his hlf hand he could have caused much damage Others In Plot Warden Varden Pratt Prat also alo discovered Sunday by notes written by Deming that there are one or two other men In the plot One note found In Dealings Demings possession was w In cipher Ipher and co Demings ld not be ed by the officers The other note was waso to o another prisoner asking him to trust him ilm in the te coming break and render him his help He spoke in the note of his knife and also said that he intended to kill ki one or two of the guards guars The note also alo con confined contained tamed fined the information that he ha intended to use the knife at the trial The note nete was written on a scrap of ot paper paler but b t was not addressed to anyone Deming had signed his initials and cautioned the man mart mano manto to o destroy the note The three men implicated in the plot are without doubt the most desperate in the prison irison today toda Deming made his escape the county count officers last winter by pretending to be sick and made his hi bluff i so 50 good he was taken to Holy Cross hos has hospital pital Ital At night while the guard was asleep he escaped from the hospital in In his ils night clothes Some weeks later ho hovas was vas arrested in Huntington Ore and re returned turned to the county count Jail jai It U was while Deming was awaiting trial that hat Sullivan Sulan was arrested The pair by b bys some s me means secured saws and attempted to o cut their way out They were discovered discovered ered at their work after they the had one bar jar sawed Deming was found fou d guilty of ot grand lar larceny ceny cony cen and sentenced to serve a term of ten rears ears Sullivan Sulvan for Life Sullivan Sulvan was sentenced on May 23 2 to serve erve a life sentence for the murder of ot Police Officer Ford last winter The mur murder murder murder der was wa committed after Sullivan Sulvan and Joe Garcia Garca had held up the Albany saloon He le was arrested a month later at Seattle Soon after being taken to prison he made madea a murderous assault on Nick another convict whom he claimed had Informed Sheriff Sherif Emery Emen of his attempt to o escape from the county Jail jai Abe Majors is serving sering a life le sentence for or the murder of Captain of Police Brown Brownf of f Ogden Majors and his brother were attempting Ogen to escape from the police after committing a robbery when they became engaged in a fight Majors brother was wa killed and hein he In turn tur killed Captain Brown He has been Involved In several other ther breaks at the prison n and was shot In n the leg ley leb by the guards gards when he at attempted attempted tempted empted to escape at the tle time of the at attempted tempted empted break made several years ears ago |