DARING ESCAPE OF PRISONERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVI, Issue 9497, 16 October 1889, Page 5

DARING ESCAPE OF PRISONERS.

About midnight on October 8 a warder named Cain commenced his watch at the Geelong gaol. At two minutes to 2 ho heard a knocking, and found that it proceeded from the cell of a prisoner named Clarke. Cain lot down the trap in the door, and Clarko asked for a drink of water. The warder brought the water, and was handing it through the door when lie was seized from behind by a maji with the hold of a garrotter. Clarke then came from his cell and seized dun, who saw that the other man was a prisoner named Farrell, who was holding a large stone in hie hand. ' 110 threatened to bout out the warder's brains if he uttered a single word. The men gagged Cain and tied his hands and feefc, and took oft' his boots and carried him to the cook's houso, and tied him to the table and left him there. He was found just before 6 o'clock by the chief warder, who ruined tho alarm. There was a dim light in the corridor where the warder was attacked. Tho two prisoners armed themselves each with a large carving knife, and having disposed of the warder wont to tho gato lending to the yard. They prized off the.Chubb's patent lock, snapping it close to the catch, and then opened the gate and climbed the outer wall by means of bricklayers' scaffolding poets, and lowered themselves out by a rope. There are always two men on duty, one warder walking the corridor, and the othor sleeping within call. Immediately on the alarm being given the police scoured the country in all directions without obtaining any trace of the escaped prisoners. Warder Cnin is confined to his bed, owing to tho injuries he received. His throat is greatly swollen, and he is only able to speak with difficulty. The escaped prisoners occupied colls on opposite sides of the corridor. By some unexplained means they had provided themselves with skeleton keys and picked the locks of their cells. It is believed they had accomplices ontsido tho gaol. Bor.h men are desperate characters. Christy Farroll, alias Thomas, idkvs James Shaw, is 60 years of age. Ho was transported when a youth, and for the past 40 years has seldom been out of goal. He has been sentenced to long terms of imprisonment in Victoria for highway robbery under arms, robbery iti company, burglary, and receiving. While serving tho latter sentence ho received 10 years for stabbing a fellow-prisoner. In 1887 lie received a sentenco of 15 years for shooting at DetectiveSergeant Nixon with intent to kill. The other man, Frederick Clarke, alias Joshua Edinoneon, has an equally b;\d record. Ho arrived as a convict in 1847, and subsequently became a notorious horse-stealcr. He served two sentence for horse-stealing, and later on received several sentences for Larceny and shop-breaking, and for receiving stolen goods.