USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > East Granby > Newgate of Connecticut : its origin and early history : being a full description of the famous and wonderful Simsbury mines and caverns, and the prison build over them > Part 7
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ESCAPES AND INSURRECTIONS.
The following is a relation of other escapes and insurrec- tions, which occurred at various periods in Newgate prison, during a period of nearly forty years.
In November, 1794, a convict by the name of Newel es- caped from the prison by digging out. It was the practice
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at that time to allow the prisoners the choice of lodging in the stone cellar under the guard-room (generally known by the name of the stone jug), or of going from thence down into the caverns. During the night a noise below was heard by the guard, and some of them went down among the prisoners to learn the cause, but could discover nothing out of place. In the morning on counting them, as was cus- tomary, one was discovered to be missing. It was found that the prisoners, in some unaccountable manner, had con- trived to loosen and pull out one of the large cubic stones on the bottom of the cellar. Through the aperture thus made, they hauled out the earth, pouring it down the shaft, and incredible as it may seem, they dug a hole through gravel, earth, and stones, under the floor and wall large enough for a man to crawl out! It appears that when the guard went down among them in the night, the prisoners could hear their arrangements for descending, and instantly replaced the stone and prevented a discovery of their operations. Newel, being a very small man, was the only one who succeeded in making his escape; he was never retaken.
In the year 1802 the prisoners rose upon the guard. The commander, Colonel Thomas Sheldon, was then sick, and soon after died; all the officers and guard were sick also, except Mr. Dan Forward, a private. With occasional assist- ance of people in the neighborhood, the entire charge of the prisoners, at that time amounting to between thirty and forty, devolved upon him. They had heard that many of the officers and privates were sick, and observing that one man performed nearly the whole duty, their suspicions were confirmed, and their plot strengthened. It is not certain whether there was a fair understanding among them ; if there was, their courage most miserably failed. While they were passing down into their caverns at the close of the day as usual, and when nearly all of them were going down the ladder, those who remained refused to proceed, and began an attack upon Forward, who was standing near. He was a robust, stout fellow, over six feet high, and always ready
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for any contest ; and instead of retreating, he returned their compliments, taking one by the neck and another by the heels, and dashing them down into the shaft upon the rest, who had now begun to come up. The neighbors hearing a scuffle at the prison, ran over to his assistance ; but their aid was unnecessary, as Forward had vanquished his foes and turned their course into the dungeon. It is very likely that all could have escaped if Forward had betrayed the least sign of fear, or had resorted to any other mode of persuasion.
At this time a very contagious fever raged at the prison, and soon began to spread among the convicts. It was with- out doubt owing to the filth in and around the prison, and to the want of care and attention to their cleanliness and com- fort. The disease was so virulent, that in order to arrest its progress, a barn was engaged of Captain Roswell Phelps, into which they were to be removed. People in the vicinity were employed to take care of the sick and perform the duties of guard ; but all the prisoners except three Irishmen
being sick, it was found impracticable to remove, and after some weeks the disease abated. None of the prison- ers, however, died, and no other instance of a general con- tagion among them ever occurred.
In 1806, on the 1st of November, a rebellion took place which for its results deserves notice. About thirty prisoners in the nail-shop had procured keys made from the pewter buttons on their clothes, and with those keys they were to unlock their fetters. It was agreed that one of their num- ber should strike a shovel across a chimney, and that was to be the signal for them all to unlock fetters, and commence an attack upon the guard, to wrest their weapons from them and use them to the best advantage. The signal was given, their fetters were unlocked, and two of their number began the attack. Aaron Goomer, a negro, and another, seized an officer by the name of Smith, who not having time to draw his sword, struck upon them with scabbard and all, break- ing his sword, and while the scuffle was going on, a guard named Roe ran to the spot with his musket, and levelling
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it at Goomer, shot him dead on the spot. Two balls passed through his head, his hair was singed, and his brains scattered round the shop. His comrade seeing his fate, re- turned to his post. The courage of the rest "oozed out at their 'fingers' ends,'" for not one of them dared to stir from their places, although their shackles were unfastened. Had a well-concerted attack been made and sustained by the rebels at this moment, they would have commanded the prison in five minutes, and could have put to death every officer and private in their quarters.
Three brothers by the name of Barnes, natives of North Haven, were imprisoned together for the crime of burglary, in 1803. These were the most active and finest-looking men in the prison. They were very ingenious and adroit, and could construct almost any mechanism required of them. These were the fellows who planned the insurrection before spoken of, and they made the pewter keys for unlocking the fetters. They were experienced in making keys, and could once, it is said, open any store in New Haven ; but their ingenuity at length brought them to an unfortunate place.
The fact is surprising that the same three committed the same offence again, and were convicted and imprisoned again just three years after! These brothers were regarded by the officers as extremely dangerous, and for various offences in the prison, they were kept bound with two sets of fetters during the day, and also chained to the block, be- sides being sometimes chained by their necks to a beam overhead, and at night they were put into the dungeons, and their feet made fast in stocks.
One of the convicts named Parker, had been famous for counterfeiting the character of priest. He had been known to have many violent attacks of pretended piety, generally appropriating to himself the name and office of an unordained minister, a part which he managed with a great deal of dex- terity, and commonly without suspicion on the part of his dear hearers, that he was an impostor. His exhortations had
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been terrible to all stony hearts, and where his preaching lacked mental light orlogic, he always had ready a supply of bombast and bodily contortions.
Another game it is said he performed to admiration. When he could hear of the absence of a long-lost friend in a family, he would appear and claim the identical relation- ship himself, and act all the tragedy or romantic pathos of a joyful return.
In one instance he claimed to be the stray husband of a disconsolate woman, and was received by her with all the attachment supposable at such a happy reunion. His real identity was not discovered until in taking off his shoes, the lady remarked that he possessed more toes than belonged to him-her husband having lost one by amputation ; he replied with ready adroitness that the lost toe had grown out again since his long absence. This determined the question as to his identity, and he at once received such a summary eject- ment, as is best administered by a woman of sensible spirit.
How astonishing such adroitness !-- to be preacher and " steal the livery of Heaven to serve the devil in;" to be brother, son, or husband, appearing more natural, so to speak, in a fictitious garb, than in his real character ! When his term of service expired, and as he was passing out of the prison gate, one of the convicts exclaimed, "Wo to the in- habitants of the earth, for the devil has gone out among them."
Prince Mortimer, a prisoner, lived to a very advanced age. He died at the prison in Wethersfield, in 1834, sup- posed to be 110 years old ; he commonly went by the name of Guinea, which was probably given to him on account of his native country. His complexion did not in the least be- lie his name, for surely he was the personification of " dark- ness visible." His life was a tale of misfortunes, and his fate won the commiseration of all who knew him. He was cap- tured on the coast of Guinea by a slaver when a boy ; was transported in a filthy slave-ship to Connecticut, then a slave colony, and was sold to one of the Mortimer family in
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Middletown. He was a servant to different officers in the Revolutionary War; had been sent on errands by General Washington, and said he had "straddled many a cannon when fired by the Americans at the British troops." For the alleged crime of poisoning his master he was doomed to Newgate prison, in 1811, for life. He appeared a harmless, clever old man, and as his age and infirmities rendered him a burden to the keepers, they frequently tried to induce him to quit the prison. Once he took his departure, and after rambling around in search of some one he formerly knew, like the aged prisoner released from the Bastile, he returned to the gates of the prison, and begged to be re-admitted to his dungeon home, and in prison ended his unhappy years !
Samuel Smith, alias Samuel Corson, a native of New Hampshire, while confined at Newgate for passing counter- feit money, wrote an account of his own life, which was published in 1826. He stated many queer circumstances about himself, and the various paths of crime which he had followed through life. It appears he had been a recruiting officer in the service, and was stationed at Plattsburg, N. Y. One of his pranks is worthy of being recorded in his own words :-
"One evening, I, together with a number of non-commissioned officers, took a walk down town for our amusement, and on our return home, I saw by a light through a window of a Mr. I's house, something laying very carefully rolled up, on a table under the window. I also perceived that there was no person in the room. I now thinking to get something rare and fresh, in order for our suppers, lifted up the window, and on putting my hand in, felt by its ribs and size, enough to convince me that it was a good roaster, and I of course made it a lawful prize. Putting it under my coat, I said nothing about it to my comrades, until our arrival at my quarters, where I invited them to accept of some refresh- ment. After taking a light and introducing a good bottle of brandy, I thought it the most convenient time to uncover my booty, in order to satisfy our craving appetites. At this moment, all eyes were gazing at the mysterious prize, when lo ! to my utter suprise and astonishment, it had turned from a roaster to & (dead) colored child. You can hardly imagine, dear readers, what were my feelings at this critical moment, not only from exposition among my fellow- officers, nor disappointment in my intended and contemplated supper, but also in the thoughts of robbing some unhappy parents of their darling child. I need not add, that they had a hearty fit of laughter, at my expense, whilst my wits were all at work in order to devise some manner of getting out of the hobble, and restoring the infant undiscovered, to its proper owners. This I thought
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best to do, by returning it immediately to Mr. I's house, and in order to accom- plish this, I took it again under my coat and repaired to the main guard, to obtain liberty to return to the village. On asking Lieutenant Ellison (who was officer of the guard) he discovered something white hanging below my coat, and insisted on knowing what it was; when I had of course to reveal the whole secret to him ; he also laughed heartily and told me to go on. When I returned to Mr. I's, the house was filled with both men and women, who, having missed the child, did not know what to think of its mysterious flight. I had at first thought of leaving it at the door, but fearing the numerous hogs in the vicinity would destroy it, I altered my mind, and taking it by the heels threw it into the room among them. At this crisis, how must they have felt, to see it re-appear amongst them, and feeling at the same time, the effects of innumerable particles of glass, which flew in all directions over the room. Their screams were indescribable-by which, in a few moments, not only the house, but the street was filled with astonished spectators ; all anxious to know what was the matter. On my return home, I met many repairing to the house, and on some of them inquiring what was the matter up the street, I told them that I believed there was a crazy man in the house of Mr. I. On arriving at the barracks all was still, and I heard nothing more respecting it for some days."
A convict, by the name of Newman, was a noted prison- breaker. Although he perhaps could not boast of unlocking, scaling, and digging out of so many prisons as the famous Stephen Burrows, yet his character, as it was written, com- pared very well. He escaped in various ways from several prisons in Canada and the United States, but this one, he said, "was the hardest and most secure prison he ever entered." However, he contrived several plans for escaping ; once he feigned himself to be dead. He was accordingly laid out as a corpse, and preparations made for his interment ; but before finding his carcass firmly under ground, he con- cluded it best to have his resurrection, and at length ventured to disclose to his attendants the important fact, that he would feel quite as comfortable in his long home, if he could get the breath out of his body and make his heart stop beating. He often pretended to have fits, requiring medical aid, and what was of more consequence, the aid of a little Brandy or Madeira. He pretended to raise blood from his lungs whenever he wished to draw sympathy from the guard, until it was discovered that it was a substance made to order by chewing pieces of red brick, or pricking his gums. He would vary his pulse by pounding his elbows and other violent means, and thus deceive the physician. He said he
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could reduce his flesh in ten days by sucking a copper cent in his mouth each night, and swallowing the saliva, which destroys the juices of the body, and produces premature decay. He was continually apprehensive that he would yet be taken back to England, where he said he should have to answer for the crime of murder, as a thousand pounds reward for his arrest stood against him. His chief desire was to avoid labor at the nail-block, but he was finally cured of his tricks with the threat of having the brand of rogue set on his forehead.
A GRAVE SUBJECT.
A comical episode took place one day upon the death of a negro convict, named Charles Mears. His body was placed in a roughly made box, as was the practice, and two prison- ers, and a guard by the name of Moses Talcott, were detailed to convey the body to a secluded spot half a mile north, where the prisoners were usually buried. Before the box and contents were taken in charge by the grave cortege, another convict, a white man, whose name is not now recalled, considering that " even exchange is no robbery," slyly took off the cover from the box, and pulling out the dead negro hid him in a bye corner, depositing his own live carcass therein. At the appointed hour the aforesaid bearers took up their grave subject, and followed by the guard, soon arrived at the place of burial. They set down their load and were about to commit " dust to dust and ashes to ashes," when to their utter consternation, a strange sepulchral noise was heard from within that coffin. They listened for a moment transfixed with horror, and the next moment all fled with the utmost speed back to the prison and related their horrible adventure.
It is needless to relate that the live corpse who made " from the tombs a doleful sound," being well satisfied with his ingenious ruse, took a lively departure and was never re-taken. The rightful occupant of the box was at length discovered, and the aforesaid attendants with more caution and less confidence, deposited their charge in safety, while all parties
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considered the affair as a grave subject in more respects than one.
It was frequently customary for farmers and others in the neighborhood to employ the prisoners in their fields, being accompanied at such times by some of the guard. They also performed a great amount of labor in quarrying stone for the prison buildings, and other uses. Six of them on one occasion were sent out a short distance to quarry stone, in charge of one officer and two privates. With no fetters, and a fair field before them, they perceived the chance a good one for escape. Their plan was to get their keepers near together, to employ their attention about some trifle, and quickly seize their arms. Accordingly they persuaded their keepers to peel off some birch bark and make caps for them, and while the cap business was going on, and the attention of the cap makers was occupied in their vocation, their weapons were seized in an instant ; the refugees, divid- ing the spoils and forming themselves into squads, quickly scampered over hills. The forlorn guards retreated to the prison, told their sad tale to the captain, and at once received their discharge. The prisoners were all re-taken; some in the western part the State for stealing ; the others stole a boat in the Connecticut river, and steering down the stream leisurely, were captured in East Hartford meadows.
The wit of some of the convicts is well illustrated in an anecdote of one of them, an Irishman named Dublin. He was at his work making nails, when at one time Major Humphrey, who then commanded, came along, and said to him, " Dublin, your nails are defective; the heads are not made alike." " Ah," said he, " Major, if our heads had all been made alike, faith, I should not have been caught here." Dublin afterwards tried to escape by leaping over the paling. He succeeded in getting upon the top, and in leaping down, one of the iron spikes with which the enclosure was mounted, caught in his fetters and turned him, as he said, " tother end up." For some time he hung suspended, head downwards, between heaven and earth, seventeen feet high, until at last,
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after tearing off his finger ends and nails in his struggles he turned himself back sufficiently to disentangle his feet, when he fell to the ground, and soon scampered away among the swamps and bushes. There he remained until aroused by the unwelcome calls of his stomach, when he ventured out in the night, and opening a window in the neighborhood, he appropriated to himself a good loaf of bread and a cheese, and again hid himself for two days. In trying to break his fetters with a stone, he was overheard by one of the guard, Michael Holcomb, who called to him, "Dublin, what are doing ?" "I am driving the sheep out of my pasture," said he. "But Dublin you must come along with me." "Faith, Misthur Holcomb, surely this is not me," replied Dublin. He was taken to the prison, where Holcomb received the reward of ten dollars which had been offered.
In the spring of 1822, there was a rebellion of a very serious nature. In the fall previous, between thirty and forty criminals were added to the number in prison, and this reinforcement was composed of rough and hard characters. This increase was in consequence of legislative enactments transferring many from the county jails, which were all con- structed of wood, and very insecure. The terms of sentence were mostly long, which served to fire them with desperation. The same fall a plot was set on foot by them for an outbreak, but it was discovered and defeated. The next spring they perfected their plans of operation in a most masterly manner. The insurgents comprised the whole number in the prison, amounting to more than one hundred. Their force was stronger than ever before, and the number of guards less, being at the time only seventeen. The captain, Tuller, was absent through the night, also one sergeant, one private, and the cook. The intention of the rebels was to rise in all the shops, en masse, at a given signal to knock down the officers, take their weapons, and get possession of the guard-house where the arms were kept, and then to take sole command of the works. The signal was given in the nail-shop by a blow from a shovel, and officer Roe was instantly knocked
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down senseless with a bar of iron. They seized his cutlass, and attacked a guard ; but so many were engaged upon him at once, pulling different ways, that they did not succeed in getting his musket. Officer Case in the meantime stationed a sentinel at the door of the guard-room, with a loaded musket and bayonet charged, which being noticed by the prisoners in the other shops, prevented their advancing to the attack, and seemed to dishearten them at once. The bold rebels in the nail-shop kept up the struggle, and sledges, spikes, and other missiles flew in all directions, and confusion and uproar reigned throughout. At this critical moment officer Griswold arrived at the prison, and proceeded directly to the scuffle at the musket. He drew his pistol, fired upon and wounded a prisoner. Roe by this time had come to his senses; he arose from the ground and shot another, when presently several guards presented their cocked muskets, which immediately quelled the assailants. The general cry of the prisoners was now for quarter: "Spare us! Don't kill us !- don't kill us!" The captain soon arrived, and bound the ringleaders in double irons.
Ephraim Shaylor, one of the guard, was sent out to accompany two prisoners, an Indian and a white man, about 1} miles from the prison, where they were employed in reaping. At the close of the day, on their return, the prisoners requested permission to gather some apples and carry them home, to which Shaylor consented ; he also was engaged in picking them up, when they sprang upon his back, crushed him down, and secured his weapons, a cutlass and fowling-piece. One of them took a large stone and was about to smash out his brains, but the other dissented, and they concluded it best to take him to a copse of bushes near by and there dispatch him. One followed at his back, hold- ing him by his sword-belt with cutlass in hand, and the other marched at a respectable distance, with musket charged, in true military style, and onward they marched towards the fatal spot. Our hero now concluded that his fatal hour had come, and thought if he must die, there might be at least ,
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choice in the mode ; and considering that a shot in the back at such a crisis would be no dishonor. On a sudden he slipped the belt over his head and made for the prison, while the victors were disputing between themselves which should take the musket and fire upon him. Shaylor reached the prison in safety, rallied several others and pursued them, but they were not to be found.
After their victory, it appears that the Indian proposed to the white man to break each other's fetters, to which the other agreed, and after those of the Indian were broken, the crafty liar took speedy leave of his comrade without recip- rocating the favor, thus proving that the old adage in this instance, is not true, "there is honor among rogues." The white man secreted himself in the mountains through the day, and at night went to a blacksmith's shop in Suffield, and with a chisel cut off his fetters. Both were afterwards taken for crime and re-committed to Newgate, where their con- dition and that of their enemy as victor and vanquished was strangely reversed, and Shaylor had an opportunity of enjoy- ing his right of laying upon their bare backs a few keen lashes. Mr. Shaylor afterwards held a commission in the army, was engaged in the battle of Bridgewater, and was wounded.
It was customary to give the prisoners in each shop a daily take of work, a certain number of pounds of nails, or amount of boot and shoe work, or number of barrels to be made and to be completed by about 3 P. M. each day, after which they were marched into a room built of stone under the guard-house. There they were kept together until evening, when they were required to descend into the caverns for the night; a few, however, were usually employed about the premises during the day as waiters, cooks, etc. After the main body were locked in the stone room, the large gate leading into the yard was unfastened, and left open for ad- mission of teams and for persons who transacted business at the prison.
The following is related by General Hillyer, of Hartford,
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