The Jailer’s Blunder and a Quick Escape
Three prisoners in the Yakima county jail staged a daring, if temporary, breakout after a jailer accidentally left their cell door unlocked.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
On Saturday morning, Jailer Staggs entered the county jail to provide the prisoners with their morning meal. Montgomery and Milburn, the train robbers, and young Benny Newell, who stole William Steele’s horses, were held in the cage. Upon entering, Mr. Staggs neglected to secure the lever to lock the prisoners in their cells. Montgomery took immediate advantage of this oversight, rushing at the jailer with a long knife. Mr. Staggs fled the door, shouting for help, followed by the three prisoners. Once in the open air, the trio fled across lots and through Ed Whitson’s property. There, they encountered Street Commissioner McCafferty, who commanded them to halt. Although unarmed, McCafferty reached into his pocket as if drawing a weapon; the ruse succeeded, and the fugitives marched back to jail under his command.
“Mr. McCallerty was without arms, but he shoved his hand in the pocket under the tail of his coat and the ruse proved successful.”
Jail breaks were a common trope in the early West, often highlighting the rudimentary state of public safety infrastructure before modern penitentiary standards. This incident underscores how precarious law enforcement was in early Yakima, relying heavily on individual grit rather than secure systems.
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