A Daring Prison Break Nearly Becomes a Tragedy
A Walla Walla prisoner’s attempt to squeeze through a barred window leaves him trapped and nearly hanging by his own neck.
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.
Geo. H. Porter came near making his escape from the prison on Sunday night last. With the use of a case knife, which had been left in his cell, and a file which had been furnished him from the outside, he succeeded in cutting off his shackles. This done, he attempted to crawl out through the hole in the grates of the south window, made by Crow in his escape last spring; but the hole being too small, he got fastened in it, and came near hanging himself. He was rescued from this perilous position by the prisoner Bordeneuf, whom he was compelled to call to his assistance. About this time (near daylight), deputy Sheriff Seitel paid his accustomed visit to the prison and stayed further proceedings. Porter was considerably lacerated and bruised in his attempts to get through the bars.
“The hole being too small, he got fastened in it, and came near hanging himself.”
This 1864 account captures the precarious nature of early territorial jails in Walla Walla. While the structural design of the jail has modernized, the fundamental issues of overcrowding and security remain a challenge for the county to this day.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.