San Francisco Call (San Francisco, Ca) - February 18, 1901
NINE MEN BREAK JAIL AT SPOKANE
Arthur Spencer, a United States Prisoner, Leads the Band
SPOKANE, Wash, Feb 17 - Nine prisoners, at the head of whom was Arthur Spencer of San Francisco, the spurious Chinese inspector, bigamist and confidence man, early to-day bound and gagged the jailer and escaped from the County Jail. None have been captured. The escaped prisoners are:
Arthur Spencer, United States prisoner, impersonating an officer and obtaining money under false pretenses; Joe Harrison, Luke McGluke, alias Frank Moran, alias Mac McLeary; Phillip Anderson and James Morarity, all United States prisoners, wanted for counterfeiting; Edward McGuire and Robert McAlpin, for Hawaiian robbery [newspaper actually wrote "Hawaiian", not "Highway"]; John Manning, burglary, and Edward McGuire, sodomy, both of whom are under sentence to the Washington penitentiary.
The men overpowered Chief Jailer Thompson, who was the only officer in the jail. After choking him into insensibility they bound and gagged him and stripped him of his revolver and keys and made their escape. Spencer is said to have crawled from his cell through an opening seven by eleven inches, through which food is passed.
He hid behind the door and when the jailer opened the cell door seized him from behind, while the other prisoners from the inside rushed out. The jailer lay insensible fifteen minutes, and then spent as much time working free from the ropes placed on him. He promptly gave the alarm. Then, hatless and coatless, the jailer tore out of the building after the first man he saw. This man, a peaceful citizen, thinking he was up against a crazy man, fled, while after him sped bullets from the gun of the jailer. Happily none took effect.
As soon as possible a large force of deputy Sheriffs and deputy Marshals began a search, so far fruitless, for the prisoners.
The counterfeiters were leaders in a gang on whose capture the secret service officers worked for months. Spencer is the Californian who robbed coast Chinese of thousands of dollars, pretending to be a Government official. McAlpin is a San Quentin man, a desperado, well known to the coast police.
