NEWS BY MAIL

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 10713, 6 December 1912, Page 6

NEWS BY MAIL

WA.RDKRS AND CONVICTS

After a battle between prisoners and warders order has been restored by the authorities in the State prison at Rawlins, Wyoming, and of thirty desperate convicts who escaped all but a dozen have been captured. The battle waged so fiercely at one time that the question of .summoning the militia to assist the warders was di;->-Clissecl. Two fugitives are dead and several wounded. Hope is expressed that the remaining convicts may lie recaptured without further loss of life. The trouble started on Saturday evening, October 12, when, at a signal from "Butch" J)alton, a notorious outlaw, a group of twenty criminals seized such weapons as were available, and overpowering the astonish|ed keepers, stole their keys, and gain'ed the outer walls without loss of a man. From the time of the escape a spirit of rebellion reigned in the prison among the remaining convicts, and on Sunday another desperate attempt was made, resulting in the «s----eape of ten more men. As many prison-keepers as could be. spared were sent to hunt the escaped desperadoes,-'and the remaining prisoners, seeing a chance of escape owing to the depleted force of their guardians, commenced a fierce tight For freedom. Meanwhile a strong body of men, armed with gun?, guarded "the prison exits, determined to kill the convicts should they 11-ally overpower the keepers ivuside. The countrywide for miles around was in a state of terror owing to the depredations of tho escaped prisoners, and everyone was warned to sta"d ready to defend their property. The first' band of convicts easily soeured horses and got safely away into the hills. The :>L'c:md batch of ten convi< ls, however, made for Rawli"*. and. entering a large livery stable. (](••?> anded horses of the pr ipietor.

A gigantic negro convict was stationed at the stable door, and, on seeing the local barber approach the armed leader promptly shot him through tho head. Alarmed by tho.sihr.t,

tho convicts ;■ warmed out of the stables with a few horses, and scurried :ntay. A Mexican, however, lingered behind and stabbed the pn.pietor in the face, seriously injuring him. This cowardly action covt Mm dearly.

because tho cleputy-sherifi' arrived just in time to put two bullets through his body, killing him instant-

"PIOIIS PRIEST" A BOLD BRIGAND.

Zelim Khan, tho handsome Dick Tnrpin of the wild Caucasus mountain,*, who haft evaded the police for twenty years has again slipped through their fingers. A reward of £-100 being offered for his head, police officers -sot- out ■:<•

seek him. At a small railway si: lion up in the mountains the part met an old priest dragging portmanteau. One of the police helped him with it and asked for his blessing. The priest gave it, and all the party reverently kissed his hand.

"Bless our quest for the robber,'' pleaded the man in charge of the expedition.

The priest did so, a nd his train .steamed out of the station.

The expedition now made enquiries about Zelim Khan.

Next day, a mountaineer brought the officer in charge a note. It ran : "You aro making great efforts to find Zelim Khan and get £4OO. The portmanteau you put into the train for mo yesterday was fun of ammunition. Believe me, you will got one of my bullets into your head sooner than you will catch mo.-Zelim Khan."

Zelim Khan is worshipped by the mountaineers and respected by the soldiers and local officials. He ncver robs the poor or oppresses the we:>.k. His fathers were kings of tho Caucasus beforo tho Russian? conquerorit.

He was last seen in the mountains by a girl ho had rescued from a Constantinople slave dealer and restorei her to her parents.

COUNT AND GIPSY

Tho difficulty of distinguishing between the social -status of bathers •lias placed Count Karl Esterhazy, a lieutenant of Bulssars, in an .awkward position. The Count was just entering his cabin at the Hungarian Baths iu Budapest when he collide I with Ladisla,s ttacz, the sixey-sixth son of Paul Racz, the so-called King of the Gipsies. The count and the gipsy wero both undressed. Annoyed by the collision, the count slapped the gipsy in the face. The gipsy seized the count and flung him through a glass door. Tho count was severely cut a nd was removed to the hospit.ii. The gipsy was horrified on leaning his- victim's identity, and the count was oxtremely angry to hear that his assailant was Itacz since tho gipsy's social position renders it impossiblu for the count to seek vengeance by the usual nVetliod, between gentlemen, of the duel.

YJLLAGK BATTLE WITH MOTO« BANDTTS.

After a fierce fight with revolvers a band of armed motor car robVr-5 were laid by the hceb. in the. little I'Vencb village of Ohambly, Seine-pt-Oise, early on Wednesday morning, November 16. Late at night five mysterious individuals drove up in a lino grey mot-or-car, to the door of tho siolit.mhotel. As it was know?) that lar^e

quantities of cigars and tobacco had been stolon in the district recently by men in a grey motor-car, tho propietor notified tho police. In the | small hours a formidable body of pol- I icemen entered the little hotel, re- , volvers in hand; but tho .strangers wore already on the alert. There was a noise- of windows being throw!: up, and in a moment the five sus- I pects were in the street. Revolvers on both sides began to speak, and soon tho whole village wa,s. in an uproar. Arming themselves with whatever weapon was nearest I to their hands, the villagers joined tho police in pursuit of the fugitives, J four of whom were finally arrested after a iioree struggle. The fifth escaped. In the back seat of the car wore four overcoats, from the pockets oF which the police extracted revolvers loaded with soft-nowd bullets, pot'gnards and bags of pepper, lienoath the overcoats, and concealed by them, were 'bucklers in sheet-steel, such as have been suggested for the use of the .police iagain.*ft bandits. It appears- that the bandits have themselves adopted this form of defence.

On lifting up the seat of the v.-.r the police found the space beneath was completely filled with stacked boxes of cigars, the total weight of which was close on 30011). It is uncertain if these 20.000 cigars represent the stolen or smuggled goods. If the latter the duty on them would have amounted to close on £SO. To all questions put to them the men opposed a stubborn silence. Later in tho day. heavily manacled and under a strong escort of police, they were transferred by motorcars to the police station at Nueilly-en-Thelle.