Narrative of the life of James Allen, alias George Walton, alias Jonas Pierce, alias James H. York, alias Burley Grove, the highwayman : being his death-bed confession, to the warden of the Massachusetts state prison.

  • Allen, James, 1809-1837.
Date:
1837
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Narrative of the life of James Allen, alias George Walton, alias Jonas Pierce, alias James H. York, alias Burley Grove, the highwayman : being his death-bed confession, to the warden of the Massachusetts state prison. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

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    ting off those I then had fastened to my leg. My feelings were wrought up to such a state of desperation, that 1 armed myself with a knife, for defence or attack, if occasion should seem to render it expedient and necessary. The warden sent for three or four of the officers, to iron me more se- curely, if possible, than he did before. I drew my knife upon them, and they all ran out of the cell. The warden ordered a gun to be brought, and threatened to fire upon me unless I submitted to him.— I dared him to execute his threat, and firmly kept my position. Af- ter threatening and scolding awhile, they retired to the guard room, leaving me in possession of the cell, and of the tools they left in their re- treat. I remained in this situation four or five days, having nothing but the bare stones to lay upon. An ofiicer now came to me, and by kind words I was induced to give up the tools and surrender myself to the authorities .of the Prison. An iron shackel, weighing about two pounds, was now fastened upon my leg, and I was removed to another cell, allowed full rations, and made comfortable as circumstances would permit in such a place. In this cell I was closely confined one year and seven days—not being allowed to go into the yard more than five limes during that whole period, and then only about twenty-five minutes each lime, and well guarded by three or four officers. At the expiration of the year and seven days,the warden came to my cell, and was anxious to obtain my promise not to attempt any further measures for effecting my escape. I remarked that it was his duty to keep me in confinement, but that I should escape if possible—and would not promise to desist from making an attempt. The warden finally suflfered me to go into the yard. I found that during my long confinement in the cell,they had taken the precaution to place the yard in a more secure condition, by erecting a palisade on the top of the wall, increasing the height about eight feet—making the whole height of the yard about twenty feet, instead of about twelve feet as forme ly. In about two months I sawed off the shackel and made an attempt to scale the wall. An officer fired and missed me; he fired a second time with no better success. Another officer then fired, and the ball passed between my arm and head: my arm being up in the position of rais- i ng myself over the picket on the wall. As yet I was uninjured,though I had been fired npon three times. On looking around from the top of the palisade, 1 observed the deputy warden and a watchman pro- ceeding to the point where 1 should have to land on the other side of the wall; under these circumstance, I concluded it would be of no use to proceed further, and therefore descended to the yard again; and was soon accosted by the Warden, who inquired if I had been on the wall. I told him that I had. He remarked that he was sorry that 1 had been making another attempt to escape. He spoke mildly to me on the sub- ject of my conduct—ordered me into solitary punishment, and after ten days, took me out and had me placed in my former cell again.—• I was confined three or four months in this cell, and not suffered to go into the yard once during the whole time.