F.M. Isaacs

THE MURDERS AT CONVICT LAKE

TWENTY-NINE CONVICTS ESCAPE FROM THE NEVADA STATE PENITENTIARY

By George Williams III

Sunday evening, September 17, 1871, twenty nine of the West’s most desperate outlaws busted out of the Nevada State Penitentiary at Carson City. Six made their way into Mono and Inyo counties. Of these six convicts, five were caught and two of them hung near Bishop, California.

…For weeks preceding the uprising, there were rumors of upcoming trouble. It had been a long, hot summer. The prisoners were more restless than usual. The guards’ morale was down. The rumors were not taken seriously by Denver and no precautions were taken.

Sunday, September 17, an easterly wind blew down from the Sierra full and hard and turned Carson Valley into a dust bowl. Sundays were usually quiet at the prison. Only one guard, Volney Rollins, was on duty inside the prison… After the prisoners finished eating, Rollins entered the large room to lock up the prisoners for the evening. Then it began.

In the preceding weeks, the prisoners had prepared themselves for the break. They had made sling shots, knives and sewn pieces of metal into their cuffs.

As Volney Rollins entered the large room, a prisoner struck him behind the head… The prisoners climbed on top their cells and cut a large hole through the plaster and lath ceiling leading to the attic…the prisoners climbed down the stairs and seized the armory and ammunition. The prisoners now were armed with 3 Henry rifles, 4 double barreled shot guns, several 5 and 6 shooters and 2500-3000 rounds of ammunition.

Being Sunday and the prisoners usually locked up, there were no guards on the outer wall. Those guards on hand were outside the prison.

F.M. Isaacs, a guard from Gold Hill was in the yard with a 6 shooter when the prisoners came out. Isaacs began firing but was shortly hit with a bullet that passed through his right knee, broke it, and lodged in the rear of his left knee. Isaacs shifted his weight to his left leg and continued firing until he was shot in the hip and went down.

Dr. Lee and Dr. Waters rushed to the prison to help the injured… It was necessary to amputate Isaac’s left leg. He would die within a month from his wounds.

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