I Am a Fugitive from a Georgia Chain Gang!I Am a Fugitive from a Georgia Chain Gang! is the amazing true story of one man's search for meaning, fall from grace, and eventual victory over injustice. In 1921, Robert E. Burns was shackled to a chain gang for his part in petty robbery. He soon made a daring escape, dodging shotgun blasts, racing through swamps, and eluding bloodhounds on his way north, where for seven years he lived as a free man until his jealous wife turned him in to the police. Arrested as a fugitive from justice, Burns was promised lenient treatment and a quick pardon, but was back on a chain gang within a month. Undaunted, he did the impossible and escaped a second time, and was still a hunted man living in hiding when this book was first published in 1932. The book and its movie version, nominated for a Best Picture Oscar in 1933, shocked the world by exposing Georgia's brutal treatment of prisoners. |
Contents
Introduction | 9 |
I The War Makes a Wanderer | 37 |
II The Wanderer Gets into a Jam | 42 |
III An Introduction to the Georgia Chain Gang | 47 |
IV A Decision to Run Out | 56 |
V Breaking the Shackles | 62 |
VI Running the Gauntlet Through Georgia | 68 |
VII To Chicago andFreedom | 78 |
XV Life at the Troup County Stockade | 141 |
XVI Excitement Among the Convicts | 148 |
XVII A Hearing Before the Prison Commission | 166 |
XVIII Some Interesting Sidelights on ChainGang Life | 170 |
XIX The Depths of Despair | 179 |
XX Hope Revived Once More | 185 |
XXI The Serious Barrier of Georgia Prejudice | 190 |
XXII Driven to Desperation | 198 |
VIII An Unfortunate Marriage | 82 |
IX Success Romance andBetrayal | 93 |
X The Heavy Hand of Unfeeling Law | 103 |
XI In the Coils of Legal Red Tape | 107 |
XII The Fight against Extradition | 116 |
XIII Back to the Horrors of the Gang | 122 |
XIV A Request for Moneyand a Transfer | 134 |
XXIII Preparation for a Daring Break | 203 |
XXIV Another Try at Breaking the Gang | 211 |
XXV Almost Recaptured | 220 |
XXVI Out of Georgia to an Unknown Destination | 227 |
XXVII A Fugitive in his Native Land | 238 |
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Common terms and phrases
affidavits answered arrived asked Atlanta Attorney Boss Chris Bounce brother bull pen Burns Burns's camp Campbell County Chattanooga Chicago Chicago Magazine clothes convicts corn pone County chain gang court Cowboy desperate dollars Echols Ellis Arnall Emily escape extradition feet five Flagg friends fugitive Fulton County Georgia chain gang Grange guard hand hearing heart hour iron ring Judge David justice knew La Grange labor letter Lillian Salo looked mess hall minutes months Moore morning mother Negro never night o'clock pardon parole passed Paul Muni police Prison Commission pulled replied road Robert Robert E Robert Elliott Burns rumble seat Schley Howard sentenced shackles sheriffs shovel sitting Stanley State's station stockade story street thought told took torture train Troup County truck trusty wait walked Warden Hardy week William Schley woman