Escapes
When two Trustees were sent out to bring the cows in, they simply did not return.
A Trustee, in charge of the boiler room, walked out the gate to get the morning newspaper, as he did most mornings. He just kept going.
While prisoners spent their nights in iron barred cells, the rest of the stockade prison building and surrounding walls were wood. Escape was not impossible.
Eight men escaped by sawing through the bars, while inmates sang Christmas carols. Two were soon caught at what was described as “a First Avenue resort.” When asked why they escaped, one said it was because they were serving roast beef for Christmas.
Two men tried to escape by sawing through the wooden floor. Other inmates sang loudly around the piano to cover the noise, but the escape attempt stopped when the notched spoon they were using broke.
Other escapes relied on more complex plans.
When a prearranged riot broke out, guards went to quell the disturbance, allowing two prisoners to make a break for the wall. One was caught. The other was shot, and taken to the County Hospital.
When a prisoner on a work gang slipped away, a farmer found him and shot him in the knee. At the hospital, he feigned the need for crutches, but discarded them and walked away.
A stockade prisoner was taken to the City Hospital for treatment. While the nurse was getting the medicine, he got dressed and walked out unnoticed.
Some who escaped soon found themselves back at the stockade.
After escaping, a man robbed a newsstand in Seattle of 23 cents and a cigar. When caught, he smoked the cigar in the patrol wagon.
An escaped prize fighter was missing for two months. His name appeared on a fight card in Yakima, and the King County Sheriff had him arrested and sent back to Seattle.
A stockade guard, in San Francisco for a convention, saw two stockade escapees on the street. He had them arrested. One was sent back to Seattle, but the other remained in California to face a more serious charge.
A stockade guard recaptured an escapee when he had the married man’s girlfriend call around for him. When he showed up at her apartment, he was arrested.
Hot on the Trail
The property included a kennel for bloodhounds. Located on the northern exterior of the stockade, it was accessed through a locked door in the fence.
They were used to track escapees, suspects, and missing persons throughout the region.
1916.4.15 Bothell Sentinel and Citizen
1925.9.17 Seattle Daily Times
1922.3.31.1 SDT