The Violent End of a Seattle Jailbreaker
A notorious criminal known for his daring escapes from the Seattle city jail was shot dead while attempting a breakout at the state penitentiary.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
William Dryden, a convict in the penitentiary, was killed by a guard this evening. Dryden was the leader of a plot to escape, which became known to the warden. Dryden made a break and ran down the aisle, and the guard fired a bullet, crushing the bones of both his thighs. Dryden died shortly after. He was regarded in Seattle as a smooth, daring, and dangerous criminal; he had previously escaped the Seattle county jail by slipping past the jailer in the guise of a preacher. He was an Australian, twenty-six years old, and though he was clever in his crimes, his life ended in the mill at Walla Walla.
“He was regarded in Seattle as a smooth, daring and dangerous criminal, and no prisoner ever gave the officers of this county more trouble.”
Dryden’s story reflects the revolving-door nature of the justice system and the intense public fascination with 'career criminals' in the late 19th century. His ability to slip out of the city jail dressed as a preacher highlights the porous nature of early Seattle security, a sharp contrast to the high-tech, fortified carceral systems that dominate debates on public safety today.
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