A Convict’s Homecoming
A former prisoner returns to Seattle, reflecting on life at the Territorial Penitentiary and the realities of incarceration.
Many of our readers will remember John Andrew, the little half-breed, better known as 'Bowson,' who was sent to the Territorial Penitentiary from this county in 1880, on a charge of larceny. Well, Bowson served his sentence and has come back here to stay. He says he is sorry he took the money and will never steal again. While talking to a reporter of this paper yesterday, Bowson said: 'The prisoners are now engaged in cutting wood for the railroad company. Every prisoner who behaves himself is treated well and gets short time from the superintendent. I was sent up for a year, but I behaved myself and got two months more time—that is, I got out in ten months. I never saw nor heard of a prisoner being punished in any way, except being put on bread and water for being lazy and refusing to work. At the prison we had three square meals a day. The grub is good. We had fresh meat, coffee, fresh bread, potatoes, and all the vegetables we wanted. Every man gets a plug of tobacco on Saturday. Every man gets a suit of fresh underclothing and clean overalls once a week and each prisoner is compelled to take a bath at least once a week. When my time was out the Superintendent gave me $5 in money and a $15 order for clothes.'
“Every prisoner who behaves himself is treated well and gets short time from the superintendent.”
This rare, first-hand account of life inside the Territorial Penitentiary offers a glimpse into the late 19th-century carceral system in Washington, including the labor and disciplinary expectations.
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