Letters From Alcatraz - Michael Esslinger [28]
The “Torture Cages” that were installed at Alcatraz during World War I as seen in a San Francisco Examiner illustration. In later years an inmate work crew cleaning out a storage area located a broken pillory device. One of the inmates recalled a guard jokingly referring to it as an “Alcatraz Life Preserver.”
A 1918 photograph of the Alcatraz Medical Unit Staff. During this era, the prison maintained an advanced medical center that included full surgical, dental, and laboratory facilities.
The average age of law-offending soldiers was twenty-four and they were generally serving short-term sentences for desertion or lesser crimes. However, it wasn't uncommon to find soldiers serving longer sentences for the more serious crimes of insubordination, assault, larceny and murder. One interesting element of the military order was that prisoner's cells could be used only for sleeping, unless the prisoner was in lock-down status. All inmates were prohibited from visiting their cells during the day. Inmates with first or second class rankings were allowed to go anywhere about the prison grounds, with the firm exception of the guards’ quarters on the upper levels.
Despite stringent rules and harsh standards for those convicted of thuggish crimes, Alcatraz primarily functioned in a minimum-security capacity. The types of work assignments given to inmates varied depending on the prisoner, their assigned prison class and how responsible they were. Many prisoners worked as general servants, who cooked, cleaned, and attended to household chores for island families. In many cases select prisoners were entrusted to care for children who lived on the island. Alcatraz was also home to several Chinese families who were employed as staff servants, and during this period they represented the majority of the island’s civilian population.
The lack of strict focus in the minimum-security environment worked to the advantage of some inmates who hoped to make a break for freedom. Most prisoners never made it to the mainland and more commonly turned back to be rescued. Those who were not missed and failed to turn back would eventually tire and drown. The prison did not start to utilize trained military prison guards until 1907, and up to that point inmates were usually guarded by young garrison soldiers, which sometimes provided seasoned prisoners with valuable opportunities. For this reason, there were numerous escapes during the military era.
In August of 1898, four young soldiers serving time for minor crimes escaped from the prison library and stole a rowboat that was tied under the wharf. The inmates ultimately reached the mainland, but not before one of them had been wounded by a garrison soldier who was on guard at the military wharf. The inmates were able to paddle a considerable distance out, but when one of them missed a stroke, the splash attracted the sentry's attention. The soldier opened fire on the inmates and hit one of them, who dropped into the bottom of the boat screaming and moaning in pain. Another of the inmates stood up and shouted to the soldier, “Don't shoot anymore. Don't you see we've got no oars? We surrender!” The sentry stopped firing and briefly left his post to get assistance. Having succeeded with their clever ruse, the prisoners quickly pulled out their oars and rowed towards the mainland. A prison break alarm was sounded and the island’s five-oared boat was launched. The guards gave chase, but in spite of their best efforts, the prisoners got away. In another incident in 1884, two inmates stole a boat and rowed against the currents to the Marin shores. A sentry spotted the escapees but didn’t shoot and the inmates made a successful getaway.
In June of 1900 two inmates