George Franklin Wade had an astonishing record of both criminal activity and escapes. He was convicted of selling opium in 1891 but escaped in March of 1892. He was recaptured and after his release, two years later, was found guilty of possessing “two trunks containing about one hundred pounds” of opium. He was sentenced to McNeil Island – the maximum-security federal prison on the West Coast – where he escaped in July of 1894. In 1904 he was convicted in Nome for stealing gold from sluices and sent – again – to McNeil Island. Then, on the morning of July 4, 1905, he engineered an escape with seven other prisoners, the largest escape in the history of McNeil Island. Surprisingly, the men dug tunnels from cell to cell with spoons and then breached the outer wall of the prison. The seven who escaped with Wade were recaptured, some on the mainland. Wade was not. This is his prison photograph from McNeil Island. Note the traditional black-and-white striped clothing.
[From THE HUMAN FACE OF THE ALASKA GOLD RUSH.]