The Unholy Row at the Pool Hall
A local hothead turned a Sunday game of billiards into a brush with death after a botched pistol shot.
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.
A local man, Masterson, was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon following a violent disturbance at a downtown Seattle billiards parlor. Masterson, having entered the establishment, was involved in a dispute with a man named Wilkinson. The altercation escalated quickly when Masterson drew a revolver and fired, aiming directly at his target. Luckily, the bullet did not take effect, as the remaining cartridges in the pistol hung fire, undoubtedly preventing bloodshed. Masterson was placed under $500 bonds to appear before Justice J.W. George. On Monday, he waived his preliminary examination and was bound over in the sum of $1,500 to appear before the next Grand Jury, with John Burke and F.M. Wade acting as his sureties.
“The altercation escalated quickly when Masterson drew a revolver and fired... Luckily, the bullet did not take effect, as the remaining cartridges in the pistol hung fire.”
This 1887 incident in a Seattle billiards hall reflects the city’s early, rough-and-tumble reputation during its rapid expansion. It serves as a reminder that the tension between personal grievances and public order has been a recurring theme in Seattle’s legal history for over a century.
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