The Pheasant That Cost a Market President $15
A Seattle man’s commitment to the local rod and gun club led to a swift courtroom sting against a city business owner.
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.
Joseph G. Boyd, president of the Denver Market Company, was arrested yesterday on a warrant sworn out by Frank B. Atkins before Justice Von Tobel, charging him with violating the state game laws by selling a pheasant out of season. Atkins, who is an active member of the Seattle Rod and Gun Club, saw a pheasant in the Denver market yesterday afternoon and immediately bought it. He then produced the bird in court as evidence and had Boyd arrested. Boyd pleaded guilty to the charge and was promptly fined $10 and costs, totaling $15. He stated in extenuation of the offense that he bought a lot of chickens a few days ago and, in some way, a pheasant came with the lot. When Atkins offered to buy the bird, he sold it, not thinking for a moment that it would lead to his arrest.
“Atkins, who is an active member of the Seattle Rod and Gun Club, saw a pheasant in the Denver market yesterday afternoon and he immediately bought it, after which he produced the bird in court and had Boyd arrested.”
Long before current debates about urban wildlife and conservation, Seattle’s early residents were already engaging in 'citizen policing' to protect regional biodiversity. The intersection of hunting ethics, market regulation, and local vigilantism remains a recurring, if evolving, theme in Pacific Northwest civic life.
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