The Trial That Nearly Triggered a Lynching
A Whatcom jury's acquittal of George Bwiloos for a brutal murder left the town in an uproar, sparking a desperate, failed manhunt by local citizens.
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.
George Bwiloos, alias Placer, was today acquitted by the jury of the murder of Moses Younkin. As soon as the news reached the street that the defendant was acquitted, the most intense excitement prevailed. Large knots of men gathered on the streets and loud threats were made of lynching. Placer had in the meantime hastened to the beach, where canoes were in waiting, and in a few minutes he was far out in the bay on his way to the reservation. Within twenty minutes, a crowd of 1,000 people gathered on the street, and Mayor Miller of Whatcom addressed them, denouncing the verdict. An effort was made by the crowd to get a tug to follow and lynch the Indian, but none could be obtained. Five armed men started out on horseback at 4 o'clock to pursue him. The crime for which Placer was tried was the brutal murder on January 20 of 65-year-old Moses Younkin, a veteran scout who had served with Buffalo Bill. Younkin was found near Little Squalicum Creek with a fractured skull, having been robbed of his watch and money. While the evidence against Bwiloos seemed strong, the jury returned a 'not guilty' verdict, inciting the community to take the law into its own hands.
“Within twenty minutes after the verdict was known a crowd of 1,000 people gathered on the street, and Mayor Miller, of Whatcom, addressed them, denouncing the verdict.”
This incident captures a volatile moment in Bellingham (then Whatcom) history, reflecting the deep racial tensions and the fragility of due process in a frontier town. It serves as a reminder of how quickly civic frustration with legal outcomes can devolve into vigilante violence, a tension that occasionally flares in modern discussions regarding justice and public safety.
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