A Deadly Night in the Grand Coulee
A pioneer resident was gunned down in the street by a notorious gambler, leaving a small town reeling from an act of random violence.
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.
Last night at Coulee City, in the Grand Coulee, John Corley went into a restaurant and began shooting in a reckless manner. He was finally ejected. He then turned his pistol into the building and fired a number of shots. Early this morning the result was found to be the death of Charles Pascoe, one of the pioneer residents of the town, who was found in the street with a bullet hole through his breast. It was also learned that another man named Patsy was shot through the arm. Several arrests have been made. Corley is a gambler of bad reputation, and there is a great deal of indignation in town.
“Early this morning the result was found to be the death of Charles Pascoe, one of the pioneer residents of the town, who was found in the street with a bullet hole through his breast.”
Violent outbursts in small, rapidly developing frontier towns were common in the 1890s, often fueled by the volatile mix of transient populations and lack of formal law enforcement. Today, this story of sudden, senseless death in a quiet community mirrors the ongoing national struggle with gun violence in both rural and urban areas.
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