Gunfight in the Teanaway Basin
A sheriff's posse ambushes suspected bank robbers in the Cascades, sparking a mountain manhunt.
Roslyn, Sept. 25.—Three of the Roslyn bank robbers and a pursuing party of thirteen came unexpectedly upon each other at the forks of a road running through a dense thicket in the Teanaway basin, across the mountains, twelve miles east of Roslyn, about 7 o'clock last night. Both the pursuers and the pursued were surprised, but the posse recovered first and a dozen Winchesters were brought to bear. One of the robbers was seen to reel in his saddle, and the leader's horse staggered but was urged onward. A broadside was sent after the retreating forms, while the robbers discharged revolvers in return. Two of the fugitives escaped, while the third remains unaccounted for in the dense brush. The posse has since increased to over 125 men, including excellent guides, to secure the mountain trails. Rewards totaling $1,000 have been offered for the band's capture, who are believed to be heading for Snoqualmie Pass.
“One of the robbers was seen to reel in his saddle and the leader's horse staggered, but was urged to his feet and onward with yells and oaths.”
The Teanaway basin remains a rugged and sparsely settled region, though modern hikers know the trails that these desperate men once used to escape the law. The area continues to be a site of both intense wilderness recreation and complex land-use disputes, mirroring the territorial tension of the 1890s.
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