Late-Night Burglary Ends in Foot Chase
A drug store break-in at Commercial Street leads to a wild foot pursuit across downtown alleys.
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.
Heuss & Fils drug store at 303 Commercial street was entered last night from the rear and a quantity of small goods stolen. The burglars, while moving about the store, awakened a clerk who was sleeping there, and he had an opportunity to see the burglars' faces before they fled. Word was immediately sent to the police station, and Capt. Willard started after the burglars. About 12:30 o'clock he caused the arrest of John Kenney, Andrew Burns, and James Dolan as disorderly persons and Pat Kelly. The men were in a saloon at the corner of Main and Railroad avenue, and when Officer Slater took Kelly out, he suddenly made a break for liberty. He followed the alleys paralleling Commercial street and did not stop when a shot went singing past his head. Finally he fell over a rubbish pile in the rear of the Gordon Hardware Company's store and was captured. The police think they have the men who got into the drug store.
“He followed the alleys paralleling Commercial street and did not stop when a shot went singing past his head.”
The scene of the crime, the 300 block of Commercial Street (now First Avenue South) in Pioneer Square, remains the heart of Seattle's historic district. The frantic chase through the alleys reflects a time when Seattle's city center was a rough-and-tumble environment of saloons, boarding rooms, and constant surveillance by early police forces.
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