The Constable Who Invited a Fugitive to Stay the Night
An accused shooter was tracked down by a local officer, only to be offered an overnight stay in a cabin before walking free.
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.
Daniel Pullen and Mrs. Pullen, of La Push, arrived in the city yesterday. They came direct from the Quillayute country and Mrs. Pullen tells of an interesting occurrence there about a week ago. Moses Ackles, who shot Sol Franklin on January 19 at Quillayute, has been at large ever since that time and is wanted by the officers. Ackles fired two shots from a Winchester rifle at Franklin while the latter was running from him in the darkness carrying a lantern. But one shot took effect, the bullet breaking the bone of Franklin's right arm near the shoulder. Ackles escaped to the woods and has since visited Seattle, but returned to the woods and was known to be living with a friend there. Just before Mr. and Mrs. Pullen came out, a constable went after Ackles and found him at a cabin on the Dickey river. Ackles consented to go with the officer and persuaded the latter to remain all night before starting. The next day the two walked down to another cabin where the constable had left two companions the night before. Ackles carried a rifle, but neither of the others was armed, and when Ackles saw there was a posse after him he coolly said goodbye and left them. He intimated, however, to the constable that he intended to stand for the shooting.
“Ackles carried a rifle, but neither of the others was armed, and when Ackles saw there was a posse after him he coolly said goodbye and left them.”
Law enforcement in the remote Quillayute country in the 1890s operated on a much looser, more localized set of social contracts than modern policing. This story illustrates the era's reliance on personal acquaintanceship in law enforcement, where a fugitive could be 'persuaded' to turn themselves in at a more convenient time.
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