The Midnight Feast and the Meerschaum Pipe
Two burglars ransacked a prominent Seattle home, paused for a multi-course meal, and were undone by an officer who spotted a stolen pipe in a pawn shop.
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.
Mrs. M. Wilzinski's residence at 407 James street was burglarized early yesterday morning, with clothing, jewelry, silverware, and other articles valued at about $500 taken. Within sixteen hours, the goods were recovered and the criminals lodged in the city jail. Entrance was gained to the kitchen through a window, and a skeleton key was used to unlock doors. The thieves ransacked trunks and dining room silverware, leaving a knife and fork at each place at the table. They then went to the third story, stealing suits, silk underwear, light overcoats, and a meerschaum pipe marked 'Wilzinski.' The thieves then enjoyed a meal of cold chicken, pies, and fruit from the refrigerator, throwing bones into a corner. At 3 o'clock yesterday, Officer Baldus spotted a man entering a second-hand store on Washington Street. The man attempted to sell the stolen pipe. Baldus arrested him, and the suspect confessed, leading police to the remainder of the goods hidden under a vacant house on Cherry Street. The suspects, James P. Courtney and W. Robinson, were taken into custody.
“They were considerate enough to leave a knife and fork at each place at the table.”
The home described at 407 James Street was in the heart of what is now Seattle's First Hill/Pioneer Square periphery. This story captures the era's transition from a frontier town to an urban environment where high-society burglaries were common, and police work involved hanging around second-hand shops to catch petty thieves.
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