Brutal Robbery of Chong Gill Long
A victim is assaulted with an iron bar in his own room after refusing to loan money to his assailants.
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.
The arrest of Chin Ah Chew yesterday afternoon by Detective Cudihee brought to light the circumstances attending a most brutal assault and robbery. Chong Gill Long, the victim, was out of bed yesterday for the first time since June 15, and it is claimed he identified the prisoner as one of his assailants. According to Long's story, he met Chew and Chin Dong in the afternoon of June 15, and they tried to borrow $1 from him. He refused the loan, and this made them angry. That night, after he retired to bed in the Wa Chong building, the men entered his room, but not before he heard them and threw part of his money under the bed. He attempted to defend himself against their attack, but was knocked senseless by an iron bar in the hands of one of his assailants. Then they went through his pockets and took a roll of silver containing $60. When Long recovered, the robbers had gone. The case was reported to the police, but owing to the victim's condition, he was not able to assist in discovering the guilty parties until yesterday.
“He attempted to defend himself against their attack, but was knocked senseless by an iron bar in the hands of one of his assailants.”
Violence against Chinese immigrant laborers was common in late 19th-century Seattle, often stoked by the same economic anxieties that fueled the anti-Chinese expulsions of 1886. This crime, occurring in the heart of Chinatown, reflects the precarious living conditions and lack of state protection for Chinese residents during this period.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.