Stuck Up on the Road to Tacoma
A rider is held at gunpoint just outside of Tacoma in a bold midnight robbery.
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.
A daring highway robbery took place about a mile west of Tacoma last night. A gentleman was riding on horseback toward the city about half-past 10 o'clock, when his horse shied at some object standing in the shadow of a stump, which proved to be a man. Upon reaching him, the gentleman said, 'Good evening, sir,' which the man answered in kind. Just as the horse reached him, the man caught hold of the bridle, presented a revolver at his head, and commanded him to throw up his hands. Another man then made his appearance and searched the gentleman, taking about $45 in cash and a five-shooter Smith & Wesson revolver. The robbers ordered the gentleman to move on, which he did, being only too glad to escape. The gentleman says he could not recognize the robbers, though they were not disguised. No effort was made last evening to effect their capture, though something ought to have been done. Should such men remain at large, people will be afraid to frequent the country roads after night.
“Should such men remain at large, people will be afraid to frequent the country roads after night, and the surrounding country may gain an unenviable notoriety.”
Highway robbery in the 1880s remains a vivid reminder of the vulnerability of travelers on isolated roads, even near growing urban centers like Tacoma, highlighting the limited reach of local law enforcement at the time.
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